The annual Orange City Tulip Festival Extravaganza was held Wednesday, March 22, at Prairie Winds Event Center. The event featured a luncheon and program during which the costumes for the 2023 Tulip Queen and Court were revealed and the 2023 parade marshal was introduced.
TULIP COURT COSTUMES
The 2023 Tulip Court is proud to be wearing costumes from the Friesland region known as Leeuwaarden. This costume has never been done at before at the Tulip Festival. The Queens costume is based on a wedding gown, the style being reserved for the ladies from the richest circles in Friesland in 1781. The Court’s costumes were patterned after photos from the museum exhibit “Chintz in Bloom” at the Fries Museum, also from the same era.
Both the queens full costume and the court skirt are made from a medium weight blue on blue brocade, with a large floral pattern.
The Court costume is colorful— the jacket is made of a Dutch Chintz replica print. Chintz is a type of pattern that was made using woodblock, that was painted, stained or glazed to create a type of calico print. It typically includes flowers, and different colors on top of a lighter background. This print specifically was made by Dutch designers to replicate those popular ones from the late 1700s.
All of the jackets (yaks) have a fitted bodice, and sleeve, with a full peplum— there are 3 double pleats in the back of every jacket— ask the ladies to give a twirl sometime!
This costume boasts a “craplap”— a white under shirt, which is made of a white stripe with a lace trim around the neck. White knitted “sleevette” are worn on the colder days!
The scarves are all voile which has been embroidered and finished with lace. The Queen’s apron is the same voile, embroidered with a repeating floral serpentine to create circles, while the court apron is a happy red and white check.
The necklaces are garnet colored surrounded by gold, which sit at the base of the neck.
The hats are another unique part of this costume, and what happens beneath is key! Everyone wears a white under cap, a metal oorijizer, and hat pins keep things in place.
The court’s bonnet style outer cap hat is believed to be an everyday hat, and it is made of a white cotton eyelette. The brim is heavily starched, then pressed into the square shape. As a bonus, the hat folds in on itself, so it can be stored flat!
The Queen’s hat, does not fold on itself! It is made of lace, haberdashery wire, white voile, and cord— the 4 elements working together, along with the under cap, to give this hat its show-stopping shape! It is originally a bridal cap, known as a ‘German Hat.’
