Venetian bodices, within the entirety of the 16th century, are at the very least moderately supportive, to highly supportive and figure-shaping. The proper fit, small enough to compress and mold the body where it should and large enough for comfort, is critical. In the 1490s, the shaping is limited to the bosom and upper torso. The fit is tidy, lifted, and contained. The bosom itself is shifted up and out towards the armpits in an effort to lift and flatten the chest. There is pressure and support from below and tension towards the sides.
A standard pattern draping method using a pinned layer of fabric such as muslin is not going to give you the proper compression and smoothness of fit without many, many iterations, and the danger of perforated people. Materials and time are expensive, so I use the “duct tape and t-shirt ” method. The t-shirt protects the body and provides a smooth and snug layer for the tape to adhere to, and the tape allows you to sculpt the body into the silhouette you are seeking.
There are no bad bodies, just improper silhouettes.
The duct tape double is just the beginning of a process that will ultimately give you a working mockup that will either function as a real-time crash test dummy, or serve as the inner layers of the finished bodice.
-Supply list
- A long sleeve, crew neck t-shirt one size smaller than you “should” wear
- Sports bra**
- Several rolls of duct tape
- At least two different colors of sharpies
- Thick paper to draft patterns on.
- Heavy-duty shears, preferably EMT shears.
- Inspiration images up on a screen or printed out on paper
- A willing friend
- Cheese
** A “monoboob” chest flattening sports bra is likely fine to wear during taping. An underwire “cleavage-enhancing” bra is exactly the wrong thing and if that is all you have, braless is best.
- Eat cheese.
- Place the victim in a t-shirt with appropriate underthings. ( Pants or leggings are best for the lower body rather than a skirt as skirts will just ride up).
- Tape the t-shirt to lower garments to keep it from riding up and bunching.
- Have the victim bend to the side to show the natural waist. Begin taping the torso there, and move up. ( There is always a little air space between the bottom of the bosom and the ribs. Trying to start there is a pain. Starting below gives the tape something to hang onto and build upon. You may find that the right look for them comes down lower than you might think. And even though you’ve taped there doesn’t mean you’re going to use that bit.)
General note on taping- it’s best to tear your pieces off and then apply them to the body. You have much more control over how the tape shapes the body that way. In general, tack one end of the tape to the side of the body, then pull up and in towards the center of the body. You want to lift the body upwards and smooth it, not crush it directly against the ribs.
- Once the waist is defined, turn your victim and work up the back. Remember to work from side to center, pulling up and in. Remember smooth and lift, don’t crush.
- Define the back side of the armhole. To begin with, place the tape along the back of the arm as close to the arm as you can. You will likely be cutting some of that away, but to begin with, get as close to the arm as you can. The strap also begins here. Place it as far out on the shoulder as you can.
General note- do both sides, you’ll be picking the side with the best shape for your mockup.
- Establish the back neckline. It should sit very flat, below the bump at the back of the neck, but quite high. This helps support the bosom in front.
- Eat more cheese!
- Turn your victim around to face you and begin working up under the bosom. If your victim has C cup or larger, have them “go fish”. Cross their arms, reach into the t-shirt, and lift the bosom directly, upwards, and towards the armpit.
- Here it is important to note that you are trying to create a flat angle from the ribcage to the neckline. This is not to form a rounded bosom shape. Imagine laying a flat sheet of cardboard along the chest and pushing it upwards.
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It is very likely that your finished duct tape double will still have a curve here. That’s normal, we are just trying to minimize the curve as best we can here to avoid more work on the other end of the process.
- To form the front of the strap, start from the outer edge of the shoulder, curving inwards towards the center front. To determine the top edge of the neckline, imagine the neckline as a retaining wall around a “disappearing edge” pool. You want the “wall” as high as you can get it, but no higher than the water; you want the neckline to support and contain the bosom, but not rise above it.
- In people with a C-cup or larger, the neckline will likely be a gentle arc across the chest. The smaller the chest, or the more “mobile” the bosom and able to be tucked up and away, the higher the neck.
General note – Here’s a point folks may not like–cleavage– as we know it isn’t period appropriate for Venice in this entire century. The bosom is always either at a natural, slightly lifted position with the body linen completely covering it, or tucked up and out with the skin of the sternum area exposed. The inner sides of the bosom should be as far away from each other as you can get them. Fringe benefit—this bosom management technique aids greatly in giving the figure a wider bosom, narrower-waist look.
At this point, the bodice taping is done!
Now the fun part. Start drawing on your friend.
- To begin with, find and mark the center front and back, top to bottom.
- Find a point below the bosom and above their natural waist to call the bottom of the bodice and mark that line across the front. Follow it around to the back, recognizing that the body’s natural curves may dip below the line you want. Don’t follow the body, hold the line as established in front.
- Now, while you’re behind them, ask them to pull back their arm like they’re going to punch someone. If the tape on their shoulder bunches or folds, that means the bodice as taped would limit their arm movement. Find the outside limit of where the tape impedes any movement on the entire back half of the arm and shoulder and draw an arc up from under the arm around to the top of the arm.
- Now shift to the front and have them throw the punch. Draw an arc from top of the shoulder down to the armpit past any tape that buckles or impedes movement forward. Keep it as close to the arm as you can, only removing what you need to allow for the full range of motion. It’s an important contribution to the overall support of the bust.
- 1490s bodices are side laced. Under the arm, find the spot that’s as centered as you can get it, and draw a vertical line*.
- Once your seam lines are set, release your victim from their duct tape prison. Cut up the back, keeping your hand between the shears and their skin and any bra they might be wearing.
- Eat more cheese!
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At this point, you have a decidedly feral duct tape double of your victim, ready to be civilized into a proto- pattern.
Many thanks to our victim model –Nykera Drago D’Argento for allowing us to use her patterning for this blog post!
Photo credit to Kittera– daughter of Vittoria.