A Leather Hunting Suit For The Earl Of Sussex

I consider this costume to be my masterwork, by which I mean that it's the piece that proved to me that I had attained master status. It was made in 1990 for the remarkable James Myers, who played the Earl of Sussex at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

The suit is made of burgundy leather, based on a style seen in Milia Davenport's Book of Costume (pg ) trimmed with pinking and slashing and many many yards of different sorts of gold trim. The buttons are made from painted wooden beads with gold cording knotted over them. In order that the grey interior of the chrome-tanned leather not show on the edges of the slashes and holes, each cut edge was hand painted to match the burgundy dye.

Red dye for leather is very unstable, and the suit has faded to an oxblood color.