1791's lady The Other Boleyn Girl Dress Gown Anne's Costume

For the price this dress is mind blowing from both a construction and an historical accuracy standpoint. I say this as someone who has been making Elizabethan era royal court clothing for 30 years- I haven’t made much Tudor, myself, but when you’re leaning about the construction techniques and shapes, you have to know Tudor to do Elizabethan. The seams are in the **right places**. I was SHOCKED. It gets 5 stars because for what it is, it’s amazing. It needs proper undergarments. Read on for a far too detailed review.It fits over my period corset and hoop like a DREAM. Do not size up- it’s tight across the back and arms because it’s actually shaped for someone wearing a corset and the posture that gives you. It’s difficult to get on over the head because that’s not how people got into these garments. If you’re going to get a corset to wear with this you don’t want a Victorian “make your waist really small” corset, it’s really just to smooth out the bumps and support the posture. Look for a more “historical” corset and you’re good. You don’t HAVE to have a hoop for this period, but I think the dress was designed to have one. I’m 120 lbs, 5’4 and with my hoop I don’t even need to hem the size small.Once it’s on though, the fabric is decent and heavy , even if it’s polyester, and it’s lined with more polyester. It’s warm to wear. I wasn’t expecting anything else at this price point but if they were to make it out of a natural fiber, I’d throw a lot of money at them. The forepart of the red dress I got was a print (they didn’t have prints), but the brocade on the green one is just a very Asian pattern- this is a minor quibble. The underskirt is fabric all the way around- it’s not the fancy fabric but this is exactly how it would have been done at the time anyway.The French hood (hat) and smock/chemise (shirt) are trash. (I’d take off half a star for this, if I could.) Wearing a low necked long sleeve cotton t shirt that’s not visible would be more comfortable. Hat wise it’s just totally the wrong shape. I do appreciate that it has the cloth for the hair covering, though. Wiring the edge of the frech hood so it’s not soft and wrinkly might help. Honestly, I’d just go with a different hood or even a padded headband with the hair covering attached.I got this because my daughter wants a Tudor dress on a very tight timeline and I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make one for me. (All my stuff is Elizabethan.) If I end up keeping this, I’ll make some short and long term changes- but I could probably deal with wearing it as is, with a different hat— this is *saying something*.If you care what the changes I’d make are:Shorter term I’d make a new forepart/underskirt using a different fabric so it can match larger under sleeves, if I have time. Long term I’ll remove the zipper, put boning and laces on the two back seams (and some overlapping waist band on the skirt) so I can step into it.I’ll also probably replace the gems along the neckline with larger ones (the historical ones are called ouches- larger buttons work nicely) because they need to match what’s on the hat and I’m obviously a detail nut. I appreciate that these at least DO match the ones on the terrible hat, but the existing hat trim wouldn’t be enough for a new one. (This decoration is called billament)- and a new hat is a must. I’ll also make a different smock/chemise. My Elizabethan ones work, but a Tudor style one would be better.If you want to know more about this the Tudor Tailor book (available on Amazon) and website are the go to for historical accuracy in this time period.All that said- for under $120 I was not expecting this quality of construction ESPECIALLY not the historical accuracy. It, being polyester, is never going to pass muster for some super historically accurate thing at an event, but I may wear it to one as a stop gap so my kid can be happy. The people who are really into historical accuracy are probably just going to be impressed that something off Amazon was this good.

I am the size that the XL is and I just got it today and my mom and I couldn’t zip it up will be returning and buying a new one. I’m buying this for a convention I spent $136 on it I expect it to fit

It ripped at the zipper first time I tried it on (an easy fix). It is difficult to get on but I got a size to fit my hips, not my bust. A bit of contortion and we're golden. A little cheap looking, but I'm not a professional so it works for the occasion.