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ROMA at THREE RIVERS PEI Fête Costumes |
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Photos by Glenn Saunders At last year’s Fête Roma, forty-one volunteers appeared in costumes authentic to the 1730s. This year costumes were readied for almost 60 people and some of these are exceptional, made by professional theatre costumers Karen MacPhee and Mindy Walker. A special THANK YOU to Joan Perrin who master-minded this grand effort and to sewers Hilda Hiltchey and Carol MacLeod. Fine suits were sewn for those portraying Roma and several of his high-ranking associates, and two of his children Marie Anne and Jean Pierre Nicholas appeared in finery suitable for the best in society of the times.
The clothes of Roma and his family reflect their status in their elegant laces and brocades, their finely-woven wools, their excess of buttons, and of course the ostrich plumes on the men’s tri-corner hats. Marie Anne’s dress is a special show piece item typical of those worn by only the finest ladies of France and was carefully researched and constructed by Mindy Walker. (You may recognize her as the creator of the dress to match that in the famous portrait of Queen Charlotte and used in Charlottetown’s 100th year celebrations.)
This dress for Roma’s daughter is elaborately laced at the back and features wide panniers to emphasize the hips. When it wears from scraping on the ground, the special bumper of coarse fabric at the hemline can be replaced, thus protecting the silk brocade of the much-pleated skirt. As was typical of women’s clothing in the early 1700s, the neckline is daringly low-cut but the elbows are carefully covered with puffs of fine lace.
The women at Fête Roma 2005 wore a variety of bodices but all wore a bonnet to cover their hair and most will had a neck scarf (fischu) and apron with bib pinned, not tied, in place. Ask the grades 1 to 6 children who learned about 1700s dress in school this September for more details about clothes of this era. Many besides our volunteers tried on an outfit and had their photos your photo taken in 1700s gear. The wooden shoes were especially popular!
Written by Brenda Dewar and published in the Eastern Graphic, August 2005 Up-dated October 4, 2005
For more information about COSTUMES click here. |
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Clothes for a Party
In the 1700s most of Jean Pierre Roma’s people wore their every-day work clothes to his grand parties at Three Rivers because that was all they owned. A person was lucky if he had even one change of clothing. A simple loose shirt, vest or wool jacket, knee-length pants, wool socks with leather shoes or wooden sabots were common wear for the men. |
