FASHION DURING THE RENAISSANCE

The word “ Renaissance” means “Resurrection” or “re-birth” and it is the period in the European civilization right after the Middle Ages where we see that there is a huge growth for an interest in values and classical learning. New explorations of  continents were seen, growth of commerce and paper , printing , the gunpowder and the compass came into existence. There was a revival of wisdom and learning all of a sudden after social decay and stagnation.
Just like anything else, fashion seemed to have evolved further. All the excessiveness in the costumes can be seen. Various countries took a different look and adapted this period in their own style. The Italian, German and French fashion seemed to have influenced what was left of Europe. Clothing was the only way of differentiating wealth and status of a person in the society. It was the ones with maximum wealth who were the trend-setters of that time. Several types of fashions can be looked into during this period because of the socio-economic gap.
The people who were with maximum wealth wore the most expensive and elaborate fabrics ranging from silk, velvets, brocades and also cotton. As cotton was difficult to source, it became a luxury to wear cotton. Fur was a must for the rich. It was also used as a lining on the insides of the garments. Dark tones and colours were used and detailed embroidery and gems and jewels were sewn onto the fabrics. The rich looked upon style much more than functionality and comfort.

As for the lower economic strata, there were simpler garments for them. But, as history shows, they also tried to imitate the richer classes and tried to implement some element of design from them into their garments. Wide sleeved chemises and tight bodices were commonly seen. The ‘slash and spread’ method of fashion was used a lot. A rule was passed down during that time that, only the rich could wear multiple colours and the peasants could only wear one. As a result, many rebelled against this discrimination and the people, would take their shirts, slash holes on them and wear it on top of another shirt while having puffing it through the holes. This technique get recognized and became a famous fashion in the Renaissance.
Fashion for the women was elaborate. Women wore long dresses with detachable sleeves. As a result, to keep their dresses clean , they also wore washable aprons/over dresses with linen chemise and shifts as underwear.

 (picture ref.:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/clothing-and-jewellery/)

Their styles were multi layered and very extra-ordinary. For a woman with a wealthy background, she would have atleast 5 layers of skirts. Ie, a skirt, an under-skirt, over-bodice(vest), hoop and a collar. The women’s silhouette became stiff and puffed open with layers.  The  farthingale, which was a long cone shaped hoop skirt that women would wear while wearing a corset, to give a complete look to the attire. This era gave rise to the Corset fashion.   

Coming to the men’s clothing, it had changed a few times. It only centered around the squared look of the silhouette which could only be made by the widening of the shoulders on vests and padding them properly. Padding was made out of horse hair huge wide sleeves and long vertical slashes, with another layer under the slashed garment was present. 

A Jerkin was worn which was a short velvet jacket, mostly sleeveless, like a waistcoat. An upper Hose, full trunks was also seen, extended from the upper thighs to the waist. A Cod Piece was essential which was made from the same fabric as the jerkin. It was the forerunner of the fly. The Simar was worn , which was like a robe for men. 

Also, no outfit was complete without a headpiece. . Women had varied choices, including the ‘pointed cone” style that played to the cone fashion for the women. Men’s headwear included a wide boundary to give it a very square shape and look. 

(picture ref. :https://www.google.co.in/search?q=renaissance+clothing%5C&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CB8QsARqFQoTCKGojOug8sgCFaUbpgodyikCSg&biw=1366&bih=643#imgrc=vFolHEDsFZfNPM%3)

References were taken from :- 

http://history-world.org/renaissance.htm 

http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Costume_History/renaissance.htm 

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Costume_History/Renaissance 

http://www.historytoday.com/ulinka-rublack/renaissance-fashion-birth-power-dressing  

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/clothing-and-jewellery/  

http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Costume_History/renaissance.htm

All About The Dark Age

The Dark Ages as a term has experienced numerous developments; its definition relies on upon who is characterizing it. In reality, presently, historians no more utilize the term on account of its negative implication. For the most part, the Dark Ages was usually the timeframe introduced by the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This occurred when the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was removed by Odoacer. 476 AD was the time of this event.

The tough times that were faced, due to the fall of the Romans, art and design also took a turn. At this time , all the artists were completely controlled by the Church and were kept in Monasteries and different religious houses. The main reflection to be seen was more of Christian subjects and there was a strict no no to real landscapes, naturalistic art or even sculptures. This period only permitted the usage of art, frescoes, illuminated manuscripts, and mosaics to be created and these were all done in extremely toned down hues and were solely Church related. Violation of these strictures could prompt banning (basically a capital punishment), or even execution in some compelling cases. 

As far as fashion goes during that age and time,  it was largely determined by the class that people belonged to . The people wore clothes that were influenced by the styles worn by the kings and queens of their kingdom.  It was all based on the social status of that person in his/her kingdom. Medieval attire did not change as fast then as they did in the Late Middle Ages. Pieces of clothing made of intense, solid materials could endure forever. Yet, well off individuals and the privileged took pride in their appearance by wearing appealing attires.

Fashion that was worn by the royal, was actually restricted by the laws across Europe. Edward the third had stated a law that only the royals were allowed to were clothes made of pure purple, silk and gold. The clothes worn by the wealthier and upper class had been very elaborately placed jeweled and there was a lot of emphasis on the sleeves of the garment. The early medieval period saw fashion that was simple and with long shapes, wide gowns and embroidered edges. Tunics were the basic item of the clothes.

The wealthy wore garments that were made up of finer fabrics. Under tunics which were of linen was lighter as compared to wool that made them long lasting and comfortable and also, easy to wash. As linen was a product of fibers from the flax plant, it was obvious that it would be more expensive to purchase it making it difficult to be accessed by the commoners. Professional weavers and tailors were coming up at this age as they helped make the garments exclusively for the nobles and aristocracy. As for the women, they used to sew their shirts and gowns at times and add embellishments. The royals also had their silk imported from Byzantium that was scarce and costly. 

 

The commoners, serfs, peasant and workers wore a very basic tunic which was made up of thick cloth or leather (in winters). They had sandals or were barefoot. The laws directed by the Church restricted the types of clothes that had to be worn by the lower ranks. The clothes were generally made of wool or fabrics which were self woven at home.  Because of this, there was very little difference between the attires worn n by men and women, although, we can differentiate it by the women’s tunic which appeared to be longer and had a gown like structure. In the winter they wore sheepskin cloaks and mittens and hats made out of wool 

The men wore trousers under their tunics and this particular style was the reason for the differentiation between the northern European dress to Rome and Byzantium. Straps were made of either leather or straw which was then wrapped around the lower part of the legs and trouser to ensure minimal damage. 

{web pages that were referred to are:-

http://hubpages.com/style/Fashion-History-Clothinig-of-the-Early-Middle-Ages-Dark-Ages-400-900-

http://www.thefinertimes.com/Middle-Ages/fashion-in-the-middle-ages.html

https://historyofeuropeanfashion.wordpress.com/category/medieval-1100-1450/

http://www.lordsandladies.org/medieval-kings-clothing.htm 

image references:  http://hubpages.com/style/Fashion-History-Clothinig-of-the-Early-Middle-Ages-Dark-Ages-400-900-CE#slide-related

http://hubpages.com/style/Fashion-History-Clothinig-of-the-Early-Middle-Ages-Dark-Ages-400-900-CE#slide-related 

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-clothing/medieval-noble-clothing.htm 

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-clothing/medieval-noble-clothing.htm

https://tobiasmastgrave.wordpress.com/tag/dark-age/ }