La Belle Robe Médiévale: Sometimes, no matter how much you want it to be a fabric just isn't right.

This Fabric! It's a silk velvet, and gold with a period pattern!

So Bougie and Extra!

It must be right?

Right?

Right...

Sigh... Ok it's not right.

I bought this fabric 6-7 years ago. At the time it was the most expensive fabric I had bought and it represented a turning point in my life. Because It was silk velvet and gold in a documentable period pattern, I had earmarked it for a bougie fur lined Houppelande.

But for a early 15th century French houppelande, this fabric just isn't right now matter how much I want it to be.

It is a mixed velvet, Rayon/Silk, so right off there is a compromise on fiber content.

But Rayon is poor man's silk, still a natural fibre and a modern affordable alternative to silk

The Velvet is crushed, which is entirely modern look

but there are other techniques of varied textures with the height of velvet pile in period and this texture is a nod to that, and is less noticeable under the gold foil.

This color Purple- While would have been desirable, whether it was likely to be able to be produced in period is tenuous at best.

I can document purple in the inventories. I see articles discussing the deep reds and wine purples achievable.
I can document Kermes or Ochil, or cochineal dyes would produce a variety of vibrant purples.
I can find some extant pieces that are different shades of purple, depending on the light.
I can find many manuscript images of variety purple images- but this says more about paint pigments than fabric dyes. And manuscripts at this point are sill the stylized noble ideal, not reality.

The gold foil- while they did gilt a lot things, they didn't apply it to fabric in this way, it screams modern to my eyes now.

They did gilt individual threads to weave and embroidery in gold. Which I can document.
They did stamp and hand print many fabrics, and gilded statues, furniture and manuscripts.
I did stumble across a Birka reference of silk painted gold, But that was way outside my time and place to be applicable for this.
True Velvet cloth of gold simply isn't produced anymore. and the one item that I could find that was a vintage velvet with actual metallic threads was 1600$ for a small piece.
I could also document goldwork embroidery, and use embroidery to push it to a more medieval aesthetic. But I have barriers in skill and cost to do so.

The pattern itself. Is Ottoman 16th century, but how is a 16th century pattern going to be in northern France at the beginning of the 15th?

I can document trade that would bring an Ottoman pattern to Europe.
I can document a couple vine/pomegranate flowers being produced in Italy that are close.
I have a couple manuscript images of that could be read in a similar pattern.

Which pretty much means that I'm making compromises or tenuous connections with every aspect of this fabric, beyond, It's A Purple Velvet, right drape, and Bougie. In reality it is a very poor representative of the velvet cloth of gold I want it to represent.