jamie oosterhuis

chemises were the starting point of recreating historical european garments. actually, no. the starting point was making a medieval hood with a liripipe (here) and having an undeniable feeling that exploring historical garments could be a way to connect to my ancestors. as a multi-generational european settler, i have often felt disconnected throughout this land space and confused about my identity as a "canadian". once i recognized that canadian identity is a falsity that everyone has fallen for, i realized i had the responsibility to understand my heritage and the most interesting way for me to explore this was through textiles. 

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in my mind it made the most sense that i would start with chemises as they are the undergarment that lays against the skin. it protects more expensive outer layers (such as corsets and bodices) from the oils of the skin while also being used as sleepwear. the designs of chemises didn't change much from the medieval period through to the end of the renaissance, and since i wanted to explore between the 12th and 17th centuries, i chose a simple design using squares and rectangles roughly from the 14th century (see below for the pattern used).

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i ended up making one chemise that copied the historical pattern, and one that i wanted to function with my own personal wardrobe. the second one was shorter in length and gathered at the wrist so to be worn with pants and act as an outer or under layer. this chemise was made from thicker linen for its opaqueness and slight additional warmth. 

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