The Medieval Period in
England was between
the years
AD 449–1492.
We looked at the
Fashion of the
Middle Ages
Last time.
Now it is on to the
Renaissance Period
Renaissance: From the 1400s to the early 1700s
In about 1450, when the printing press was invented, a
new era was ushered in, an era of quickly circulating
information that allowed for new inventions, new styles,
and new discoveries: the Renaissance.
This colorful era began in Florence, Italy, but soon spread
to the rest of Europe.
This was a time when music, art, and literature flourished.
The fashions that came with this era were still deeply influenced by
late medieval fashions, but they also had a personality of their own.
Rich men wore white silk shirts, frilled at the
neck and wrists. Over this they wore a doublet
(a bit like a tight-fitting jacket), and closefitting hose. Their clothes gave them a square
shape.
Rich ladies wore tight fitting, wooden corsets
to make their waists very thin and padded
skirts held up with hoops. Their clothes gave
them a triangular shape.
At the beginning of the
Renaissance, clothing started
to become rounder and
fuller.
Women’s clothing began
with high waistlines,
square necklines, and
finestrella sleeves.
finestrella sleeves
sleeves where the outer
fabric was slit horizontally
and the sleeves of the
undergarment were pulled
through
However, waists
continually lowered until
they became extremely
low, tapered, and vshaped by the end of
Elizabeth’s reign. Sleeves
became rounder and had
to be stuffed.
Necklines remained square,
though in the second half of the
period they were often higher on
the neck to accommodate the
ruff.
Ruff –
a projecting
starched frill
worn around
the neck
The farthingale
was perhaps the biggest contribution of the
Renaissance. When first used, is was shaped
like a cone with wire hoops. The increasing
size of the farthingale needed a lot of material
to furnish it, and laws were passed to try to
curtail their use (these laws were very much
ignored). Skirts also became shorter so they
might show pretty high-heeled shoes and even
glimpses of stockings.
DEFINITION - farthingale
rigid undergarment meant to provide
shape and support to a skirt. In two
forms; Spanish (conical) French
(wheel-shaped)
Chemise
The main
undergarment
for women that
showed at the
neckline
and
wrists.
slashing
cutouts in an
outer garment
revealing the
garments
below
French
Hood
A pillbox
shaped hat
with a
turned up
brim.
The desired Renaissance
female figure had a
silhouette of:
wide shoulders
a long, narrow waist
a flat chest
and full hips
which was mostly modeled after the slight
but ever so influential figure of Elizabeth I.
Renaissance: From the 1400s to the early 16th century (1700s)
Body Type: The ideal Renaissance woman was more voluptuous than any other time in history. Paintings from
this era depict women who would be considered beyond curvy by today’s standards - but at that time, these fullfigured ladies were the epitome of sexiness. For the first time in recorded history, women were prized for their
natural bodies.
Beauty: The term “blondes have more fun” may have stemmed from the Renaissance, because they believed
that the lighter the hair color, the better. As for make-up, pale ivory skin was considered sexy, and vermillion was
used to tint the lips to a deep red color. Pale complexion and blood red lips.
An interesting phenomena with women’s fashions was that
women would pluck their foreheads and sometimes entire
eyebrows to have the appearance of a high forehead, and
therefore intelligence, which was so worshipped during the
Renaissance.
Fashion Icons of the Renaissance
As usual in the world of
fashion, people with an
abundance of influence,
control, and power tend to
set the current trends and
styles. This has always
been true since the dawn
of time. The only
difference is that back in
the Olden Days the
monarchs set these trends,
while now it is usually
celebrities.
Henry VIII
King of England from 1509 - 1547
Henry the VIII was, during the younger part of his life,
active and reportedly handsome, extremely vain, and a
symbol for all things manly. He was also never lacking in an
abundance of fur and jewels to showcase his wealth.
He reportedly spent 16,000 ducats on clothing annually,
which would be about $3,140,000 today.
He was also described as being the best-dressed king in the
world: his robes were the richest and most superb that
could be imagined: and he put on new clothes every
Holyday.
Subsequently, his styles became fashionable throughout
the Western European empires.
Methods, such as slashing & puffing and stuffing sleeves &
shoulders, that enlarged the figure became wildly popular
during his reign and remained even after his death. Even
women’s clothing exhibited more fur and larger sleeves.
Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most loved
monarchs of all time, She was Queen of England from 1558 to her
death in 1603.
Her influence in the realm of fashion is a good example of her
influence over people, as well as their devotion to her.
This portrait portrays
the styles she made
fashionable, including
the ruff, wasp waist,
and leg-of-mutton
sleeves, as well as her
love of pearls.
She was very fond of clothing, so much so
that when she died she had over 3,000
gowns and headpieces in her
wardrobe. Although she was never
considered a great beauty, her style was
widely admired and mimicked. She was a
tiny woman–small-breasted and smallwaisted. consequently, fashions accented a
silhouette of a long, flat, narrow torso. Even
men wore corsets to try to make their
bodies fit this mode. Her pale complexion
and high forehead caused women to wear
even more white powder/paste on their
faces than before and pluck their foreheads
and eyebrows (Elizabeth actually died from
lead poisoning from the lead that was in the
white makeup she used to cover her
smallpox scars). She also loved elaborate
clothing just as much, if not more, than her
father. Her outfits were always lavished
with jewels, embroidery, ribbons, and
lace. Her particular favorites were pearls,
representing her image as the “Virgin
Queen.”
Elizabeth I
Balenciaga at
Paris Fashion
Week Spring
2006
Models Without
Eyebrows at
Gareth Pugh
Spring 2009
Alexander
McQueen's
Final Collection
For Fall 2010:
All Angels and
Demons
Good bye Renaissance.
Hello 1800’s
1820 Ball Gown
Victorian Era: From 1837 to 1901 (named after Britain’s Queen
Victoria)
Body Type: Unlike Renaissance women, Victorian women were very
body conscious. Sexy meant having the smallest waistline humanly
possible, and in order to achieve this look, women wore corsets. Some
corsets were wound so tight that women could hardly breathe, to the
point where sitting down was completely out of the question. Many
women would even break ribs trying to get their waistlines down to an
inconceivable 12 inches. Layered
petticoats, hoops, and bustles became
very popular, all of which magnified
the largest parts of the body Beauty: Modesty was the operative
word when it came to Victorian
makeup. High-class women were
expected to use makeup sparingly.
Bold colors were considered trashy,
and reserved for prostitutes. Some
religions at the time even proclaimed
beauty products to be “the look of the
devil.”
Victorian Fashion
This era in fashion ranged primarily from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. It's named for the
influential English queen of the time, and her style came to define one of the most
memorable periods in modern history.
When Victoria became Queen in 1837 she was
only 18 years old and her influence wasn't
immediate. As her reign progressed, her
attitude came to symbolize the entire era.
Victoria believed in excessive modesty and the
Fashion of the time was a reflection of her
opinions.
Queen Victoria greatly influenced how women
perceived themselves and how men perceived
them. A woman's "job" was in the home, as
wife and mother. Wealthy women of the time
followed Victoria's lead in dress and leisure
pursuits. These are typically the women who
defined Victorian fashion history, as the poor
female laborers had no access to the genteel
trappings of the upper classes.
1840’s
1840s dresses can be a bit, well, plain and
boring.
This dress comes in a typically boring 1840s
color: rust brown, but does include some
quite distinctive features: beautifully worked
tone-on-tone embroidery, triple puffed
sleeves, two rows of hem ruffles, and a
cunningly cut and draped bodice.
Silk
French
dress
(1865)
French dress
(1867-1869)
made of silk and cloth
Dinner dress (1880-1882)
Evening dress by R.H. White & Company (1885) made of silk
and feathers
Evening
dress by
House of
Worth
(1887)
made of silk and
metal
Ball gown by House of Worth (1898)
made of silk, rhinestones and metal
Under
the dress
From cage crinolines
to bustles and bodyhugging corsets, it
was often the
structures worn
under clothes which
gave Victorian
fashion its form.
Crinoline
The word crinoline comes
from the French for 'crin' and
'lin', meaning horsehair and
linen respectively.
1860
The vast hoop skirts of the mid-19th
century were supported by crinolines –
steel, cage-like structures worn with a
corset and petticoats. They were
cumbersome and dangerous (it was tricky
to sit down and to get in and out of
carriages plus they could get trapped in
machinery and catch fire) but at least they
were lightweight and allowed the wearer’s
legs to move freely. The crinoline reached
its maximum dimensions in 1860 and then
started to shrink to less ludicrous
proportions.
Crinoline
A crinoline was a
stiff wired hoop
skirt that would go
under women's
dresses to keep
them in a
particular shape.
Crinoline cage, about 1860.
Bustle
When the hoop skirt
lost popularity it was
replaced by a
framework known as
the bustle. The
overall shape was full
in front and even
more fabric to the
back.
Bustles came in all shapes and
sizes. Some were constructed
almost entirely of steel, others
resembled colorful cushions.
A bustle is a type of framework
used to expand the fullness or
support the drapery of the back of
a woman's dress
Corset
Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) being laced into
her corset by her Mammy (Hattie McDaniel)
Corset
undergarment
extending from
below the chest to
the hips, worn to
shape the figure.
Today….
Waist-Training
Corset
House of
Worth
First Haute
Couture House
developed by
Charles Worth
The Age of
Innocence
Pride and Prejudice