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Girly Gorget Idea

3/21/2019

1 Comment

 
I have long felt that--for me, at least--clothing is a kind of armor.  Of course, it can also be a diary, a poem, an invitation, or a window... but some days, it's the armor I need. 

Recently, I encountered the word "gorget", realized I didn't know how the pronounce it*, and looked it up.  A gorget is a piece of medieval armor that covers the neck.  That lead me to do a Google image search, which led me to this interesting bit of machine embroidery.  So much to love: the concept of a purely decorative fabric gorget, the way it's a variation on the idea of a tie, the tesselated bird pattern...

Now, obviously, a wee little gorget like that wouldn't protect anyone's neck in battle, even if it were made of metal, but gorgets have evolved with modern warfare into badges of authority rather than actual armor:
Picture
Archives of Pearson Scott Foresman, donated to the Wikimedia Foundation.
Picture
Gorget of Nicolas Gabriel Marie Maheu, 1st Lieutenant, 22nd Regt. Infantry, "Armee de la Loire" under Napoleon Bonaparte. Between 1805 and 1813

You can see how the Napoleonic gorget is smaller, and wouldn't cover much of the neck at all.  It might be tied on with ribbons, as a decorative element to a uniform. 
This is more of an idea-post than a project-post... but wouldn't it be cool to make a similar embroidered gorget, to wear with collared shirts?  It's a neat idea! 
* It's pronounced with a hard-G: "GORE-jit".  "gor-ZHAY" is a common alternative pronunciation, as people think it's a French word and they make the -et sound like -ay by analogy with "ballet" and "valet".  However, it's not a French word; it's an English word with a French root.  It comes from the Old French word "gorgete", but the modern French word is "gorgerin".  I'll say "GORE-jit" but not correct people who say "gor-ZHAY".
1 Comment
Michelle M Harrison
3/22/2019 06:39:01 am

Gorgeous. Wonder if its related. Too early to look it up.

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    Karen Roy

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