HISTORY
A few years ago I made a Robe à la française in an informal Toile de Jouy fabric. I based my dress on one from the Kyoto Costume Institute in Japan, and I noticed that one of the pictures showed a slit, an opening, in the side of the skirt. This was my first introduction to the use of pockets underneath historical female dresses.
Until some months ago I thought this use of pockets was unique to the 18.th century. But then I got the brilliant book Moda a Firenze, which shows two examples of Renaissance pockets. And not long after I discovered the quite unique roof fresco of Alessandro Allori (1535-1607), made for the maiden quarter of Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The roof fresco is unique because it depicts a scene rarely (if ever) seen elsewhere. The main layout is a roof terrasse, with women doing everyday things like washing and combing their hair, mending collars and underclothes, washing a dog etc. Over their heads there's hanging various linen and undercloth garbs, as they had just been washed and is drying in the sun. Genre paintings had been common in the North of Europe for some time, but was still uncommon in Italy. Allori's roof fresco is an early example of such genre painting.
The maiden quarter, ca. 1588/89, Alessandro Allori (Palazzo Pitti, Florence)
The women are wearing rather informal attires, though one have pearl earrings and finer clothes. Two (or possibly three) of these women have saccoccias hanging from their waist; two of a greenish mint fabric with gold pattern or embroidery, and one which looks stripy with golden buttons. The woman combing her hair and the woman braiding her hair (opposite eachother in the fresco) might be the same person - she seems to wear the same outfit, and the hair colour is similar.
The book Moda Firenze, which deals with Florentine fashion and how it changed when Eleonora di Toledo imported a continental fashion to the city, also shows saccoccias. Like the roof fresco, two of the illustrations are by Allori (as above) and one is by Giovanni Stradano. The first is from ca. 1575-78, and shows a pocket very similar to the roof fresco ones. It's of a mint green fabric, probably silk, and has a golden ornamental pattern. The second is similar in shape, but very different in decorations. It's made of a golden yellow silk or velvet, with black trimmings. It's attached to an apron string, where the yellow apron had black stripes, and the same fabric is used for the string. It's made ca. 1595, so it's a bit later than the other ones. The third is a round, allegorical depiction of women weaving and sewing. The saccoccia depicted is a bit different than the Allori ones, as the slit is much bigger, and the overall shape is squarer. But the size seems about the same.
Common for these depictions is that they show either working women or women in domestic tasks (hereunder dressing). This doesn't mean such loose pockets weren't worn with finer outfits - they were hidden under the skirt: From the side openings of the skirt, corresponding to those of the bodice, it was possible to access the inside pockets, such as that found among the folds of the funeral dress (of Eleonora di Toledo, my note). These pockets could also be separate items - and mention of such objects is made in the registers of the Guardaroba - tied at the waist, or even sewn to the stays, and left visible only in the costumes of middle and working class women (Landini 2005: 86). Saccoccias are also mentioned in the wardrobe list of a Lisabetta Bonsi: Two cloth pockets with gold lace (Landini 2005: 93).
1. "Woman at her toilet", ca. 1575-78, Alessandro Allori (Santa Maria Novella, Florence)
2. "Birth of the Virgin", ca. 1595, Alessandro Allori (Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona)
3. "Ceiling of the Sala di Penelope", 1561-62, Giovanni Stradano, Palazzo Vecchio
I had only seen embroidered pockets from the 18.th century previously, so the geometrical Renaissance one fascinated me. The simplicity in shape and trims was highly appealing, and the black/yellow colour combination is striking. In the autumn of 2008 I spent a month in Rome, studying, and after two weeks there I just had to do some needlework. Luckilly/unfortuneately I stumbled across Rome's fabric show district, between Piazza Venezia and Piazza Argentina. In a tiny, old show I found a lovely golden silk, and I bought half a meter. In another shop I bought a black velvet trim, needles and thread. And I ran home to make my first Renaissance saccoccia.
The actual construction isn't too complicated. Very short description:
1. Used a round lunch plate to draw the bottom half, and drew sloping vertical lines to form the top
2. Cut two identical pieces
3. Made a deep split (almost halfway down) in one of the two pieces
4. Made a supporting line around the split, and added button hole seam around all edges
5. Attached a velvet strip in the bottom, splitting the top end slightly to fit around the bottom of the split
6. Attached the right side velvet trim, around the split, and folding it to the side
7. Repeated this on the left side
8. Sewn the two pieces together
(9. Ironed the seams)
(10. Finished the top)
I don't think I will attach it to an apron string. I plan to wear it under my Unicorn dress. It has side lacing in the bodice, and the skirt has small side splits hidden in the pleats. Wearing a pocket underneath can turn out to be both comfortable and practical. Pictures to come of the full ensemble.
The earliest reference I've found for Renaissance saccoccias is the Allori work from 1575. I would still assume it was a part of a woman's everyday attire from maybe as early as the 15.th century. I'm trying to find more picture references, so stay tuned for updates...