Elizabeth's gown is taken from the Hardwick portrait, which was painted around 1599 in the studio of the English goldsmith and painter, Nicholas Hilliard.  

It shows the English queen in the last years of her life.

 

It is believed that it was commissioned by Bess of Hardwick, who rose from modest origins to become the wealthiest woman in Elizabethan England after the queen herself. The painting can be seen at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, England. 

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Elizabeth's silk dress is a work of art in itself, richly embroidered by hand with dragons, sea serpents, birds and flowers, and heralds the later fashion of colourful Jacobean embroidery. The black overdress is made from velvet.