King's Robe and Tudor French Hood Commission

Wax museum figure of Anne Boleyn

I am a crazy fan of Tudor fashion (ca. 1485 - 1603), up to and including Elizabethan.  I am mainly fascinated, though, by the clothing of the wives of Henry VIII.  For my costume history final project in college, I did a thesis on the distinct styles of each woman and how their fashion choices reflected each lady's personality and spirit. Among the staples of the mid-to-late Tudor lady's wardrobe was the French hood, a style of head wear that was popularized at court by the infamous and ill-fated Anne Boleyn.  The style remained in vogue even long after the tragic queen fell from the favor of the king and his court.  It was worn by her successors Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr, Princess Mary, and even a young Princess Elizabeth (her daughter).

I have been asked by a nice lady named Rose to create a King's robe for her husband and a Tudor lady's French hood for herself.  They are college masters at Rice University and have an annual celebration that they reside over as King and Queen.

photo courtesy of Houston Arts Week

I am incredibly excited to create another French hood.  I have made two for Performing Arts Supply in the past and they rent the heck out of them for Texas Ren Fest and Opera in the Heights.  Dena at PASCO recently costumed a performance of Bolena for OIH and the shop ended up making several new Tudor gowns, English gable hoods and French hoods, much to my delight!  (That's them in the pic!) Squeee!

I used the guidance of the fabulous book, The Tudor Tailor in drafting the pattern for and constructing the French hood.  My intention for this next round is to actually make two, one for Rose and another to sell.  I was able to score an amazing deal on beads at Joann, including glass pearls and faceted glass to embellish the hood with.  In addition to the part that sits atop the head, there is a veil and a "bag" for the hair.  I usually use a snood for this part (a hair net-type of thing) and stitch it onto the back.  Unfortunately, that was a luxury that Performing Arts Supply allowed me, and I don't have access to those at this point.

For the King's robe, I am using the now out-of-print McCall's 5907.  It's a fairly simple looking garment, so it shouldn't take much time.  Rose gave me a rabbit-fur coat that she bought at a thrift shop to use as the trim.  It is off-white with brown dots, so it looks kind of like ermine.  I'll probably deconstruct it and hand-sew it to the front and cuffs.  I found a great looking deep red home decor fabric at Jo Ann for $9/yard to use for the coat body, so, score!, I was able to get just about all of the materials for under $100!  Yay!  That means that I get to keep the rest.

I will also make him a simple pair of knee breeches with elastic at the waist and legs.


I will be posting details on the construction of the French hood after that gets underway, so stay tuned!

Abby