Gallery of Projects
View: Ruffs | Cavalier Collars | Large Commissions
Ruffs
The Renaissance Tailor Store is closed for business.
Twenty-three years ago, I opened this store with the idea of providing quality bespoke items to customers large and small. It's been a lovely two decades and I've enjoyed interacting with customers, getting to know retun customers, and creating many different items. My life has moved in a different direction which leads me away from this work into other avenues of creative production. Thank you for your support and business throughout the years.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us
via our contact page.
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White Organza and Gold Metallic Lace de Medici RuffThis de Medici ruff was created using lace sent to us by the customer. The ruff can be worn either open or closed, as shown in the photograph. The body of the ruff is made using organza stiffened with wide horsehair and then pleated to the neckband as a base. The width of the ruff is just a little over 6". We engineer these large ruffs to stand completely on their own; no other support is required. In period, however, these large ruffs would have needed a support, of wire or cloth covered cardboard. These supports were known as 'supportasse' or 'rebato'. |
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Black Organza and Wide Gold Metallic Lace de Medici RuffThis de Medici ruff was created using extremely wide lace that we found at a local supplier. The ruff can be worn either open or closed. Update: We now carry this lace in white, black and gold metalic! You can find it on the de Medici ruff page. The body of the ruff is made using black organza stiffened with wide horsehair and then pleated to the neckband as a base. Each pleat has to be fairly precise in order to show off the points of the lace. The width of the ruff is just under 7". We engineer these large ruffs to stand completely on their own; no other support is required. |
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Black Organza and Black Lace de Medici RuffThis black de Medici ruff was created specifically for a customer. The ruff can be worn either open or closed. The body of the ruff is made using black organza stiffened with wide horsehair and then pleated to the neckband as a base. The width of the ruff is just under 7". We engineer these large ruffs to stand completely on their own; no other support is required. |
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White Organza and Wide White Lace de Medici RuffThis de Medici ruff was created using extremely wide lace that we are no longer able to obtain. The ruff was created specifically to be worn open. The body of the ruff is made using organza stiffened with wide horsehair and then pleated to the neckband as a base. Each pleat has to be fairly precise in order to show off the points of the lace. The width of the ruff is approximately 7". We engineer these large ruffs to stand completely on their own; no other support is required. |
Collars
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White Linen and Lace Cavalier CollarThis understated Cavalier collar was created to use this particular lace. The collar was created by darting or 'clocking' a long strip of linen and then attaching the lace. The embellished collar was then attached to the neckband base. The width of the collar is just over 5". |
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Commissions
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Kansas City Renaissance FestivalIt's not often that we get to do 'tinted' or colored ruffs and even we get a little tired of white and black ruffs after a long season. So we were thrilled to recieve this order from the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. All in all, there were nine different ruffs; an 8" wide deep red ruff, a 6" wide deep red ruff, a 4" wide deep purple linen ruff, a 6" wide gold organza and lace ruff, a 2" wide gold linen and lace ruff, a 2" white ruff with black lace, a 2" wide lemon yellow organza and lace ruff, a 2" wide green linen and lace ruff, and a very pretty 2" wide ice blue organza and lace ruff. We hand died all the laces and provided a swatch card to the costumers at teh KCR so that they could match various parts of their costumes to the colors. |
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The Lost ColonyWe began working on this large commission in March of 2008 and delivered our last group of ruffs in May of 2008. We worked with the Lost Colony and William Ivey Long Studios to create sixty different items; ruffs, ruff & cuff sets, and wide ruffs. The majority of the ruffs and cuffs were created using linen but some were also created using polyester cotton and horsehair. In general, for theater applications, the washability of poly-cotton is a better choice than the linen we usually use for re-enactors. The photo to the left shows the batch of 18 4" wide 'soldier' ruffs laid out on our work table. |
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Pink is The New BlackWe were approached in December of 2005 to create one dozen pink ruff and cuff sets for a fund raiser being held by an off-Broadway group. The players wearing these ruffs were also dressed in black leotards and wore various types of hats to differentiate their characters. These ruffs and cuffs were made using polyester-cotton and stiffened with nylon monofilament. The width of the ruffs was right at 2" and the width of the cuffs was 1". |
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Off-Broadway Production of 'Othello'In 2006, We were asked to provide the collars and cuffs and some boothose for an off-Broadway production of 'Othello' in New York. All in all, we created six different sets of collars and cuffs and a couple of sets of boothose using linen and lace. The width of the collars and cuffs is roughly 5". The width of the boothose is slightly less than 5" wide. |
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Lady's Partlet with Attached Ruff and Matching CuffsOften, we are approached by previous customers who want us to create accessories such as the partlet with attached ruff and its matching cuffs to the right. For this project, we created the partlet to the customer's measurements and then attached the ruff to its neckband. The ruff, cuffs, and partlet were all created from off-white organza. The lace was a very narrow cotton matte off-white. Width of the ruff is at 2". Width of the cuffs is at 1". |
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