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The Real Red Riding Hood
(click images to to enlarge)
Other Credits
photos by @jannickekitchen
Outline the story …
“Once upon a time…” makes me think about traditional fairy tales like “Little Red Riding Hood”. This story sprung from old oral traditions, various versions of this story are a part of the shared European cultural curriculum and the best-known literary adaptations from 18th and 19th century by Charles Perrault and Brothers Grimm are not first, nor definitive.
A fairy tale reflects the cultural zeitgeist, that’s why it’s so mailable and open to new interpretations. At the time “Little Red Riding Hood” was a cautionary tale, warning of seduction by a stranger. For me however, it is a story of a resilient girl caring for other women in her community. A girl who stays alert and believes her own judgement even when repeatedly gas-lit by the wolf. She questions the lying wolf and refuses to believe his excuses.
My interpretation shows Red Riding Hood as she might have looked at the peak of popularity of red cloaks in the 18th century, when the story was codified. She is a peasant girl running everyday errands and her clothing is simple, practical and unadorned. I kept the color palette monochromatic in shades of brown and grey in different saturation to help the iconic red cape stand out. The outfit consist of simple separates: cloak, jacket, skirt, apron, stays, petticoat and shift. Millinery, and accessories: cap, fichu and a pocket. The shoes and stockings are the only elements I have not made myself.
Outline the construction…
My main point of reference were garments described in Linda Baumgartens “Costume close-up”. I used the cutting layouts for the cloak, skirts, shift and pocket.
The garments are both hand and machine sewn, machine stitching is not visible when the costume is worn.
I made this costume in the spring and summer 2020 during the first lockdown. The lockdown severely limited my budget and access to materials, I decided to sacrifice the historical accuracy and use textiles I already had in my stash. The not historically accurate textiles required different than intended finishing methods.
Cloak: polyester velvet, silk hood lining. Seams finished with bias and Hong-Kong binding so as not to add bulk to an already thick textile.
Jacket: wool crepe, lined with cotton (thicker in the front, lighter in the back and sleeves). Front edges and winged cuffs reinforced with sturdy linen. Lined edge to edge. Based on Simplicity 8161 pattern with heavily redrafted front, shoulder seams moved towards the back, added cut on skirts and winged cuffs.
Stays: cotton damask, 2 layers of cotton twill, plastic boning, hand finished eyelets. Based on Simplicity 8162 pattern.
Apron, under petticoat, cap: linen
Skirt, pocket, fichu: cotton
Shift: cotton batiste, machine stitched flat felled seams.
This is my first historical costume and first time making a boned garment. I'm used to modern knit fabrics and finishing techniques (serger, iron on interfacing, zippers).
This is awesome! Every piece fits so well and look so well together. I like your interpretation of the red riding hood. =)
Thank you so much!
How lovely! I really like the gathering within the hood, and how cohesive the entire look is, despite your stated inability to source materials you might otherwise have wished to use. And the pocket is so in line with the theme of efficiency and practicality you have pulled from the Red Riding Hood story. Nicely done!
Thank you! My fabric stash and scrap hoarding made this project possible. In the spirit of efficiency the pocket was made out of scraps left from a baby blanket I made over 7 years ago, the cap used to be a linen napkin and the lining of the jacket is cut out of old mock-ups.
This is really beautiful. I love the velvet cape, the color is perfect! All of the pieces fit you so well and the color palette you used really support the style you wanted to create. Very well done!
Thank you! BTW the pictures are not color corrected, the cape is really that vibrant.
Your pieces looks very well cut and fitted! Great job♡
Thank you!
Wonderful!
oh, this is beautiful! i particularly enjoy seeing all the layers of red’s ensemble, and the care and simplicity of their construction. the colors are gorgeous. good luck from icarus!
The colours for this is On Point! Love the clean hem-finishes and the neat gathers for the apron!
I absolutely love your ensemble! It’s simple and stunning and absolutely fits the fairy tale.
Your garments are so pleasing to look at: the fabric looks crisp and smooth as it should be, they fit you so nicely and the colors are perfect for Rotkäppchen! I immediately think of the woods when looking at your jacket and the scarlet coat is just divine with its hood. Contrats! 🙂
Thank you! ☺️
I love your interpretation of the Little Red Riding Hood story, and the consideration that went into choosing the colour palette, it blends together nicely but definitely succeeded in making the red cloak pop! Well done for managing to work with the constraints of the available fabric (I made my outfit during lockdown too so had to order all the fabric online, which luckily worked in my favour, but it’s a bit of a gamble when you can’t see it in person before buying, so I totally get your frustration!) Also I can’t believe this is your first historical outfit, it looks beautiful! Well done!
Thank you! Can you tell me what have you made? What category should I look for it?