The man in black

There is something about a man dressed all in black... I tell my hubby my favorite outfit of his is blue jeans and a black t-shirt.  Hey, he's not much of a formal wear kind of guy, but he does have definite fashion opinions. Any excuse that gets me designing for him I'll pounce on, and to have an excuse to use black is even better, even if he is the most difficult "client" I've ever worked with. ;)

In a previous post I started in on an outfit for him that would match a set of brown/yellow/green/orange German inspired Renaissance dresses Kate is working on.  Well, I went ahead and made the green and black silk dresses, and Kate assumed we were wearing just those this spring.  I assumed I had all summer to work on the black and green coordinating costume for my husband and started on the brown and green version.

Then I committed myself to a purple commissioned dress for "L", got sick for a week, and spent another weekend away to a family funeral...Let's just say these past two weeks have been a whirlwind of last minute costume creation. Cue last-minute panic, not unlike tech/dress rehearsal week during a stage production.  I don't have many process pictures for this one, but this has been turning out pretty good.

The shirt will go under either outfit I'm making. Since it will be hidden from now on take a good look!

A reference photo I took for trim placement. It took me an hour to puzzle this into the best placement. About half had to be hand-sewn down.

The front completed, but not sewn together.

The back...

I chose cotton duck cloth as the base fabric, knowing my husband wears through clothing faster than anyone else.  He actually loved the contrasting gold fabric, which were scraps from my sister!  And given the chance again I would NOT use duck cloth in a household with pets.  That stuff attracts fur better than almost any other fabric I've seen.

An excited snapchat to his family when I completed it. He actually likes this quite a lot! I'm so relieved!

Doublet and shirt fit! Yay! I also found a belt on Amazon, and he was so happy to put on the leather pouch we bought in KC last fall.

With matching pants and shoes. Shoes from Amazon. Pants I made in two days from a pattern I know well. The sleeves were a source of contention, but both his mom and brother said to keep them. I win! Ha ha!

The last thing to complete my Renaissance Man is a hat.  He thinks it's unnecessary.  I know otherwise.  If it's before 1800, head covering is mandatory unless you're a young maiden looking for a husband. 

I'm hopeful though - I found a $3 hat at the dollar store to base it on, and I know my mom has some pheasant feathers I can beg off her.

And I promise I'll get at least one good complete outfit picture!