Bess of Hardwick prototype set

Bess of Hardwick Underskirt Panel & Bodice Front — Prototype Set 

Please note the sleeves have now sold so the price has been reduced

I can make matching sleeves or sleeve lowers

$399 for sleeve lowers 

$499 for sleeves

This is the Bess of Hardwick prototype — the working originals I developed the design

This set uses my best and rarest metal plated cording!

A little history: Bess of Hardwick was one of the wealthiest and most formidable women of the Elizabethan court, famous for her exquisite dress and her needlework. She also spent years as custodian of Mary, Queen of Scots during Mary's long English captivity — and the two women famously sewed together, producing embroideries that survive to this day. So this set carries a real thread back to two of the most fascinating women of the period.

Here's what makes it special: the trim is a tourmaline-iridescent beaded edge worked in a combination of rare double-twist and smooth cording, with glass beads and genuine Swarovski crystals throughout. The whole set is worked on stain-resistant matte-back satin, so it's as practical to wear as it is to look at  so no babying it at faire.

Because these are prototypes, this is a one-and-done

The bodice normally $200

The underskirt panel normally $900