BRITISH COSTUME FASHION THROUGH THE AGES

16th and 17th centuries - Tudors and Stuarts Man's Formal Clothes about 1548 This gentleman wears an over-gown with full upper sleeves adding breadth to his shoulders, fashionable from a

1050 to 1490: 11th to

15th century

Day Clothes about 1050

This man and woman (left) date from about

1050, just before the Norman Conquest in

1066 They wear the basic medieval garments: a tunic, probably of wool, slightly fitted with a high neck and long sleeves, usually worn over a linen shirt

The lady's tunic, similar to the man's but longer, has a semi-circular mantle fastening on the shoulder The lady covers her long hair with a hood held by a band, and carries a travelling pouch; the man wears loose hose and leather shoes

The Anglo Saxons were known for their skill

in embroidery and braid weaving, like that trimming the man's tunic.

Day and Travelling Clothes

about 1150

Fashion changed slowly in

medieval times This man and

woman (left) still wear the

semi-circular shoulder fastening

mantles and tunics like those of a

century earlier, differing only in

being more closely fitted and

having long flowing cuffs

Long hair was an Anglo-Saxon

fashion borrowed by the Normans,

and the woman has hers braided

into cloth-covered plaits beneath

her hood The man is dressed for

travelling in a hooded fur cloak

and pointed hat He wears cloth

bound leggings instead of hose

His feet are bare here, but some

contemporary shoes were quite

decorative.

Travelling Clothes about 1250 (left)

By 1250 men's and women's tunics were cut with a wide upper sleeve Most men, except the elderly, preferred tunics short Cloaks were usually held by a cord at the shoulder A variety of loose over- gowns were also popular, and these had sleeves with two openings, allowing them to hang loosely like the university gowns based on them and still seen today

The woman's plaits are coiled in a bun at each ear sometimes covered with a net, and the flat headband is kept in place by a veil or 'wimpole' drawn closely under the chin

Day clothes about 1300

The young man (left) is wearing a shorter tunic and pointed shoes These shoes were characteristic of the 14th century and were called crackowes or poulaines, and are believed to have derived from Poland The length of the toe was said to indicate the rank of the wearer and became more and more exaggerated by the end of the 14th century.

Lady's Day Dress about 1490

This lady of about 1490 wears a rich gown of thick material brocaded with gold This line foreshadows the severe styles of the court of the early Tudors, with a low waist and high neckline Her skirt has a train but is pinned up at the back for convenience when walking and to show off the fur lining Her

sleeves are in a new fashion, funnel shaped, and faced with fur

She wears a hood, with cape dangling like a

curtain, front turned up and stiffened, and worn

over a wired and jewelled undercap almost

concealing her scraped back hair Her shoes have very broad toes Materials are rich and heavy,

many imported from Flanders and Italy.

Man's Day Clothes about 1490

This young man wears clothes in the 'Italian

Fashion', much less enveloping than those those of his lady above His doublet reaches only to his

waist and is very tight, with slits on the chest and sleeves giving room to move and an opportunity for his fine shirt to be seen His hose are tied to the waist with 'points' (laces) and and fasten in the

front with a 'cod piece' (flap) For riding he wears protective leather stockings, and his shoes have broad toes This style replaced peaked shoes in

around 1480

His short loose gown with long hanging sleeves is cut to hang open and show the contrasting facings His hair is shoulder length and his flat hat has a jewelled rim.

16th and 17th centuries -

Tudors and Stuarts

Man's Formal Clothes about 1548

This gentleman wears an over-gown with

full upper sleeves adding breadth to his

shoulders, fashionable from about 1520

His doublet is loose with a seam at the

waist and skirts, and his upper stocks

(breeches) are separate from his hose for

greater comfort

He has a padded 'cod piece' and his shirt

is embroidered in black silk with small

frills at the neck, which eventually will

develop into the ruff His cap is softer

and wider and his shoes are less broad in

the toe than in the early years of Henry

VIII

Man's Formal Clothes about 1600 (left)

This gentleman (pictured left) wears a padded doublet with pointed waist and short padded breeches, with tapering 'canion' at the knee, over which the stocking is pulled His 'Spanish' cloak is heavily embroidered Possibly Sir Walter Raleigh threw down a similar one to protect Queen Elizabeth from the mud!

He wears a starched and gathered ruff, developed from the shirt neck frill after about

1560 His jewellery includes the collar of the Order of the Garter His hat would have been conical

Lady's Formal Dress about 1610

This lady shows the dress which first

appeared in the later portraits of Queen

Elizabeth about 1580 and remained

fashionable in the reign of James I The

bodice is very long, pointed and stiff, and

the wide skirt is supported by hip 'boulsters'

of the 'drum farthingale'

The sleeves are wide and the neckline low,

with ruff open to frame the face It is

trimmed with lace newly introduced from

Flanders and Spain Her pleated fan is a new

fashion from China Fashionable ladies no

longer wore a cap and her uncovered hair is

dressed high with ribbons and feathers

Lady's Day dress about 1634

This lady wears a soft satin walking dress with the short waist and full flowing skirt fashionable from around 1620 Her bodice is cut almost like a man's doublet and equally masculine are her wide-

plumed hat and long 'lovelock' on her short hair She wears a fine wide Flemish lace collar veiling the gold braid on her bodice For formal occasions the neck would be left bare, and the hair dressed with jewels

Ordinary women's dress was similar but they, except when riding, wore a close lace-trimmed cap

Man's Day Clothes about 1629

This gentleman wears a suit with the new

softer line The short-waisted doublet with

long skirts has slits on the chest and

sleeve, allowing for movement The

knee-length breeches, full but not padded, are

supported by hooks inside the waistline

The ribbon 'points' at waist and knee are

decorative survivors of the lacing hose

supports of late medieval times The

lace-trimmed ruff falls to the shoulders and the

hair is long with a 'lovelock' Boots and

gloves are of soft leather

Man's Day Clothes about 1650

This gentleman wears a suit based on the Dutch fashions then popular It has a short unstiffened jacket and wide breeches hanging loose to the knee Dark colours were generally worn and not confined to followers of Parliament Matching braid provides trimming

About 1660, ribbons became popular trimmings and hundreds of metres could be used on a suit

at shoulder, waist and knee, and for the bows on the square-toed shoes He wears a fine square lace collar fashionable around 1650 - 70, a cloak and a narrow-brimmed conical hat

Lady's Formal Dress about

1674

This lady wears a formal dress

showing how long the waistline

had become since 1640 Her

bodice is low and stiffened and

the short sleeves show much of

her lace and ribbon-trimmed

shift The skirt is made to wear

open, displaying the elaborately

trimmed petticoat False curls

were sometimes added to the

wide-dressed hair

Lady's Formal Dress about 1690

Late 17th century dress had become stiff, formal and based on French court fashions The dress has become an over-gown pinned over the stiff corset to show the 'stomacher' and gathered back at the hips to show the embroidered petticoat Lace frills on the

shift show at the neck and sleeves The

most characteristic feature is the hair,

beginning to be dressed high in the 1680's This style was named after Mlle de

Fontanges, a favourite of Louis XIV, who is believed to have originated it This tall

headress was formed of several rows of

folded lace and ribbons, rising one above

the other and supported on wires

The fashion of wearing on the face black

patches of various shapes was still in

fashion, small circular patch-boxes being

carried so that any that fell off could be

replaced This fashion was ridiculed at the time:

"Here's all the wandring planett signes

And some o' the fixed starrs,

Already gumd, to make them stick,

They need no other sky."

18th and early 19th century

- The Georgians / Regency

Period

Man's Day Clothes about 1738

This gentleman wears a smart summer suit,

with the coat more tightly fitting than at the

end of the 17th century It is made of plain

cloth embroidered on edges and pockets,

which are raised to hip level The waistcoat is

plain and the breeches are tighter and fasten

below the knee The shirt is frilled at the cuff

and around the neck is a knotted muslin or

lace cravat He wears his own hair For formal

occasions a powdered wig tied back with a

bow would be worn and his coat and

waistcoat would be of patterned silks

Lady's Day Dress about 1750

This lady wears a 'sackback' dress developed

from the flowing undress gowns of 17th

century Beneath are a stiff corset and cane

side hoops supporting the skirts

The frills of her shift show at the neck, veiled

in a muslin 'kerchief' and at the opening of

her wing-like cuffs, which are typical of the

1750's She wears a round muslin cap, the

central pleat recalling the 'fontange' (1690 -

1710) For formal dress she would wear richly

brocaded or embroidered silks

Man's Day Clothes about 1770 (left)

This gentleman wears a plain coat, tightly fitting and cut away, forming curving tails The waistcoat

is shortened to just below the waist and the breeches are longer and tighter than before His coat has a band collar and he wears a rather stiff stock instead of a cravat He wears his own hair, but for formal occasions he would have a powdered wig, dressed high and tied at the back Embroidery and trimming were no longer fashionable except for formal wear

Lady's Day Dress about 1780

This dress is typical of the simple countrified

styles which became fashionable towards the

end of the century It is a 'redingote' or riding

coat, modelled on a man's coat The waist has

become shorter and the bosom is padded by a

muslin 'buffon' neckerchief and the hips by a

'false rump' The hair is dressed in a mass of

loose curls and the lady wears a huge hat

inspired by a mid-17th century riding hat

Woollen cloth, cotton and linen had become

fashionable materials, while silks were worn for

evening, as were small hoops since wide ones

were only worn for court

Lady's Formal Dress 1802

There was great interest at this time in ancient

Greece and Rome, and this lady wears 'fashionable full dress', the style based on the drapery of

classical statues The waist is high and uncorsetted, and the materials light in colour and texture Muslin had become a fashionable fabric Her gown is still 18th century in cut, but for day wear it would have bodice, skirt and petticoat in one piece Her

accessories are varied: she carries a huge

swansdown muff, wears long white gloves, has a tasselled girdle and a feather-trimmed turban

Man's Day Clothes 1805

Informal day dress is shown here, the illustration taken from a sketch portrait of George (Beau)

Brummell, the fashionable ideal (and famous

dandy) of his age He persuaded men to think that dark, well cut and fitted clothes were smarter than colourful ostentatious ones He usually wore a cut-away cloth coat with brass buttons, plain waistcoat matching his pantaloons (which replaced shorter breeches in about 1805), hessian riding boots and

a hard conical riding hat, introduced in the late

18th century Great care was taken in the

laundering and tying of his stiffly starched cravat For evening he wore a black coat and silk

pantaloons instead of old fashioned knee breeches.'Beau' Brummell is credited with introducing and bringing to fashion the modern man's suit worn

with necktie; the suit is now worn throughout the world for business and formal occasions

Evening Clothes about 1806

The lady wears a one-piece dress introduced at the end

of the 18th century Its design was inspired by the new interest in classical works of art It has a high waist, straight skirt unsupported by petticoats and very short sleeves Contemporaries found it daring and immodest! The material is light and striped For warmth she has a shawl, wears long gloves and carries a muff

The gentleman's cut-away tail coat of fine cloth with velvet collar, silk stockings, tie wig and bicorne hat recall day clothes of the 18th century and anticipate the evening styles of the 20th century Formal dress is usually a day style which persists, remaining unchanged though long since out of fashion

The period after 1811 is known as the

Regency period, as the Prince of Wales

(later King George IV) ruled as Regent

from that time until the death of his

father George III in 1820

The fashions of this era are quite

familiar to us, as these are the styles

of dress portrayed in the popular TV

adaptations and films of Jane Austen

novels, such as the 1995 Andrew

Davies adaptation of 'Pride and

Prejudice' for the BBC ITV's Sharpe is

based in this era too, during the

Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars

Day Clothes about 1825

The lady's dress assumes a new outline The waist has dropped to natural level and the sleeves and skirt are wide and full The colours are bright, trimmings elaborate and much jewellery is worn Accessories are varied, the most noticeable being the vast hat trimmed with many ribbon bows

The man wears elegant walking dress also with a slight fullness at the shoulder and a waistcoat with lapels He wears tight pantaloons acceptable for day wear after about 1805 and wears a higher 'top' hat

Welsh Country Dress about 1830

This Welsh girl from a painting of about 1830,

shows how fashion lags behind in remote

places She wears a gown of 18th century cut,

over a stiff corset, a printed neckerchief and a

petticoat protected by a check apron Her

dress is probably made from Welsh woollen

material, her mittens and stockings being

knitted Her high crowned hat can be traced

back to 17th century fashions Many wore a

red, caped cloak no different from that worn

by English countrywomen in the 18th and

19th century This and the hat are the two

essentials of Welsh national dress as we know

it today