Her hair was a bonfire and eyes shining like wet stone,
Her heart was like a rosebush, stems as hard as bone.

“German Rose” Chemise

Fine Linen Underdress with Pleats

Striking a balance between beauty and history, this dreamy chemise combines quality textiles with flawless tailoring techniques to give you the perfect underdress.

This chemise is a base layer of the German dress costume, meant to create a barrier between your outer clothes and your skin. This means that you have a soft, gentle layer of linen in contact with your body instead of scratchier overdresses. This layer also protects your clothing from sweat and is easily washed. The result is that you are more comfortable, and your clothes will be better preserved.

Inspired by 16th-century silhouettes, you’ll find this dress to be loose-fitting and comfy. We took inspiration from historical sources of women in bathhouses, which gives us insight into undergarments in the middle ages. It flows down to just below your knees, meaning it won’t interfere if you have to kneel or run. At the neck, all of the billowing fabric is gathered in and organised in a series of very neat little pleats that sit perfectly flat, with two lines of linen ribbon at the top and bottom, creating ties at the center. Though these pleats are perfectly functional, they end up looking decorative purely because of how masterfully they have been sewn!

The sleeves are roomy, giving you lots of space to move around and go about your daily duties. Just like the dress, they are voluminous and graceful, gathering in at the cuff in pleats that match the gorgeous ones around the neckline.

This style of chemise derives from the medieval German clothing and can be used with a variety of different time periods and is perfect for the SCA, Renaissance Faires, LARP, and other medieval subcultures. It also makes an excellent night dress, as the linen is nice and soft and breathable on a hot summer night.

We feel that this dress looks perfect with our “German Rose” Kirtle dress.

Please note that the maximum length of the chemise is about 130 cm (51 3/16 in).

To check how to measure yourself please click here.

Please contact us if you have any additional questions.