Jaarboek Kostuum 2019

Table of Contents

1. Rianet Knevel en Jacobus Trijsburg
   The houppelande of Maria van Gelre
   A reconstruction by Het Woud der Verwachting

   As a result of the restoring of the book of prayers of Maria van Gelre from 1415 and its subsequent exhibition, Het Woud der Verwachting [literally: The Forest of Expectation, a Dutch re-enactment group] examined the houppelande in which she is pictured in this book. The examination focused on the basic shape, construction, materials and techniques in use around 1400, which were possibly applied to the manufacturing of this specific showpiece.

   The said houppelande was chosen because Het Woud der Verwachting focuses on representing as accurately as possible, the history of the Duchy of Gelre [nowadays the province of Gelderland] around 1400, and of the persons who played an important role in it. Maria van Gelre was a figure of central importance in that period.

   No sufficient relevant archaeological material is available, nor are there any contemporary descriptions providing enough information to be used as a basis for a reliable reconstruction of this gown. This is why archaeological finds of more or less related garments from that same period were studied; also, beside the study of literature, a lot of research was done into available visual material such as miniatures and paintings, as well as research of a practical, experimental character: a form of experimental archaeology.

   In the first place the results of the research led to the conclusion that the houppelande pictured should be situated ten years before the moment the image was put into Maria’s book of prayers, probably just before her marriage to Reinald IV of Gelre in 1405. In the second place there is reason to assume that the houppelande was made in the environment of the French Royal Court, not in that of the Ducal Court of Gelre in the Low Countries. Finally both research and reconstruction have provided insight into how much money and effort it must have cost to produce such a gown in 1400, seeing the types of fabric, the number of metres, the number of furs, the amount of gold thread and pearls, as well as the number of working hours needed for the making of this garment. Even at that time it must have been of an inconceivable splendour and richness, and worthy of a (future) duchess.

   The research doesn’t give a final answer to questions regarding the exact (pattern-technical) construction. It is impossible to say how the houppelande in the miniature must have been constructed. It demonstrates that it is unlikely that there would have been a single type of pattern for such an houppelande. The available archaeological information doesn’t give a definitive answer, and the practical examination resulted in more than one usable option. Various constructive approaches are conceivable, all leading to a similar picture. The manner of the garment’s making, bringing it into shape mainly on the body of its wearer, leaves open the possibility that there have been great differences in construction, dependent on the width of the fabric, the body measurements of the person who was to wear the garment and the creativity of the dress makers.

2. Inge Specht
   Heels and lasts
   Symmetry and shoe fashions

   The find of various shoes in a seventeenth-century shipwreck off the coast of the Dutch isle of Texel gave rise to questions on the part of the author, as to why the simple, totally threadbare footwear of the crew consisted of right and left shoes, whereas expensive, fashionable shoes from that same period had been made on a symmetrical last.

   It is striking that the disappearance of the symmetrical last coincides with the introduction of the high heel, common in the Near East, among European fashion footwear. To date it has been presumed that it would have been both too difficult and too expensive for European shoemakers to manufacture asymmetrical shoes in different heights of heel, which would necessitate the making of two new, mirroring lasts for each pair of shoes.

   Looking back at former Arabic influences on shoe fashion, for example in Spain and Italy, we see a somewhat more differentiated picture. The combination of a heel and a symmetrical sole came to be so ‘common’, that asymmetrical shoes disappeared almost entirely until the end of the nineteenth century, when right and left shoes were being made again under the influence of the Lebensreform  movement.

3. Anne-Karlijn van Kesteren
   Good design for everyone
   Modern jewellery collected by the Dutch Government

   In the sixties of the last century the State of the Netherlands showed an increasing interest in the development of modern Dutch jewellery, parallel to the interest shown by museums and galleries. Over 800 jewellery designs in total were collected in the decades after the Second World War until 1992, and have since been part of the Government’s art collection.

   Although acquiring jewellery for this collection never aimed at being complete or comprehensive, the collection is representative of a number of important developments in Dutch jewellery design from the beginning of the 1960s until 1992. The Government organized several exhibitions which had jewellery for a subject, in the context of the so-called ‘white spaces plan’ [white spaces: regions in which the population was less in touch with culture than it was in other parts of the Netherlands]. These exhibitions would then travel through the whole country. In this way the Government Collection also offered a wide platform for jewellery, thus creating a greater awareness of it as a respected form of art.

4. Geeske Kruseman
   A hoyk with a duckbill, a hoyk with a hat
   Iconography of a Dutch housewives' garment in the 16th century

   The name 'hoyk' was used in the 16th century for a particular type of cloak, or mantle, worn by Dutch housewives (and Dutch refugees abroad, but apparently no one else).

   This hoyk is a rectangle of black woollen (broad)cloth, shaped only by a number of rows of tight gathers along one short side (illustrations #2-4); this gathered section rests on the head, letting the (rather heavy) fabric fall in graceful folds from the crown of the head down to the hips, the calves, or even the ground. One basic construction, with numerous rows of gathers, is seen in #3, 5, 7. The other reduces the gathered part to two or three rows, which are then either extended with a felt 'bill' (#4c, 4e, 9a-b, 10a) or knotted into a circle (#1, 4a-b, 8, 11), on top of which a hat is sometimes worn (#4b, 10, 14).

   Before 1500, the word hoyk ('huik' in modern Dutch) had the much broader meaning of 'cloak covering both head and body'. The word is attested as early as 1317. The Arabic 'haik' must be considered an accidental homophone, as the indigenous roots of the hoyk, both linguistic and typological, go back to before AD1000.

   The hoyk does not close in front and is always worn open; visually, the hoyk makes a dark 'picture frame' around the wearer's face and her (usually colourful) garments (see the contrast with the back in #11). Foreigners comment on the self-assurance and independence of the Dutchwomen, and note how the eye-catching hoyk highlights this. The hoyk completely encloses the back and sides of the wearer, so that from the back she looks like a black tent; it is definitely a useful garment to keep warm in an unheated church (#7, 9) or a windy marketplace (# 6, 8, 10, 11).

   In the 16th century, the hoyk is worn by housewives of all sorts (in #10, both by the women who give and who are given alms). Its use is normal in church and on the street, but never compulsory except at solemn funerals; in the marketplace, the buyers wear it often, but the sellers never (though they may own one to go to church in).

   At the turn of the 17th century, the 'duckbill' types are replaced by a construction with a curved bill (#16b, 18) which holds the fabric up at the side – on the back, it looks like a cat's ears (#17C). The types with a 'knot' are now made with an integral hat, convenient, (15d,f), elegant (17a) or extravagant (#17b). As the coincidence of particularly cold winters and rising prosperity sparks a fashion for skating parties, the popularity and visibility of the hoyk take a leap, its usage and shapes change, and so do its meanings.

   This article draws on a long-term research project involving not only iconography, but also archive sources and experimental research.

5. Trudie Rosa de Carvalho
   The mystery of a royal dress
   

   In the first part of the article the author gives some information about Maison Linette, founded in 1930 by Caroline Bergé-Farwick (1902-1980) in Den Bosch. This Maison de Couture was responsible for the Dutch royal wardrobe between 1953 and 1976. It was an exclusive atelier without a boutique or window display. It operated quietly, without any publicity. This was to change in 1966, after the general public learned that Maison Linette would provide the bridal wardrobe for Princess Beatrix. Mrs. Bergé’s motto was that ‘fashion is what looks best on you’ and ‘that one should dress by looking at oneself rather than at others’. She had a clear understanding of the style of Princess Beatrix.

   The second part of the article focuses upon a particular dress from the bridal wardrobe. In the documentation of the costume department at Het Loo Palace, two fabric samples were found for a dress worn by Princess Beatrix on the 9th of March 1966, the eve of her wedding. The author discovered a dress of an almost identical fabric, be it totally reworked, in the Couturage Collection in Haarlem, owned by Mrs. Joke Van Dijk. Could this also be a dress by Maison Linette? Queen Juliana and her daughters were clients of Maison Linette, which created most of the royal wardrobe. One would expect some discretion on the part of the couturier, in the sense that nobody else would be allowed to use fabrics selected for the royal clients. Moreover, in Haute Couture a creation will never be sold more than once.

   The author paid a visit to the Couturage Collection, together with textile restorer Hans Schuite. Some time was spent with Mrs. Van Dijk studying the in- and outside of the dress and comparing the fabric of the dress with the samples. Soon it became clear that the dress had been totally reworked. Some of this might have been done while the dress still belonged to the Princess, but part of it had probably been done at a later stage and some of this gave an amateurish and improvised impression. On comparing the dress in the Couturage Collection with the dress in a photograph taken by an employee of Maison Linette, one can see that the most striking changes are the high neckline, the bigger bow at the back and the absence of the train.

   The author decided to share her unsolved questions regarding this dress on the www.modemuze.nl blog, hoping that somebody would come up with an answer to the riddle whether or not this was a dress which had belonged to Princess Beatrix. The answer came straight away. From her excellent archive on royal dress Josine Droogendijk, known for the popular blog www.modekoninginmaxima.nl, produced two photographs of Princess Beatrix. The Princess was seen wearing the remodelled dress on two occasions, during state visits in 1970.

   The author feels satisfied about the mystery being solved and this story having a happy ending. The dress is now part of the collection of royal dress at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn.

6. Fleur Dingen
   Pas de Deux à la Mode
   The Dutch National Ballet dances with Dutch fashion designers

   The Dutch National Ballet, founded in 1961, belongs to the absolute top in the world of classical dance. The company is renowned for its innovation of classical ballet, while staying true to the historical values of that particular style of dance. However, in its philosophy innovation should never become a goal in itself.

   In recent years, collaborations between the Dutch National Ballet and Dutch fashion designers have become increasingly frequent. The worlds of dance and fashion have come together ever since famous artists made stunning costume and prop designs for the early twentieth-century Russian dance troupe Les Ballets Russes, led by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Nevertheless the Dutch dance world has been hesitant to engage fashion designers. The Dutch National Ballet has only recently invited Dutch designers such as Viktor & Rolf, Jan Taminiau and David Laport to design for the dance company. The aim is to attract a new and younger audience, while attesting to the National Ballet’s philosophy of successfully bringing together the old and the new.

7. Tirza Westland
   Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn: confection clothing and couture in the 19th century
   

   Four dresses with the label ‘Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn Amsterdam’ can be found in the collection
   of the Kunstmuseum (Museum of Arts) in The Hague. These dresses appear to originate from
   the Amsterdam fashion house of Catharina van Scherpenzeel-Kahn (1832-1915). In 1851 she took over the house from her mother, who had already been selling fashion accessories in the Netherlands for some years.

   By the time Catharina took over from her mother, the house had grown into a ‘Magasin de lingeries etc.’. Twice per year Catharina travelled to Paris in order to buy products for her house. The assortment continued to expand and in the 1860s her business became designated as ‘Magasin de Lingeries, Confections etc. etc.’.

   Sources from the 1870s and 1880s are lacking. In 1891 the joint-stock company ‘Maatschappij ter uitoefening van de confectiezaak, vroeger gedreven door Van Scherpenzeel Kahn’ (‘Company for the exploitation of the confection clothing business formerly owned by Van Scherpenzeel Kahn’), was established. Its aim was listed as ‘the fabrication and supplying of “damesconfecties”’ (confection clothing for ladies).

   Although in primary textual sources Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn’s house was described as a magasin, nowadays often translated as ‘fashion house’ or, later, as ‘confection clothing business’, it is remarkable that these dresses offer a completely different view. There is obviously no question of confection clothing in the present sense of the word.

   On examining the dresses by Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn, the beautiful handicraft immediately becomes evident. These were clearly dresses only the highest class could afford to order and wear. Catharina’s business obviously started with confection merchandise which was ready to wear, such as accessories and lace; however, it probably grew into a house where one could go for couture. Starting a couture house was a risky thing to do, primarily in financial terms; but Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn had already made such a fortune that this surely did not present problems.

   Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn must have been a fashion house of a certain esteem. For the duration of its existence it was located on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht, later on the Herengracht. The location of fashion houses was important: those situated at the best locations had the advantage that clients could show themselves there. The fact that both Queen Emma and Queen Wilhelmina went there for their purchases, demonstrates how high the esteem for Catharina’s fashion house must have been.

   The Royal Family did not only order dresses; in the 1890s they placed several orders for, among other things, lace wares. This demonstrates that Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn had never been a couture house where only clothing was made. The accessories Catharina’s mother started out with remained part of the business. Although the majority of the orders from Queen Wilhelmina was placed in the 1890s, Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn continued to supply to Queen Emma as late as in the twentieth century.

   Although Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn has been described as a confection clothing business going into the twentieth century, this needs careful interpretation. The modern meaning of the term ‘confection clothing’ is liable to cause confusion. The different terms applied to Van Scherpenzeel-Kahn at that time, from ‘magasin’ to ‘confection clothing business’, are an indication of the complexity and diversity, both of the house and of the subject of this article.