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KATIE STOCKSTILL
MORNING SUN
ON THE GO EDITOR
When it comes to dressing the part, two students in Kathleen Owsley¹s Shakespeare Era class at Pittsburg High School, know what it takes. In September, each student in Owsley¹s class was assigned a final project. Students could choose from a variety of projects such as performing a piece of music from the era or giving a presentation about the time period¹s culture or customs. But Caroline Howard and Robyn Hilt decided to show off the dresses of the time. Both Howard and Hilt created Shakespearean Era dresses, representative of those worn to court. The girls used the same, basic pattern but used different materials and interpretations to create two different dresses. Howard created a dress like that worn by a woman in the lower nobility or upper middle class. The dress was assembled using 10 different fabrics, four layers in the bodice and a lot of hard work. ³It took me about 130 hours to make,² Howard said. ³It was a lot harder to make than I imagined. I had never really sewn before this.² Hilt said her dress was also much more time consuming than expected. Hilt¹s dress represented that which would have been worn by a woman in the gentry class. It included detachable sleeves and a detachable front panel. Although they said they did a majority of the work themselves, both girls admitted that they did use some help. ³My mom helped me,² Hilt said. ³But I did all the sewing myself.² Throughout the project and the hard work, both girls said they learned a great deal about the time period and the dress customs and rules for women. ³Fashion was everything to them,² Howard said. ³Some people would go into debt just to stay in style. It was a dire necessity for a lot of people. Yeah, I really learned a lot.² So, now the girls have a dress from the time of Shakespeare, a vast knowledge of the period and hopefully a passing grade. ³These dresses are great,² Mike Philpot, principal of Pittsburg High School, said. ³They look authentic,² he said. ³I am really impressed. These girls have done an excellent job.²
The Morning Sun, (www.morningsun.net)
December 6, 2006 |
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