April showers bring May flowers… If this is so… what does May snow bring?
We missed the snow here at Lucky 7 Studios – as we were travelling to Georgia and back. However, we did find a hail storm on the way down through West Virginia and 80 degrees on the way back.
Today as I write this the sky is blue and sun is shining bright! Many of our trees have leafed out and the strawberries and blueberries have bloomed to bring us fresh fruit soon.
So what is happening at Lucky 7 Studios.
The website will be under construction one page at a time beginning Monday May 17.
4 blog posts – two are continuing the Costume Era Timeline (Greek and Roman), the other two, you will have to stick around and find out.
The F/W collection will be released but not as a ready to wear – more of a one of a kind. Each garment will be available for custom sizing and a handful of fabric options.
There will be 1 live Q & A on May 20th at 2pm on our YouTube.
Finally, there will be a handful of video recordings from a Zoom weekly “Paint with Us” on a group Facebook page – Sneak a Peek Artists.
The Minoans lived on the Island of Crete at the beginning of the Bronze Age, most prominently 1900 – 1750sh BC. The name of the people and culture is from the mythical King Minos. This was a fairly advanced society, they were the first in Europe to have paved roads, running water: elaborate indoor pipe systems and “facilities” in their 3 and 4 story palaces. These palaces were a place for concentrated political and economic power, artistic activity, and possibly the center for redistribution of agriculture commodities. These were a large trades people, not only export but import. Exported items include timber, foodstuffs, cloth, olive oil, and fine handcrafted luxury items. They imported such things as tin, copper, silver, emery, fine stones, ivory, and manufactured objects.
Sheep wool was the main fabric in textiles. Linen from flax was less common but could be imported from Egypt and potentially grown locally. There has not been any evidence of silk (it could have been used, but highly unlikely).
Like many cultures there is a difference in the costume men and women wore. This is evidenced in the recovered archeological items that depict people. Men and women were often both seen wearing a belt or garter to provide what we would call the “wasp” waist, a very small waist. Men wore loincloths, long robes or kilts.
Women wore long dresses (sometimes a tunic) with short sleeves and layered, flounced skirts with a wide hem. They were often fitted bodices and open at the waist, sometimes strapless. Women’s breasts were covered unless it was a priestess or for ritualistic reasons. As, with today, women are clothes to emphasize their sexual characteristics. As the theme continues, in the beginning costume was worn for protection from the elements and as time moved on and civilization began to break into castes, costume became a symbol of class and status.
April 9th, a little late but worth the wait. Last weeks scheduled posts are still sitting here ready to be typed and ready for y’all to read –> Keep your eyes peeled…
So, it’s April. Time flies when you are having fun – or doing what you love. I love what I do – it uses all parts of my brain – most times simultaneously!
The last Zoom for the Burnley and Trowbridge Half-Sized Mantua Gown was last week. Many things did I learn … and many I knew… The best part was there are others doing the same thing at the same time = comradere! [I was going to post a photo of where I was in the process…. but I cannot seem to find one.]
This also marks the second quarter of the year. Time to evaluate where we were, where we are, and what we’ve done – that has worked, and what has not! As y’all are benefactors of all of Lucky 7’s socials, what do you want to see in the Second Quarter?
Here are some of what you can expect in April 2021:
Monday Motivations – nothing better than to be motivated going into Monday!
Costume History Series: Ancient World: Egypt[1][2]
Here we are the 5th entry already. The skies outside today are mostly cloudy with some sun peeking through. The temperature is 63 degrees F. This is unseasonably warm for my neck of the woods (so to speak). The lilacs are blooming, the trees are budding, and the birds are singing everywhere.
In doing the research for this short article, I had so much trouble NOT chasing the white rabbit down the hole into the abyss of history. If some of you don’t already know, I am a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
The Ancient World timeline for Egyptian Costume is 2649 – 1640 BC. This seems like it covers many years, and it does, but the style of the garments was relatively consistent. As we have seen in cultures up till this point and even through today, clothing not only reflects the technological advancements mastered by the people, but clothing represents what your class or status is among the members if your society.
A statement I read “attire… fashion exclusively human characteristic and seen in most societies”. Does that mean there are other species out there that may or could wear attire? Just a thought….
The long and short of it: linen. Linen was the fabric of choice for Egyptians. It was light, strong, flexible, and perfect for the warm climate. Linen comes from the flax plant that was abundant along the Nile River. Animal based “fabrics” were seen as impure or only for the highest class in society. The quality of linen between classes was also evident – as were the way the garments were worn.
Men of all classes wore a loincloth. Higher class was a little longer, maybe to the knee, and possibly wore a tunic or draped cape (but the tunic and robe could be common for both genders). For much of this time period it was not unusually to see men and women with bare chests. Children were not expected to wear garments until they reached adolescence and slaves were not necessarily clothed. Those living in poverty and could not afford garments – did not wear any.
Women of the lower class wore shorter skirts that stopped at their ankles, while women of upper class wore longer skirts that may have even covered their chests. As time went on, the upper class garments began to shift to more form fitting (and covering their breasts) and elaborate, often including beads, jewels, layers (inner and outer garments), and pleats.
So here we are at the end of this little lesson…. What do you think of the costumes during this time? Leave your thought in the comments below.
Here we are yet again following along with history. This week we will look at the Ancient World: Assyrian costume/fashion. I personally like to look back and see how far we have come or have not come, not just with clothing, but also art and culture. Art alone can tell a good bit of history about a period in time or culture. [1]
First, where exactly is Assyria and what else is going on in history? Assyria is the oldest civilization in the world. Located in the Middle/Near East and dates to 2500 BC. It was an ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom and Empire. This Empire spanned the early and middle bronze and the Iron age.
Like many other societies, their clothing would differentiate the societal hierarchy through modification. This modification could be the length of a tunic, the layers one wore, the fringe, embroidery, and other “decoration”. However, the overall “style” remained the same: tunics and shawls. These items could be dyed, using natural dyes, for colors such as blue, red, yellow, green, and purple.
Middle class: tunics reached their feet, sometimes shorter to the knee.
Higher Class: long tunics descending to their feet, edges had fringe and braids, may even be embroidered and of wool fabric
Dignitaries of the court – they added girdles around their chest and their garments were dyed purple to indicate power
Royal garments: they wore a long robe that was on top of their first garments, these spiraled along the body and included fine embroidery with detailed geometric figures or flowers (most often repeated over and over).
Working women wore long tunics with long fringed shawls.
Good day my dear friends. I must first apologize for lack of post, video, and newsletter last week. It was insanely busy. My studio is still not ready to move back in and I have been finishing a customer’s dress. (There will be a post all about that, after she receives it). When the studio is up and running – there will be a video about that.
So welcome to March. How did we arrive here so quickly? It was just snowing and freezing and you couldn’t see the grass. This month is so filled with exciting things for Lucky 7 Studios and you as followers.
Let’s not forget this is Woman’s History month. I may seek out a guest writer. St. Patrick’s day (we are all Irish on the 17th), the first day of spring (something to definitely celebrate), and Palm Sunday, are all part of the month of March. And who could forget Daylight Savings Time? It begins for those of us where our government insists on confusing not only the humans but EVERY SINGLE animal out there! I have mine trained that they eat at a certain time. Well, when the time changes, they have to be trained all over again (or maybe it is I, that needs to be retrained?).
I am taking custom orders for reenactments and weddings. Plus the new collection goes live in May. The website will also be getting a facelift this month – be on the lookout for changes coming your way.
It has been a year since the news of COVID-19 spread across the globe and everything was shut down to slow the spread. Here we are a year later….. small and large businesses alike are struggling to keep their heads afloat. I have seen businesses that have been around for centuries, fall apart and shutter their doors forever. I challenge each and everyone of you to find a small business (mine would be great) and put your support there. Preferably in your own town. Shopping from the big box tops is overrated and the products are like everyone else. Look for something that is one of a kind!
The Sumerians are the earliest known civilization in the historic region of southern Mesopotamia. Believed to have lived from c. 4100 – 1750 BCE. This part of the world can get very hot during the year, so some of the statues with few garments would not be out of line with the climate.
In researching Sumerian culture, the images that are presented provide an account of the types of costume they would have worn during that period of time. It appears men wore what looks to be some type of robe maybe that they pulled over their heads – shoulder straps that connected to the back that was lower than the front. Most representations of men appear to wear a costume that is wrapped and tied about the waist.
The Smithsonian has a statue “Rim-Sin Carrying Clay” – this is a statue of the King of that time. He appears to be rounded at the bottom half as if he were wearing what we would call a “skirt”. However, there does not appear to be a costume on his upper half. [1]
In the book Development of Sumerian Art by Wooley C Leonard[2], there are a handful of complete statues that definitively separate the male and female. The male continues to wear a costume on the lower half – in a circular shape (as such we would call it a “skirt”) and the women appear to have what appears to be a “strap” of same material as the rest of the costume – it goes around her one shoulder – it most likely connects the front and back parts of the costume.
In much the same way we study existing extant garments from before the 17th Century and thereafter, we can study the art, carvings, and symbols from a long-ago culture/society/people. Studying these items, provides much detail to their lives, and allows us to look in for ourselves. I have included several images below. These I clipped from the book that is referenced.
Leave a thought in the comments. What do you see in the images?
To this day, scientists are still investigating and debating on exactly when people began to wear clothes (costume).
Much evidence of the prehistoric time period is based on Archaeological and Anthropologic analysis of found items. Examples include a piece of art, material remains at a dig, figurines wearing costume or textile impressions left in clay. This leaves the classification of these items to clothing historians that are experts. “The rules underlying their dating procedures demand total mastery of historic costume”.
The classification is often complex and time consuming because the following characteristics must be discriminated:
Fabric
Embroidery
Details in stitching
Trimming
Cut & construction methods
Silhouette or shape
However, we know that the earliest garments were a variation of animal pelts from domesticated sheep and goats. These garments were created to protect the wearer from the elements. We also know through anthropologic research that clothing – development of fashion and attire – are features of most human societies and often dictate class (or caste) status – much like today.
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