English National Dress - Female

Standard order of female English National Dress

This dress is based on English female dress from the 6th Century AD (see below). The dress is for modern use so the model wears her own style ground boots for safety, ease of movement and comfort. But, any kind of footwear can be worn as per occasion. She holds a Seax knife on the front. The Seax is the sign of a free English person. She wears a deep Red over dress, which is cut shorter than the light Blue summer ‘kyrtle’ dress. Unseen are trousers in the same wode Blue linen, representing the blue of the English King St Edmund. This is a basic finish of design. Embroidery can be added to the light Blue drape on the front of the over dress.

The origins of ‘female’ English National Dress

The standard order of ‘female’ English National Dress is based on the 6th Century English dress shown in the plate above. It shows what can be achieved. This plate shows the person wearing recreations of Anglo-Saxon shoes, which are probably not safe or durable enough for today’s modern living and environment. She wears two Seax knives, which can be seen hanging low on her dress. Imagine a wedding version of this!

Warm weather ‘female’ English National Dress

Here the model wears her wode blue linen under dress with a belt, leather pouch, and small Seax. It is light and cool. Unseen are wode blue linen trousers. She wears a solid silver English shield necklace. Again, the model wears her own footwear for practicality. But other shoes can be worn.

Cold weather ‘female’ English National Dress

The model wears a cloak pinned by a solid silver broach with a design representing the White Dragon of the English etched onto it. It is warm, stylish and practical. The cloak is worn over the standard order of female English National Dress, pinned above the right shoulder.

Cold weather ‘female’ English National Dress with hood.

The model wears a cloak pinned by a solid silver broach with a design representing the White Dragon of the English etched onto it. It is warm, stylish and practical. The cloak is worn over the standard order of female English National Dress, pinned above the right shoulder.

Solid Silver Jewellery

The necklace worn by the model is a solid silver English Shield design with a representation of the White Dragon of the English. Shown here against the wode Blue linen cloth of the ‘kyrtle’ summer dress. The raised part in the middle is the shield ‘boss’. It is hand made.

Over dress

Deep Red wool with a light Blue wool drape. The light Blue represents St Edmund, the English king. Much embroidery can be added to the drape. Using wool or linen. In warm weather this over dress can be made from lighter materials.

Kyrtle summer dress

This summer dress is a simple cut design. Using linen, it is easy to reproduce like the rest of the ‘female’ English National Dress. It is worn under the over dress.

Linen under trousers

What is not obvious in most of the plates is that the model wears these simple, easy to cut and make wode Blue linen trousers.