I'm still pondering Fancy Event Garb, for the eventual production of pictures to talk over. A and I really need to resolve some sort of approach. As he's way ahead of me in simple accumulation, I'm concentrating on myself at present.
Who would know about non-Viking-apron clothing for early period northwestern Europe?
I've been looking at the Book of Kells, and they all seem to be wearing leines and brats, as described by this site:
My thought is to make a bunch of clothes with basic construction, and concentrate on details that are characteristic of one place or another…this will help get me clothed, and I can just lug around half-embroidered garb all the time, embroidering it.
I made up that drapey blue into a basic gown with square neck, wide rectangular sleeves, and sidelacing, though not as tight as a bliaut. I've got some fixing to do on the trim (damn stuff felted despite best efforts), and the lacing holes aren't bound yet. I'm not sure about how I did the gores and the hem either…I've got double gores on the sides, as I was racing to have it for Gatalop, and I think it really needs two moved to front and back. The hem came out short, and I tacked on another 4", which helps, but a seam landed in a bad place and the whole thing isn't even. Product of speed. So must tear out and redo.
I'll take it with me to Scroll Night, and see if I make any progress while learning about scrolls.
For information on northern European garb of any period, I would probably consult Ragvaieg (http://ragnvaeig.livejournal.com/). She knows her medieval European culture: she’s got a PhD in archaeology to prove it.
A book you should probably look at is Dress in Anglo-Saxon England by Gale-Owen Crocker. The book is a very good comparison of dress styles and has very good references if you need to dig into the details for the major Northern Eurppean cultures both on the continent and in Britain from roughly 500-1100 CE.