Many garments were parti-coloured, _i.e._, one side was one colour and the other side of another colour. It is interesting to note that black came into use as a mourning colour during the fourteenth century. A mantle was worn by men over the côti-hardi, reaching to the ankles and fastened on the right shoulder by several buttons, while the hood was fastened to the mantle. In this reign the chausses were made like trunk hose, and fitted tightly to the limbs. Pointed shoes were worn, and a curious form of hat with turned-up brim and tall feathers was introduced. The lower class of labourers dressed as their fancy guided them, so that all the fashions of preceding reigns may be recognised in their attire. The ladies dressed very sumptuously during the reign of Edward III. An innovation in their costume was a kind of spencer or waistcoat, faced and bordered with fur, to which sometimes sleeves reaching to the waist were worn. The côti-hardi was also adopted as a feminine garment. In the reign of Richard II. the costumes were ever changing, the King himself being the greatest fop, and extravagances in form and sumptuousness of material was carried to a remarkable excess. Holinshed says “he had one cote which he caused to be made for him of gold and (precious) stones, valued at 30,000 marks” (a mark being 13s. 4d.). The famous portrait of Richard II. in Westminster Abbey is a fine example of the dress of an extravagant King of that time. The fashion of embroidering the dress with heraldic devices, family badges, initials, and mottoes became common during this period. The edges of the garments were also cut and scalloped, very richly decorated, and often set with precious stones. The servants of the nobility were sumptuously attired, and there was universal extravagance throughout the nation. So extreme was the dress of the courtiers that it was said to be difficult to distinguish the sex of the wearer if the face were turned away. Costumes were not only worn wide and flowing, but they sometimes went to the other extreme, the garments being worn very short and tight-fitting. The shoes were made with very long points called _crackowes_ (so named from Cracow, in Poland). Sometimes the points were so long that they were fastened to the knee by chains of gold and silver. Ladies’ dresses in this reign did not differ much from those of Edward III.’s, but tippets were discarded, and the dresses were ornamented, like the men’s, with heraldic devices, initials, etc. Chaucer has given us the best information regarding the costumes of the different grades of English society during this reign.