Corset Renaissance Dress “German Rose”

Linen Boned Renaissance Kirtle

This German medieval dress is elegant and simple, allowing your natural beauty to speak for itself while enhancing all of our best assets in all of the right places. For many years, our boned kirtle has been one of our best selling dresses. Though it’s not as embellished as some of our other collections or adorned with trim, it holds a simple, respectful beauty that is hard to deny. High-quality flax linen is combined with a flattering silhouette, a tight bodice and an elegantly draped skirt. Tie on sleeves add a little bit of elegance, with a few bold buttons along the forearm to add some functional decoration.

This dress is heavily inspired by the 16th century, especially Woensam paintings. We begin to see the basic garments of the XIV-XV century branch out and become more structured and higher waisted. This design probably would have been worn by a woman of higher status, as the lacing up the back would be difficult to do up on her own, so she would have had a servant or handmaiden. The base of the German dress is gorgeously simple, though, leaving lots of room for you to make it your own and customize it in a way that suits your persona or character. Who knows - maybe your peasant character just happens to be very good at doing up her own back lacing!

Traditionally, this German women's dress would have been worn with a chemise, as the bust is quite low. The square neckline and boned bodice work together to give you a dainty waist and a high bust, which looks fantastic with the voluminous skirt that drapes to the ground. The sleeves are fitted at the wrist, giving your arms a delicate look, and the buttons break up the fabric to create some contrast with your chemise or shirt underneath. Because the sleeves are detachable, it is up to you if you wear your kirtle with or without.

100% flax linen would not have been traditionally used for this kind of dress (more likely wool), but we like to create items that are comfortable for our customers who exist in modern times! Linen has a lovely weave to it so it breathes very well, making it a perfect all-weather fabric. The eyelets at the back of the dress are metal, meaning you can pull the lacing nice and tight without fear of harming the dress.

Please note that the matching chemise is not included, but is available from our store.