Category Archives: series

Welcome to May…..

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.
2 podcasts – catch them here
A handful of “short posts” on our regular social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
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 20^th 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.

Fashion Era Series: Assyria (#4)

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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.
All women wore some type of hair decoration.

https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=assyrian%20archaeology – this shows many tablets that have been uncovered that clearly depict the garments/costumes of this time and this culture.

^[1] https://ancientcivilizationsworld.com/clothing/#Ancient_Persian_Clothing

Welcome to March 2021… it’s been a year…

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Welcome to March

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.

3 Periods of Costume Posts
3 more Friday newsletters and posts
A quick post about Paris Fashion Week
2 live Q & A  March 10 & 24 YouTube @ 2:00PM (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAJ5-WFNIL1vGqJKQELMN_Q) – be sure to subscribe to the channel so you know first when new videos have been uploaded and videos scheduled.
2 videos (at least) (See live Q & A)

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 17^th), 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!

Fashion Era Series: Sumerian (#3)

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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 17^th 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?