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| The girl's outfit consists of a linen high necked, calf length chemise (or shift), a lilac linen underskirt, a red woollen split fronted over skirt, a red woollen bodice lined in linen and stiffened with very heavy linen, a linen 'coif' (cap), a short plain linen ruff (shown in picture at the top), and finally a white linen apron. The linen shift is based on an extant woman's chemise in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, as is the coif (although the extant coif is heavily embroidered). The bodice is stiffened with linen, rather than boned, as it was necessary that the outfit should fit a number of girls, and because it is unwise to put young girls into any type of heavy corsetry, due to the damage that can result from pressure applied to bones that have not yet hardened. This outfit was meant to show the daughter of a servant in the household, who was wearing hand-me-downs, and perhaps second hand clothing, which was very common at the time. The inspiration for the dress was a painting of a sixteenth century family. |
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| Part of a pair of children's outfits, made for the National Trust. Click here to see the boy's outfit that went with it. Both are made to fit children of around 12 years old, and both outfits are completely hand sewn. |
| Cloth hosen (not shown), and inkle woven sash garters were also supplied with each outfit. |
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