Forsooth, a delectable Elizabethan tapestry dress, available from Meat Market Vintage Clothing on ebay.

I have never seen a print like this before. Never in all my days. The colors all muted, pensive, as if in a minor key. Olive abstract leaves form a background with touches of fawn and here and there a coral flower. I love the heavily-lidded eyes of the bearded courtiers, their ruffs and expressive hands. I also love the profile of our one-eyed redheaded lady and her haughty high forehead. But there are other parts of this repeat print that I wish had been focal points for the photos: the lovely lady with the lute (seen in the side view), the melancholy brunette with the gold ruff,the gentleman with the brown velvet sleeves. And how I love the empty black chairs, seemingly of wrought iron, left unoccupied in the garden. The details on the clothing of each of the figures is stunning, precise and yet full of expressionistic brushwork.

Sadly this one is not my size, or I'd snap it up and wear it to baroque recorder concerts. For winter I'd probably want to wear a chocolate-brown velvet shirt with long puffy sleeves underneath (to mirror those on one of the figures). This sheath would also look lovely with tights and over-the-knee boots. I don't think I'd be able to resist wrangling my hair into a snood either. Please get this dress. It would look darling on you, and you would show restraint. Over-the-knee boots or a snood, but not both, right? I always succumb to the cornucopia of details.

I had hoped to amass an absolute horde of novelty prints with lutes on them, or other quaint musical instruments, but the progress has been painfully slow.