Passers-by are stunned by the sight of a lady in full Elizabethan garb strolling through the center of Gambier. Cars pass slowly so drivers can get a better look. Elizabeth Gottschalk can tell when people notice her--they'll do a double take. "I enjoy making people slow down and think twice," she says with a smile.

"I've always loved fantasy and the Renaissance," explains the Latin major from Ann Arbor, Michigan. In high school, Gottschalk made several costumes inspired by the Lord of the Rings movies, working mostly from patterns. Then she set her sights on a far more complicated target: a historically accurate costume to wear to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, which she and her friends attend every summer.

"I had to do a ton of research," says Gottschalk, who consulted several books on costuming for the stage. The hoop skirt alone is an impressive engineering feat, replacing the original metal hoops with thin, flexible PVC pipe. The corset is even more complicated, with its wooden busk (supportive center insert), neat rows of boning, and eyelets up the back for lacing. The maroon costume required more than thirty yards of rich brocades and other fabrics.

Associate Professor of Classics Carolin Hahnemann encouraged Gottschalk to show off the dress to her IPHS class. The gown fit in perfectly with the stained glass and ornate woodwork in Philomathesian Hall, Hahnemann says. "I wore the dress to class for two days," Gottschalk recalls, "and went to work at the library, too. For three hours, I was checking in books in costume."