Question from Rose - Elizabeth I's closest ladies in the 1570s

Hi! I'm doing a paper project for a history class about queen Elizabeth's ladies (maids of honour too) and I would like to know who were her closest friends among them (in the 1570's especially).

Question from flyingwind66 - Mid-16th century French gowns

I am making a mid-16th-century historically accurate replica of a French noble gown for the SCA.

I would like clarification of how the gowns of the French court were constructed. There is no shortage of information regarding the layers and construction of English Tudor gowns though very little about the French fashions in the same time period.

I read everywhere that the English were heavily influenced by the French fashions and that the French were influenced by Italian fashions... so what was common in the French courts?

I see in portraits of the French upper class that they seem to favour the detached and slashed sleeves of Italian influence though I am most confused about the method of closure on the French gowns... I know that the English Tudor gowns were closed in the front and had a placard/stomacher pinned or tied on to cover the closure though I am unsure if this was an English invention or if the French did it too? Did the French upper class have gowns tied closed on the sides/back/front like Italian gowns? Do they pin/tie on placards/stomachers? I read somewhere that they could have hidden hook and eye closures in the front but I don't know the source.

Question from Cindy - Connections between Queens Catherine Howard and Catherine Medici

Hello! Here is my question: My ancestor, Thomas Haws Howard, stated on his Civil War records that our family was related to Queen Howard Medici. Obviously this has posed a problem because I know of Queen Catherine Howard and Queen Catherine Medici, so I can't figure out which queen he meant. Does anyone know of a connection between these two queens or have any ideas on what this statement could have meant?
Thank you so much!

Question from Danielle - Surviving jewelry and clothing from the Tudor period

Is there anywhere I can see official clothing or jewellery from the Tudor period? If not not, what happened to all the dresses worn by Henry's wives & children?

[Variations on this question have been asked before, and some are linked below - but it's one that doesn't hurt to be asked again given rotating displays in museums, historic houses, etc. - Lara]

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2008/12/question-from-nancy-surviving-items-of.html

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2008/05/question-from-daniel-surviving-tudor.html

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/03/question-from-jenna-royal-jewels.html

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2011/03/question-from-karen-fate-of-anne.html