The costumes and
fashion from the Elizabethan time
During this time the laws governed the clothing to a large
extend. These laws decide the colour and the type of clothing that could be
worn by different induvisuals.
Clothing during this era, the upper class enjoyed the
privilege to wear luxurious types of clothing. This was not the same with the
middle and the lower class.
The upper class and royals wore clothing made out of
different materials like leather , fur, silk velvet lace etc. and they could use
various types of colours ad e
mbellishments like gold trimmings as an embellishment was used by the queen Elizabeth.
Their was great flexibility and allowance of the use of
colour by the queen for the upper class while the idle and the lower class were
restricted to the use of dark colours and inexpensive fabrics.
During the Elizabeth period,
the women wanted their clothing to look much with that of the men such as broad
shoulders, wide hips and slim waist.
The bodice during this time came down upto the waist.
Lots of varieties of dyes were used at that time which used
to make the clothes look lavish. However it used to be quite expensive.
In many of her portraits,, Elizabeth have been seen wearing
a deep crimson robe which was dyed with the help of an insect which is found in
the Mediterranean.
The brighter the colours, the higher the prices quoted. The working class or peasants wore clothes
dyed in yellow, orange, green, pale blue, pink and russet.
Clothing
during this period mostly consisted of gowns, underclothing, corsets,
hats,ruffs , collars and shoes.
Women
also liked to fancy jewellery, however the ruffs were indispensable when it
came to men and women clothing and was very significant ii making them look
elegant.
The
ruffs were worn around the neck and the wrists and their sizes kept on growing
larger. Even the queen herself wore highly elaborated collars.
For most
of the women during this time, a thin petticoat was worn and above that came
the corset and the skirt.
The petticoat
was generally padded with hoops at the hips. And to finish off the look, a coat
or a dressing gown was worn on top of
the bodice and the skirt that went all the way down to the floor.
The men were dressed up as stylish
gentle men. They wore boots, shirts, fitted jackets , breeches that came to the
knees, hose and a codpiece. These codpieces were often highly elaborated. For a
social occasion, men would add on a hat, ruffs and a cloak of some rich material
like velvet.
Wealthy me wore garments which
were made in vibrant colors and were trimmed in gold or silver. They also wore
jewels and rare fur.
The poor however wore fustian,
leather or canvas.
Older kids dressed as miniatures of the adults
while the younger sexes dressed alike in gowns, aprons, bibs and caps.
The doublet was a striking part of
the men’s clothing. The sleeves which served as a separate garment were tied to
the doublet with laces.
The hair of men were usually
combed forward and at the front to forma short fringe over the forehead. During
the mid 16th century, a trimmed beard or mustache came into style.
While the rich enjoyed the
luxuries of dressing up, the poor and the middle class were segmented and differentiated
in terms of clothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment