Medieval Gown “Townswoman”
Short sleeve medieval dress with lacing
While some of our dresses are beautiful for their ornate details and over-the-top embellishment, our “Townswoman” dress is all about crisp simplicity. Colourful, 100% linen is combined with a pattern that makes for flattering lines and a silhouette that looks good on absolutely everyone. At most of our events, this dress is a bestseller simply because it has the ability to bring joy to any customer admiring themselves in the mirror!
The design of this dress originally came from our customer’s requests for a medieval dress with short sleeves. With many events happening in hot weather, people were finding that long-sleeved dresses were a little bit too constricting. Our solution was this wonderful dress that looks medieval, but has nice short sleeves that you can wear with bare arms or combine with a light chemise depending on your comfort level. There is no specific historical inspiration, but the style can be compared to the women’s cotehardie and other examples of more fitted dresses from the XIV-XV century.
The lacing at the front of the dress is what gives it such a great fit. Robustly attached metal lacing rings can be found inside the middle split, and they are sewn in such a way that they are hidden from the outside. This lacing gives you a little bit of room for adjustment, so day-to-day you’re able to change the fit a little bit and pull the lacing in or out depending on how you’d like to wear it. If you’re wearing no chemise underneath, you might like it pulled tight so there’s no gap in the middle; if you have a chemise you could always let the lacing out a bit more to show the fabric underneath. The lacing is also what allows you to make the waist fitted without the need for a modern zipper – simply loosen the lacing, pull the dress over your head, and re-lace it once it’s on.
The most magnificent aspect of this dress is how voluminous the skirt is - four gores have been sewn in to give it extra flow, and it swishes as you walk. The whole dress is made from 100% flax linen, a fabric that softens up over time to be very gentle on your skin. It’s a breathable fabric that is great for the summer, as it allows some air to pass through and your sweat to easily be wicked away. The skirt, sleeves, and neckline are hemmed in a contrasting linen border, which has been expertly sewn to hide exposed stitching.
Chemise (underdress) is not included, but is available in our store.
To check how to measure yourself please click here.
Please contact us if you have any additional questions.
Important note: This dress cannot be made in custom size for the chest circumference bigger than 49 inches (124 cm).
Materials:
- 100% flax linen;
- Synthetic lacing;
- Metal lacing rings.
Features:
- Short sleeves;
- Slim fit bodice;
- Voluminous skirt;
- Contrasting color trim.
This item is part of the “Stories of the Castle” collection
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20 Feedbacks
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Guest 05 of September 2024:
I love this dress. I wear it once a week to work and it always gets a compliment. It is well made and is adequately breathable for hot summer days. The colour stopped bleeding after two or three hand-washes and how it washes just fine with other similar fabrics and, as Linen tends to, it has gotten softer and softer after each wash.
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Katerina 27 of May 2024:
Excellent quality, very happy with my purchase!
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Elizabeth 26 of October 2023:
I've ordered two dresses from Armstreet in this style. I was slightly off with the original measurements, and they checked to make sure the second set worked perfectly. Amazing product and customer service
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Anna 09 of August 2023:
I love this dress, I wear it out and about, it's perfect for any season, but especially winter. I will note that the dress is impractically long for someone my height (~60 inches) but otherwise, no complaints from me!
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Elizabeth 17 of July 2023:
Gorgeous dress. I’m looking forward to wearing it to Pennsic
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Nichole 02 of June 2023:
The dress arrived in excellent condition, and the colors are vibrant. It fits perfectly according to the measurements. Although, the metal rings for the front lacing seem a bit big, but it's no problem because I'm able to get the front completely closed, and nobody will notice. That said, I am super impressed with the amount of skirt! I can lift the hem above my head and still have a full skirt around my feet. Because of the amount of fabric in the skirt it is a bit heavier than I'm used to, but I don't mind because this is how medieval dresses should be. I love that it's all linen, and it fits comfortably over the chemise I bought a few years ago. With summer almost here, I can't wait to find a faire to visit so I can wear this dress out and about! Thank You Armstreet for continuing to make wonderful clothing despite the current events in Europe.
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Gaelle 22 of May 2023:I had to send feedback straight away, even before getting the creases out of the dress first! I am so in love with this garment, it goes well above my expectations. I wasn’t sure about sizing and the advice I got from Armstreet ensured this fit me perfectly (it is not made to measure, it is a standard size 4). I asked to have the trim in a different colour and I was delighted to see they did this for me too. I’m wearing it with the archeress underskirt which I am also completedly besotted with and wish I could wear it every day!! Delivery took a lot less time than anticipated, overall I could not be happier with every single detail of these purchases. Thank you so much
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Anna 22 of February 2023:
I bought the size 0, and it fits wonderfully except for being rather long, but the length of the dress is manageable and pales in comparison to how wonderfully this dress fits and looks. It also manages to be practical!
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Jennifer 08 of January 2023:Absolutely fantastic! Shrank a bit on cold in the wash but not much. Love it! Can't wait to get more!
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Meg 11 of October 2022:
Absolutely beautiful dress. The fit is really good, and as is the linen quality. The sweep/swirl of the skirt is fantastic. This was my first purchase from Armstreet, and I will definitely be buying from them again soon!
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Kiersten 01 of August 2022:
I have two versions of this dress. The lacing strips on the new version are vastly superior to the ones from 3.5 years ago. Thanks for that improvement! The dress itself is gorgeous and well-made. One of my favourite things!
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R 04 of June 2022:
Beautiful dress! Everything is carefully made with attention to detail
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Zandra 03 of April 2022:
Beautiful as always, my 6th dress from Armstreet and it won’t be my last.
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Brenna 20 of September 2021:Amazing dress over all but I had some issues with the lacings of the dress. In the description for materials it says the lacing eyelets were metal but when I received my dress the lacing eyelets were loops of string that were of the same material as the lacing itself, and pull out easily if pulled on a little too hard. Dress and chemise fit perfectly though otherwise
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Michelle Fontenot 28 of May 2021:
This is now the 6th piece I have gotten from Armstreet. This time I did not buy a regular size and submitted my measurements. The fit is perfect. The quality of the linen is extremely nice and heavyweight. The violet color I chose is even better in person. I'll definitely be shopping here again in the future.
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Emma Lytle 24 of March 2021:
One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. This dress fit so well and the weight is heavy and high quality. I hiked for 4hrs in this dress for photos and it didnt tear or snag, and this seller is definitely a place id buy from again!
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Danielle 08 of February 2021:
I LOVE this dress. I got it custom made in the midnight blue/red combination. I did not order the shift that goes under it - I wear it as a short sleeved dress here in Texas! It is light, the flare of the skirt is GORGEOUS and flattering to the figure. I am 5'6 and 130 pounds (although people usually think I'm 110 - so I look slimmer than I am). The linen is light and not scratchy, although of course, it gets softer with wear (I own several Red Elise dresses and this is the same material.) Keep in mind that the laces aren't really washable... they are a string-wrapped cord, and after one wash the strings have shifted around and I can see the cord. I keep replacement cord handy though, and restring my dresses every so often. **I never put my dresses in the dryer**
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Inge 02 of December 2020:
In august i placed my first order the Renaissance Memories Layered Dress custom. I had to wait until October (covid) but it was more than worth the wait! immediately afterwards I ordered this dress : Townswoman Linen Dress also in custom sizes. I ordered it in all black and I am in love again !! The dress fits perfectly! My neighbors are going to see me a lot in this dress! I am also already planning order number 3.
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Patricia Haynes 13 of November 2018:
Beautiful. So feminine and elegant. The details are wonderful! The ties up the front allow for adjusting the top just so! The material is lovely and heavy enough to wear Spring, summer and fall! And heavy enough to hang and swing as it should for dancing. With the underdress this is the daily wear dress I'll wear around my house. I really love it. I may need a few more!
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Lena 02 of August 2017:
Love the dress! Got ready made size 12, fits like a glove, just had to hem 1.5inch (I'm 5'3"-5'4", and it was a bit long. After hemming, it is still floor lenght). :) Ordering another one soon.
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2 Comments
Hi is the bodice of this lined at all?
Hi Cindy, it is not lined, but you may wear it with the chemise like shown on the pictures.
Does this have a fuller skirt than the "Forget Me Not"?
Hello Cam, it has the same pattern as the Forget me Not dress.