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*These
pages will be made available before the start of the IRCC on April 14, 2013,
or as soon as needed thereafter.
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The Challenge
Welcome to IRCC 3. This page
is being put online seven months in advance to give
everyone plenty of notice of two very important changes to
the usual format/rules of the IRCC. They are:
1. Limitation of Layer 4
items/accessories. In the past two IRCCs the quantity of Layer 4 items
wasn't limited but in future will be limited to 4 items only. A set of bracelets will be counted as 1 item, as will a set of earrings, a set of hairpins, a set of necklaces,
set of Venetian shoulder and neck ruffs (if not attached
to a partlet), a sewing kit. Anything else you wish to
enter and are not sure if it will be counted as one item
please e-mail me to ask in advance of registering for
the Challenge.
2. Items of handwork that are labour intensive, for example: extensive embroidery on underwear linens (not counting insertion-stitch joining), making lace, weaving of anything larger than a garter/s, can be
started immediately. You will need to provide a photo/s of the complete or nearly complete, length of hand-made lace, or embroidered fabric, or woven textile, etc., before it is assembled, with your registration in
March-April when registration begins. If you have any
questions about what can be started in advance please
e-mail me to ask.
Last year the second IRCC continued the
celebration of The Realm of Venus' tenth anniversary
on the wonderful world wide web in 2011. Tenth anniversaries only happen once,
and so IRCC was meant to be a one-off thing. Due to popular
demand, however, I have made it an annual event for as long as the
demand lasts. I am therefore once again issuing a challenge to dedicated
historical costumers everywhere: to create a complete man's, woman's or
child's late Italian Renaissance (circa 1480 - 1610) outfit of any social class
from the skin out, including at least one accessory, over a period of four months. That's only
one layer or accessory per month - you can do it!
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The Details
Schedule:
Now to March
14 2013: plan and acquire what you will need
for your planned outfit, and begin work only on any
extensive handwork items such as lace-making, extensive
embroidery, weaving (of anything other than
garters). March
15 to April 13 2013: register as an entrant in the
IRCC3. You will need to provide me with the details listed below
under the heading "How to Register". Continue with your
items of extensive handwork, if any. April 14 to August
14 2013: cut, stitch, assemble, and complete your
outfit. Don't forget to send a progress photo at
least once per month according to the schedule listed in the
'Rules', below.
August 15 to
16 2013: photograph for
submission your outfit from the skin out. Please avoid the
use of mobile phone or tablet computer cameras as the
quality is not high. Do not date stamp your photos. Make
sure your camera is set to take photos at its highest
resolution.
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Your outfit needs to
be comprised of the following:
Layer 1: A camicia/shift/smock/shirt or
drawers or corset/pair of bodies. I don't expect you to make all
three, however one item MUST be an underwear layer.
Layer 2: Either
an underskirt or under-dress/petticoat, or doublet and
'trunk-hose'/slops/breeches.
Layer 3: The
final layer will be either an over-dress, or a loose gown, or
a cloak/cape.
Layer 4: An accessory
or accessories to a maximum number of 4 items/set of items, for
example: a fan; pocket; pouch; hat, net or jewelled accessory for
the hair; zibellino (also known as a "flea fur");
hanky; gloves; girdle or sash; shoes; partlet; a set of Venetian shoulder/neck ruffs (if they are separate from
the partlet - if attached will be counted as one item with the partlet); standing
ruff/collar; parasol; and muff.
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All who take up the challenge will have their
photos, a short bio, and a description of their proposed outfit listed
here.
How to Register
To enter, please send me an e-mail
on or after March 14, 2013 and before April 15, 2013, with these details listed:
- your name
- your location (state - please
note I am not from the United States and do not always
recognise the abbreviations used for the state - and country only)
- a short (two to three sentence-length)
bio, including whether you are either a novice to sewing or
novice to Italian Renaissance costume (as defined below)
- a short description of your proposed
four-layer outfit
- a photo/s of any extensive
handwork begun prior to registration which you wish to
include in your challenge outfit
- your head/shoulders photo
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Please
note: if any of the above are not provided your registration will
be invalid and most likely deleted. I am sorry to have to take
such a hard line, but it will save me having to chase people up
with reminders to send photos or the like.
All entrants will be required to send me individual progress photos (one
per week maximum), along with photos of their outfits when
completed, which will be uploaded to this page so we can all follow
along. The final photo/s of the completed outfit need to be
sent to me no later than August 16, 2013. The winners will (hopefully!) be announced on August 23
2013, the
anniversary of the Realm of Venus.
The Rules
Rules? well, ok, I guess a challenge like this
needs rules. So...
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All items must be started ON or AFTER April
15 2013, except in the case of items of extensive handwork, such as
lace-making, extensive embroidery, weaving other than garters, etc.,
or one of the underwear items listed above. ONE item of
underwear must be made from scratch within the competition period, along with the all the upper layers
and one accessory.
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If you don't manage to finish all four required
levels don't worry, you will still be in the running. However, those
who attempt and or complete all four levels will end with more points
than those who only attempt/complete one or two.
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This is a challenge for individuals,
not groups, therefore only items sewn or assembled by the by the entrant with no
help from anyone else will be accepted. However, help with pattern
drafting, draping, and/or fitting is allowed. Use
of commercial patterns is also allowed.
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Anyone may enter
multiple outfits if they wish, however points will be allocated on a
per-garment/item basis, not cumulatively.
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Progress photos must be sent: one every
month minimum, one every week maximum, by these deadlines: May
14, June 14, July 14, and the final by August 16. This will help to
keep you all motivated and enjoying the challenge! Photos of the
completed outfit to be a minimum of three (front,
back and side), or more if you wish.
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A written
summation of your outfit must accompany the final photos and should
itemise the complete and incomplete items you made/attempted. Please
make sure that if you have not yet sent me a photo of any item with
your progress updates, that you do so with the final photo
submission.
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Points will be allocated as follows:
| 10 points for each layer
completed. |
| 10 points if EVERY layer is
completed. |
| 10 points for any extra
layer/accessory (over and above the four required) completed. |
| 5 points for any layer
started/attempted but not completed. |
| The
above points will be awarded to everyone who enters, according
to the criteria. |
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| Additionally,
the points below will be allocated to the person who best meets the
criteria: |
| 10 points for each
inclusion of HANDWORK other than sewing straight seams,
ie: hand-made lace, buttons, embroidery, weaving, shoes, use of
fur (real or faux) to create/line a garment or accessory. |
| 10 points to the
best attempt at historically accurate DESIGN |
10 points to the
best attempt at historically accurate CONSTRUCTION
(This does NOT include textiles used - period-accurate and
non-period textiles will be on an equal footing to allow for
differing budgets). |
10 points to the
best attempt by a SEWING NOVICE
(A novice for this purpose is someone with less than three years
of sewing experience). |
10 points to the
best attempt by a NOVICE IN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
COSTUME
(A novice for this
purpose is someone who has attempted less than three late
Italian
Renaissance (late 15th-16th
century) outfits prior to this
challenge). |
The OVERALL WINNER
will be the person with the highest total points from ALL
categories above. Other winners will be Best Design, Best
Construction, Best Handwork, Best Novice: Sewing and Best
Novice: Italian Renaissance |
All entries will be
evaluated by me, with the option of enlisting the help of
volunteers should the number of entrants get unwieldy. Thank
you All!
Bella Lucia da
Verona
(Anabella Wake)
The Realm of Venus
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