How to Make a Poet's Clothes From 1645

English poet John Milton sits at a chamber organ.

The seventeenth century can seem to come alive in a costume of a poet from the 1640s. The costume can represent the way John Milton (1608-1674), the author of "Paradise Lost" and other influential works, might have looked in 1645. Perhaps your costume will help channel your inner poet.

Things You'll Need

• White kerchief
• White or black button-down shirt
• Black trench coat
• Brass buttons
• Black slacks, preferably with front pleats
• Black belt
• White knee-high trouser socks or nylons
• Black shoes, such as laced and leather jazz dance shoes
• 2 ribbons, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide
• 2 synthetic carnation flowers
• Safety pins
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Use scissors to remove the buttons from the coat.

2. Use safety pins to attach brass buttons to the coat.

3. Fold the hems of the slacks inward until the pants end just below the knee.

4. Wrap a ribbon around a pant leg, with the excess of both ends of the ribbon at the outside edge of the pant leg.

5. Attach the ribbon to the folded hem with a safety pin from the inside of the pant leg. While pinning, gather the pant leg to fit closely around the knee.

6. Tie the ends of the ribbon in a bow at the outside edge of the pant leg. Trim the ribbon ends to the desired length.

7. Repeat Steps 4 through 6 on the other pant leg.

8. Remove the stems from synthetic carnations.

9. Attach a carnation to the bill, or top, of each shoe with a safety pin.

10. 

    John Milton sits for one of several portraits painted during his life.

    Dress in the costume:

    Put on white knee-high socks or nylons and black shoes with carnation embellishments.

    Put on the slacks and fasten them with the belt high on the waist.

    Put on the button-down shirt, buttoning all but the top button, and tuck it in to the slacks.

    Put on the black coat with brass buttons.

    Tuck the white kerchief into the front of the shirt collar, bunching it.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a coat and slacks that appear baggy on the wearer to achieve the more draped appearance of clothes in 1645.

• Wear your hair parted on the side and tousled or in large curls, with long hair pulled low on the neck and tied with a ribbon.

References

• The Enchanting Verses International Poetry Journal: Issue XIII: Dedicated to John Milton