15th Century Bra

A remarkable clothing find was recently released to the public and showed us images of a bra found at Lengberg Castle in East Tryol, Austria. The bra has been dated to the 15th century and completely changes our perception of the history of underwear.

I already made one! I also made some matching panties to go with it. The garments are made of linen and are embellished with lace, as close to period needle lace as I had on hand.

I have more pictures on my website: http://www.faerie-queen.com/15th-century-bra-and-panties/
And here is an article on the bra: http://www.historyextra.com/lingerie

FAE Magazine Feature

My steampunk faerie made it into FAE Magazine! I am so excited! FAE is a UK-based faerie magazine. It is also sold in select stores in the US, or you can purchase a copy at their website: www.faemagazine.com

AND...Jocelyne and I took a photo of us with the magazine, and we are now the cover photo for FAE's facebook page!

Here are the photos of our spread!

Steampunk Faerie

My friend and model/muse Jocelyne got to be my steampunk faerie! I am into the fantasy side of steampunk, and though I'm normally into bright jewel tone colors, I wanted to try something more muted this time.
I made the wings out of copper wire, organza, and resin coating.
The model is Jocelyne Watts. The costume, photos, and makeup were all done by me.

You can see more photos here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/steampunk-faerie/

Gothic Princess Photoshoot

I recently did a very fun shoot for my line! My friend Lauren Brooks modeled a couple of outfits, both with a gothic princess kind of flair, one more fantasy and one more steampunky. I shot and edited all the photos, which was super fun! And then I made some fancy collages to show off the pictures! All of the items are part of my fashion line and are listed in my online shop: http://shop.daisyviktoria.com

Light Blue Cotehardies and Wool Cloaks

As promised, I do indeed have fancy photos of our new light blue cotehardies, along with red wool cloak and hood and my boyfriend's brown wool cloak. This was inspired by Red Riding Hood and pre-Raphaelites and early 15th c. European fashion. The kirtle and cotehardie are patterned according to period documentation, as is the hood. The cloak has a small modification that adds significant practicality. Period cloaks, from my experience, appear to have been semi-circular. Also in my experience, this means they are very annoying to wear. I cut shoulders into my cloak pattern, and bam, works like a charm! I've been told that attached hoods are not period, but I have sources that prove they did exist, just more rarely than unattached hoods.

You can see more photos here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/

Purple Velvet Cotehardie

This is a dress I made last year. I realized it was before I started this blog, and I wanted to share anyway. Plus, I only recently took fancy photos for my website. I wear it occasionally to court-like events, but I am choosing to share the fancy photos rather than the plain old event photos.
This is a cotehardie, late 14th century French style. It is made of velvet and fully lined in silk with matching silk sleeves, belt, and tressour crispinette (the hat). The buttons and button holes were all done by hand, and all the beading and trim was also applied by hand. I made the necklace too. Lots of work, totally worth it!

More images are here on my site: http://www.faerie-queen.com/purple-velvet-cotehardie/

Blue Damask Tunic

I recently made this tunic and coif for my pottery teacher, Master Hroar. The coif is white linen with black decorative stitching. The tunic is made of blue damask fabric that he had stashed away. The construction is true to Viking period patterning. He is a well-to-do merchant and would have had access to brocades, though this particular pattern is slightly anachronistic for that specific period. I added some blue linen and white/gold trim to the edges. I think the color is perfect for him!

I have more pictures on my website here: http://www.faerie-queen.com/blue-damask-tunic/