How much should a corset cost?
A corset maker explains in detail why custom corsetry may look expensive, and explains why a custom piece is worth the cost.
Lots of things I wanted to know on historical corsetry
Curious about historical corsets? Learn how corsets worked, why they were worn, common myths, historical construction techniques, comfort, health concerns, and how corsetry evolved through the centuries.
Historical Corsets Explained: History, Myths, Comfort, Health and Frequently Asked Questions
A few basics about corsetry, from someone who has been making and wearing them for more than fifteen years, and has also a physiotherapy degree
I promise I don’t hate brides
Bridal couture is beautiful, emotional and often exhausting. An artisan dressmaker reflects on wedding culture, perfectionism, difficult bridal dynamics and why she now accepts only a limited number of wedding dress commissions.
Black and White Mourning in the Renaissance, and the Making of a Goth- heraldic design
Discover the historically inspired iconography and the feminist message behind this design, available on Spoonflower as wallpaper, fabric, and other objects.
A few of my less favourite things: the overbearing criticism on the Thistles dress
How to design a dress you both love and hate. How to fall in love with the idea, struggle with it and then fall in love again like in the best romance novels, just to end up with a real object and a real life relationship with a piece that is necessarily not perfect.
All you need to know about shipping
Shipping is the final step in delivering my bespoke creations to you. For me, it’s both exciting and nerve-wracking: giving a dress that took hundreds of hours to create into someone else’s hands is always a leap of faith. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from shipping accidents, and I want to share this…
Order Your Unique Grimilde Malatesta Dress: A Guide
If you have been searching for a custom historical dress, a bespoke fantasy gown or a one of a kind piece made by Grimilde Malatesta, this guide explains exactly how my commissions work. Here you will discover how to purchase ready to ship designs, how the bespoke process works in my case, what mock ups…
Historical costuming: a very expensive hobby, isn’t it?
This is one I hear a lot: I put on a pretty dress, I take some photos in a nice location, and suddenly I get a lot of comments about how costuming is a very expensive hobby, about the price some of the fabrics I use must have and all of that. The rude ones,…
What do I do and why?
What do I do, and why? After writing about how did I end up doing this very niche type of art for a living, I wanted to tell you more about what exacrly I do and what drives me to expressing myself in this form. The images featured in this article are by Agnese…
Who is Grimilde Malatesta?
Who is behind Grimilde Malatesta's costumes? Despite my presence on socials and on this website for years, I had not yet thought of making a proper blog post telling my story. Maybe I just thought nobody would care to read through, but given the interest you always show for the newsletter (scroll down and subscribe!)…
The power of color
A guide on how to use color, if you feel you need one 😉
Art for a living- Do you have what it takes?
Hard pep talk for those willing to start a business in something artistic.
Fabric content
How can you describe the fabric you want? How to know if your fabric is silk or cotton?
Book review: Creating historical clothes by Elizabeth Friendship
Review of the book Creating Historical Clothes by Elizabeth Friendship.
Screen VS exhibit
Exploring the difference between what we see on screen and the real costume, what makes a costume look different and what to know before choosing the fabric when you want to go for accuracy.
Wigs basics
A small guide to the world of wigs
Few basic and fun things about dyeing
Basic notions about dyeing at home, and a fun and easy experiment.
Dressing the late victorian woman
Short essay about different outfits in a woman’s wardrobe.
Little guide 1890-1910
A little guide to how fashion changed from 1890 to 1907
I want my pictures!
A small article on photo collaboration etiquette for cosplayers and those who attend events and work in person with photographers.
Tintype ready
How do antique photography technique work? How to better prepare yourself before posing for a plate.
How can I make my historical costume look good?
A list of tricks and things to keep in mind to start filling the gap between fancy dress and historical clothing.
Fortuny experiments
Working on some experiments on Fortuny Delphos gowns.
The ebay costume experiment
Comparing the result of a handmade attempt of replica with a chinese dress from ebay.