What about using placketed back lacing to help form the figure?
Nope, side lacing. I’ve not been able to find any evidence for backlacing, but there is a fair bit for side lacing, and is not so much to control the figure but to make the fabric tight enough to show off the figure. Also no plackets as far as we can tell.
~ Rowena / Belinda Sibly
Message #842, February 24, 2003
Is there something of a controversy between side laced and back laced?
Yes, the controversy over the side vs back is primary sources versus poor secondary sources misleading folks into thinking back lacing was done on bliauts. Besides, a side laced garment one can get out of herself much more easily, and into more easily as well – especially if you use whip lacing (proper term here?), which is more accurate. This is as opposed to the more modern cross lacing we do today – like on our shoes.
~ Katerina la Bisbetica / Denise Pulgino Stout
Message #846, February 25, 2003
A lot of the costuming books follow Norris and his crowd and say that 12th century dresses are back laced. But 12th century liturature only mentions, and 12th century art only shows side lacing. I’ve been looking for any evidence of back lacing and so far not found any.
~ Rowena / Belinda Sibly
Message #848, February 25, 2003
Can you give me support for the side lacing — especially any literature ones?
Our main source for literary evidence is a thesis on Women’s Costume in French Texts of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, (1927) by Eunice Goddard.
For some pictorial evidence try (from: “Rowena’s Source Pictures”)
Nebuchadnezzar.jpg and PleatedChemise.jpg
~ Rowena / Belinda Sibly
Message #853, February 25, 2003
I must say that having spent my entire (well almost) SCA career doing 12 c garb, I have never found true evidence that gowns were Only side laced- since in most of my primary pics no lacing at all is shown. Very rarely do you see any. We must remember that it was not the style in art to add such details. So, I hold true that back lacing is acceptable. I have made many gowns laced both ways, and the back lacing is easier to get into and tighten up (ask my husband) and looks much the same from the front.
Granted, if you weren’t needing to make a seam down the back of the fabric it makes good 12c sense to put the lacing where there is a seam already. But I have found it pretty easy to split the back and add the back gore into a seam line and lace up the back. Also keep in mind that there isn’t just One pattern for anything-look at the ubiquitous bluejean.
~ Aénor d’Anjou / Kirsten Wienand Vaughan
Message #860, Febraury 26, 2003