What do women in Kinyn wear? Part 2

Picking up from last week, here's a sketch that Julie did and Maggie salvaged from having a lavender bodice.

This is another of Nessa's dresses from “The Healer and the Pirate." The bodice has pink summer daisy designs woven in, and there is a slim matching skirt.  With its fairly high neckline and long hemline, it's just slightly reminiscent of something a child would wear to a festival.

The sleeves belong to a separate shift worn underneath the dress. They are gathered at the bicep and wrist and edged with sky blue lace.  The skirt is also edged with lace to match the shift.

In Renaissance times on Earth, lace was incredibly costly, as poor women would work all day to make just a miniscule amount of lace.  In Kinyn, however, several varieties of caterpillars spin cocoons which can be easily pulled apart into lace. A quick dip in vinegar sets the lace, preventing it from falling apart when it's used.

This is actually a ready-made dress, acquired in a clothing shop in a fairly small town. In towns and even cities, women tend to sew their families' clothes, while the wealthy have clothes custom-made for them. However, many towns on main roads--even small towns--have small shops selling clothing for travelers passing through. Ready-made clothes are costly but are often more finely-sewn than their homemade counterparts.

A wide placket in the back of the bodice (not pictured) allows this to fit a wider variety of body types. Nessa is slimmer than the ideal figure in Kinyn, so she can lace the bodice as tightly as it will go.