A couple of shots of Trossfrauen in their natural environment.

Seated Woman - Albrecht Durer

 Detail Woman and Knaves -  Max Geisberg

CAVEAT LECTOR (or Lectrix):  I am by no means an expert on 16th Century German costume or history.  Much of what I offer is my observations, and could be entirely incorrect.  If you've found something that is so erroneous that you just can't take it, feel free to message me and I'll correct it.

Trossfrauen, lit. Baggage Train Women, were the women that went with the mercenary armies of Switzerland and later the Holy Roman Empire.  They followed the Swiss pikemen and Landsknechts all over hill and dale; cooking, cleaning, sewing, and so forth for the most feared mercenaries in Europe.  Like the Landsknecht, they wore distinctive clothing, though their garments were not as... unique (nor as leather-dependent) as their male fellows.  

The dresses of the Trossfrau share some distinct similarities with the clothing of working women from around Europe.  Typically, the layers consisted of a shirt, a skirt or petticote, a kirtle, and a gown.  Most of what I have read and seen seems to indicate that there was not a kirtle worn under the Trossfrau's gown, but my experience in this time period is *very* limited and would recommend anyone looking to me for guidance to do their own research on this subject.

The overriding theme of the Trossfrau's garment is "workability", these were hard wearing garments that needed to be worn in the heat, in the cold, along roads, in camps, in dust, and in mud, and be functional for work. These were not fine gowns for fine ladies, these were hard-working dresses for women who didn't have time for your shit.  This is not to say that women didn't put time into the detail of their gowns, or were wearing potato sacks, but the decoration does not appear to have limited the functionality of the garments to a great extent.

Trossfrau gowns were made of wool or linen.  Mine will be made of wool, lined in the torso with cotton twill.  My choice of materials is a combination of desire for historical accuracy and ease of acquisition. 

I'm planning on lacing my sleeves into the dress, for ease of fitting as well as ease of losing the sleeves when I get too hot (which will happen).  I'd like to find some evidence of this in images of Trossfrauen, but I'm not having a whole lot of luck on that front.  

Up next, the Captain part of Captain Trossfrau!