STANDARD EXAMINER SpHERS WEDNESDAV.MAVI4.2014 Ladies stylin' in Renaissance fashions By BECKY CAIRNS Standard-Examiner staff Pearls or gemstones, silk or linen... whatever does the well- dressed woman wear to the Renaissance Faire? Well, that depends, my lady, on whether you be peasant or royalty. Women of both the upper and lower crusts are flaunting their best fashions at the annual Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire now underway in Marriott-Slaterville. And when it comes to the dictates of dress in the 15th and 16th centuries, who knows the trends better than the queen of the fair herself, "Queen Elizabeth" (also known as costume shop owner Laura Bedore of Salt Lake City), and her court attendant Lady Elysabeth Ashby (none other than Sheri Mathes, of Grand Junction, Col.). The women took a break from their courtly duties Saturday to highlight some of the garb visitors may see at the festival Friday, May 16, through Sunday, May 18, and May 23-25, ranging from glamorous jewels to practical work garments. The first thing to know about clothing during the Renaissance is you could tell a lot about someone by how they were dressed. "The finer the fabric and the more bejeweled, the higher the station of the person," said Mathes, a member of the historical re-creationist society The Order of the Azure Rose. BRIANASCROGGINS/Standard-Examinei Robyn Rawlins, of Ogden, dresses as Queen Mary I in an 80-pound handmade dress during the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire in Marriott-Slaterville last Saturday. As the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, the queen's dresses had a Spanish influence accented with gold lace, pearls, hanging sleeves and aglets. A farthingale, or hoop skirt, was worn under the dress to give the illusion of floating.