I'm full of plans for a new gown, based on a series of illuminations in the Taymouth Hours, a manuscript from early 14th century England. The illuminations that caught my eye feature a series of noblewomen hunting with everything from dogs to nets to bows to hawks. In the main manuscript, these illuminations start around page 68. In these four close ups, you can see the gist of the style. There's a long, tight sleeved gown, with a shorter, split sided, tippeted (if it's not a word, it should be) overdress. Several of the ladies have fur lining in the overgown, and several wear veils. One has a hood folded and set aside on a hawk's perch. The expression on the rabbit's face in that last one cracks me up every time... Planning for this gown is underway - I've got some lovely linen in a gorgeous mid blue, and a fantastic brick red, though I'm still deciding between a blue over red color scheme, or red over blue. The current tangle is figuring out construction and fit of both dresses. The overdress seems fairly loose and flowing all over, but it looks to me like the bodice of the undergown would be fairly close fitting, with very tight fitting sleeves. Blocking out a general pattern is next, and then the fun of a more exact draft. My goal is to have this dress completed by Crown List in May, which is incredibly ambitious between my field work for my degree, and wedding planning (June 18th can't get here soon enough!). We'll see how much I can get done, though!