In 2001 I moved to Ealdormere (Ontario Canada) and made a major persona change. That meant that I needed a whole new wardrobe. This outfit was my first attempt at 16th century English womens costume.
These photos were taken down by the Ottawa river by my friend Dan McGarry. Click on each thumbnail for a larger view.
The kirtle is made of a red cotton upholstery fabric; unfortunately I wasn't able to find a more authentic material at short notice. The bodice is pattern is taken from Drea Leed's corset pattern generator, and lined in a double thickness of white denim type fabric, with a little bit of plastic boning. The bodice laces on both sides at the back. The skirt is basically rectangular and box-pleated to the waist. The sleeves are pointed onto the bodice.
My smock and all other white parts of the outfit are hand-sewn from linen. The shawl-like cloth over my shoulders is based on some seen in Holbein portraits and sketches from around 1540. The coif is a very basic design, not based on anything particular but common throughout the 16th century.
I was fairly happy with the results of this outfit at the time, though now (2003) I have more or less retired it as I no longer like to wear cotton and find that it doesn't fit as well as it might.