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Study of the portrait gown • Study of the movie costume
Differences between portrait gown and movie costume
How I want to make my gown
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When I had the gown on my planning site, I wrote:
I am not quite sure if I should make the cloak; but I already know how I can fake Ermine fur.
By now I have decided not to make the giant coronation cloak – just the gown, but with a possibility to change. Let me explain by first analyzing the coronation gown in the coronation portrait, and then the gown that was used for the coronation in the movie „Elizabeth“:
A gown with a wide, barely visible, pleated skirt; it’s not visible whether there is a forepart or if the overskirt is closed.
The bodice worn with the gown seems to be too high necked for a bodice, I would almost guess that this is a doublet. Let’s zoom in the neckline…:
The arrow pointing to the bottom shows the ‚usual‘ bodice, but… the other arrow points to something beneath the cloak and the jewelry which looks just the same (=color- and fabric wise like the fabric of the bodice).
This makes me think that this bodice is not low necked, but a doublet.
Then there’s the girdle:
which, in my opinion, is made of rubies and diamonds.
The sleeves are decorated with ermine cuffs:
And now we will get to the movie costume:
The movie costume has a low necked bodice:
The fabric has some kind of overlay of golden netting on it:
And the sleeve ends are not decorated with cuffs, but plain (Is Cate Blanchett wearing a glove in this image? Her hand looks a bit weird.)
Just to summarize the differences and to point out another one…:
The most obvious difference is the fabric.
| Portrait gown fabric with Tudor Rose (right and left) and fleur-de-lys (center bottom, right) on fabric | Movie costume fabric with ‚flowers‘ and without fleur-de-lys |
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| Portrait gown Tudor Rose | Movie costume ‚flower‘ on fabric (that’s *so* not a Tudor Rose!) |
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| Portrait gown bodice | Movie costume bodice |
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The next obvious difference is the bodice.
| Portrait gown bodice: High necked doublet |
Movie costume bodice (with cloak): Low necked bodice |
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| Portrait gown bodice close-up (as explained above, with arrows) |
Movie costume bodice close-up (with arrows) |
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 (Note that the necklace below the ruff is also missing) |
Then there are the sleeve decorations…:
| Portrait gown sleeve cuffs | Movie costume sleeves (no cuffs) |
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And then there’s the pleating of the skirt.
| Portrait gown pleating: Cartridge pleated – historical |
Movie costume pleating: Flat pleated towards the front – not historical |
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(the girdle is worn with this costume only together with the cloak) |
And here’s how I want my gown to be:
Planning a mix between the portrait gown and the movie costume
| 1. The fabric |  |
This is my fabric which I will use. As I have said – I already have it at hand, so… |
| 2. The overlay | |
The movie costume has some kind of golden netting overlay – something I will do on the ‚movie costume‘ bodice, the ‚portrait‘ doublet and the front sides of the split skirt, as well as in parts on my forepart. (Edit: This plan had to be changed during the making; read the ‚bodice‘ page for the reason.) |
| 3. The bodice | |
As I could not decide if I should make a ’normal‘ bodice or the obvious doublet from the portrait, I decided to make both – so that I don’t have to decide ;-)Both will have the previously mentioned golden netting overlay, plus some decoration of Swarovski Rhinestones and pearls. |
| 4. The doublet | |
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| 5. The bodice sleeves… | |
…will remain undecorated; meaning: Without the sleeve cuffs. |
| 6. The doublet sleeves… | |
…will have ermine cuffs. |
| 7. The skirt… | |
…will be pleated like in the portrait gown – cartridge pleated. Plus, my skirt will be front split – to reveal a forepart. I will decorate the sides of the skirt with the golden netting overlay, which I will also use on bodice and doublet. I’m also thinking of making some kind of „detachable ermine fur decoration strip“ for the skirt hem to be able to match the skirt to the ermine cuffs of the doublet. |
| 8. The forepart | ? | The forepart will be made… well, it, *will* be made. Let yourself be surprised 😉 |
| 9. The Girdle | |
I will also make the girdle. The two – movie- and portrait version – are so much alike that I’ll just say: I’ll make the girdle ;-)Plus, I will make a decoration for the bodice neckline which will match the girdle. And a necklace to be worn with the doublet, of course… |
| 10. A partlet | ?  |
Something that – due to the cloak – is not visible in the original portrait, and something that has not been made for the movie costume – but something I will most definitely have to make. I’m thinking about doing something much likely to the jeweled partlets Eleonora Di Toledo was famous wearing for. Or something in a fine golden brocade, like the one that was painted in „Elizabeth with Verses„, which would also incorporate the high necked ruff that’s worn in the portrait… Or perhaps a combination of both… sigh… |