"Lucrezia" italian renaissance dress

Hello folks, how are you? It seems winter is fading away, I really need spring! 
Today' I'd like to talk you about my last sewing project. It took me almost 5 months to finish it but I'm really satisfied! *smiles proudly*
I finally managed to sew an italian renaissance inspired costume, after watching several dresses during my researches on Pinterest (and Borgias, of course). I'm a beginner seamstress - keep it in mind! - but since many people asked me info about this project I decided to write an entry. First of all, I've to admit it's not a cheap project as the roman dress I sewed some weeks ago; I spent almost 70€ for fabrics, pattern, trims and threads and for me it's a small fortune. This is the complete list of used materials:

- Simplicity Pattern 9531, one of the closest designs to authentic renaissance fashion I found online
- 1.5 mt of red brocade for bodice and sleeves
- 5 mt of burgundy velvet for skirt and train
- 2.5 mt of golden trim

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I started measuring myself following the patten instructions, but then - alas - I discovered the bodice was too big to be a size 12. Cutting out the pattern is always the funnier part of the whole job, and I finished to cut it after a couple of minutes. I stitched together the bodice parts and the gauntlets but I had to made them tighter because of their size (so I would say to follow your own size with this pattern, because "bigger is better" is not the best choice!). Then I stopped this project since I couldn't find an appropriate fabric for the skirt. I had a beautiful burgundy velvet fabric at home but it wasn't enough for the skirt, even without train. After several months I could finally buy 6 metres of velvet from an online shop at an affordable price and so I started to work on the dress immediately. 
After cutting the skirt and train I spent a while attaching it to the bodice. The skirt seemed really big for my bust but - surprise! - I was wrong! After doing some ruffles on the back I could definitely see the shape of the gown, and I stitched all together with the sewing machine. 

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The trim took me almost a week to be sewed by hand with the backstitch, it was very heavy and the brocade didn't help. So after sewing it on the bodice I started to sew the zip on the back. I've to admit I used the sewing machine for bodice and skirt only, I find hand sewing more relaxing and "homemade". 
It was the turn of the gauntlets. I applied the trim and then, at last, I did the eyelets cutting a small hole with the découpage scissors. I spent some hours sewing their borders always by hand. Luckily the dress didn't need a huge hem and I just had to cut some cm at the front skirt. The last touch have been the red ribbons to keep the gauntlets attached to the bodice.

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And that's the dress on during a shooting!

Renaissance

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