It's All Greek to Me - More Royal Garb (in progress)

Remember that friend I mentioned? His Majesty Ioannes. The one with the unerring sense of when I am weak and will accept a commission?

He got me again.

During the summer he messaged me and asked about garb for Pennsic. Not just any garb, but Pennsic State Dinner garb in "full on Greek" for himself and her Majesty.

This is why everyone else's Pelicans are pushing them to do stuff and mine is like - YOU NEED TO SAY NO TO PEOPLE.

Pennsic 46 State Dinner
Photographer unknown

What's "Full on Greek" you ask? I asked that too.

I got a couple reference pictures and then went to town. I found some lovely reference photos for her Majesty with all over designs and heavily embellished borders on chitons from some vases and statuary, but his Majesty was proving difficult.

I wanted a more wearable look than the traditional toga and something that said "Young Warrior King" and I came upon this vase from the Louvre depicting a young bearded warrior.

A winged youth, wearing winged boots, a chitoniskos, and a taenia, advancing to the right; a bearded warrior, wearing chitoniskos and pilos, armed with spear and shield.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Musée du Louvre, January 1992

Louvre F 26

ca. 550 BCE - ca. 525 BCE

I love the shoulder stripe on this and the detail on the armscye (which indicates to me a little bit of a sleeve). However I'm going to lengthen this as I don't want to expose the East shall we say, and add some linen shorts.

Now, here's where I admit to a failure. I failed hard on this project. I had DREAMS I tell you. Dreams of block printing peacock feathers onto a buttery linen/rayon blend and customizing the chiton of Honig's royal dreams.

But it turns out I block print like a grade school kid on fabric and thankfully I had enough time to alter my course before Pennsic.

King Ioannes and Queen Honig at the Pennsic 46 State Dinner