Reflective Evaluation
Section One: Evaluation of Costume in response to Evaluation Criteria
Design Brief
The design brief was answered and responded to suitably as the dress addresses the character profile of a young female peasant of the medieval time period. The dress has gussets under both arms providing more room, and can be tightened to suit more body shapes and sizes. The squared neckline and thick straps were also designed to fit a variety of sizes. The dress matches well with the two other pieces of the medieval costume, the undergarment an the cape, and is suitable for all types of weather. Context The context of the dress is addressed at the beginning of the brief as the costume is to be made for a young, female peasant, living in the medieval times. This has been achieved as the dress is made of a cheap material, dyed calico, and the gusset is made of eyelets, which were a commonly used closure for medieval clothing. Historical Style There are many components of the dress, which address the medieval time period of 1100-1400. The squared neckline with thick straps was commonly used for the dress, as the undergarment was a high neckline, and this allowed the dress to fit more sized women. The gussets on both sides of the dress are also featured, as they were a common closure for the dress and provided a similar finish to the corset, which individuals of higher wealth would have been able to afford. The dyed calico material chosen fits the historical style as this fabric is cheap and aesthetically addresses the medieval times. Through dying the calico, the dress became the coloured component of the costume, which was also common for the medieval times. |
Sustainability Issues
Costumes generally require a long life span and also in the medieval time period, the dress would need to endure a long time. Therefore, in order to respond to these sustainable issues, the garment should be able to last a long time. In order to address the sustainability issues, the dress was constructed using shorter stitch lengths, to increase the strength of the seams and hems, and using the zigzag stitch to seal the seam lines. The calico fabric used is a thicker fabric, which you increase the lifespan of the dress, in comparison the material used for the undergarment. Suggestions for improvement The main improvement that could occur is the eyelets for the gusset. The Seam lines for the gusset are not perfectly straight, which could be improved, as well as increasing the width of fabric where the eyelets are. The eyelets are quite close to the end of the fabric, and some overlap the seam lines. Another improvement of the dress could be hem under the arm, where the gusset fabric meets the front piece of the dress. Here it is a not of a high quality, which could be improved. Human-centered design factors The human-centered design factors have been addressed in the design of the dress. The dress is designs to fit a range of body sizes and shapes, mostly through the designing of the neckline and the gussets. The squared neckline and with the thick straps allow larger heads, and broader shoulders to fit the dress, whilst the gussets allow for larger and smaller figures to be fitted well and show the waistlines. The dress can fit up to a size 14 female, which could have been made to fit larger sizes through increasing the width of the material for the gusset. |
Constraints and Considerations
The functionality of the dress was address through the design process. The dress allows the peasant to move around comfortably, so therefore able to complete her daily activities and chores. The construction of the dress was addressed through the squared neckline with the thick straps, and the gussets on both sides of the dress, as they allow the dress to fit a range of body sizes and shapes. The dress suitably addresses the wealth of the peasant from the medieval times, as the chosen material reflects a cheap fabric, which would have been available to poorer individuals. The dress has been constructed to ensure a long lifespan; therefore the quality of the dress is high. The dress was designed, ensuring the ability of the peasant to complete her daily tasks, therefor suitable for the needs of the character profile. The dress was dyed to enhance the visual appeal. This was decided, as it was found the dress component of the costume was generally the garment that was coloured, as the undergarment is the natural colour of the used fabric. The components of the dress, including the overall length of the dress, the neckline and the gussets are all aspects, which reflect the times of the medieval era, 1100-1400.
The functionality of the dress was address through the design process. The dress allows the peasant to move around comfortably, so therefore able to complete her daily activities and chores. The construction of the dress was addressed through the squared neckline with the thick straps, and the gussets on both sides of the dress, as they allow the dress to fit a range of body sizes and shapes. The dress suitably addresses the wealth of the peasant from the medieval times, as the chosen material reflects a cheap fabric, which would have been available to poorer individuals. The dress has been constructed to ensure a long lifespan; therefore the quality of the dress is high. The dress was designed, ensuring the ability of the peasant to complete her daily tasks, therefor suitable for the needs of the character profile. The dress was dyed to enhance the visual appeal. This was decided, as it was found the dress component of the costume was generally the garment that was coloured, as the undergarment is the natural colour of the used fabric. The components of the dress, including the overall length of the dress, the neckline and the gussets are all aspects, which reflect the times of the medieval era, 1100-1400.
Section Two: Evaluating
Design
The overall design of the dress is simple, but that is what suits the character profile. A peasant does not have much wealth, therefore would not be able to afford dresses made of fancy fabric, or embellished with embroidery. Planning For the original design of the dress, a toile was made to find what would need to be modified. Through the toile it was found that the dress was too small, therefore not catering to the requirement of being able to fit a variety of sizes. The neckline was changed from a high, round neck to a squared neckline with thick straps, and gussets were added to cater for the need to fit a variety of sizes. Modifications The modifications made throughout the designing of the dress included the neckline, the gussets down the sides of the dress, and the darts in the bust line. Each component modified better addresses the character profile and the design brief and criteria. |
Production Process
The production of the dress was quite simple. The seam lines and the hems were fairly straight forward, whilst the inclusion of the gussets was more difficult. The gussets were new to me, which is why it was more difficult, although once completed, they became quite easy. Quality of the Finished Product The quality of the finish product is good, although there are a few minor areas that could be improved. These include some seam lines, some of which could be straighter, and the hemlines which could be neater, especially where the gussets meet the front and back panels. The seam lines and hems are strong, which ensures the life span of the dress. The eyelets could have also been given more fabric to be centered on, although as there is only a small amount of room for the eyelets, they overlap a few sea limes. |