Yay cotehardies! Please forgive me if you have checked out these sources- I've been making myself some more garb and they are all pretty much cotehardies/ gothic fitted dresses.

www.cottesimple.com/ A pretty good site to give you general information about the cotehardie from an analysis of the art of the fourteenth century. I guess part of the problem is that there are not really many (if any) extant garments from the time period so we have to figure it out from pictures. There is also a step by step guide on how to fit the gothic fitted dress and how to get the body shape you want.

www.virtue.to/articles/ Not so much about cotehardies but great for accessories!


www.netherton.net/robin/ More notes on the gothic fitted dress- I guess she was one of the first to teach this particular fitting technique

As to answer your question- it depends on how you want to look. If you want a more modern flat tummy look then start the gores at your hips. If you want the more "tummy forward" look seen in the fourteenth century start them about 3-4 inches below the bottom of your bust. I have pretty big hips so I start my gores higher to get a nice smooth curve over them. I wouldn't start them any lower than the top of your hips.