Costume -- Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History -- Pictorial works
Henry passed sumptuary laws regulating the use of the rarer furs,
velvets, satins, and damasks to certain classes of society, while the
working classes were confined to the use of cloth of a certain price
and lamb’s fur only, and were forbidden to wear ornaments of gold,
silver, or gilt work. Stockings of silk are generally supposed to have
been unknown in England before the middle of the sixteenth century, and
Henry VIII. never wore any hose but such as were made of cloth.
The upper portion of the coverings for the legs, called _trunk hose_,
were slashed, puffed, and embroidered, and were fastened by points or
laces to the doublet (so called from being made of double stuff with
padding between).
They were made of velvets, satins, silks, and golden and silver stuffs.
The large sleeves and capes of the various garments were fastened
to the body of the dress by means of points or by buttons, and were
separate articles of apparel, and often of different colour from the
remaining portion of the garment.
The waistcoat was first mentioned in this reign, and was worn under the
doublet. Slashed shoes were also worn.
Henry VIII. gave orders for all his attendants and courtiers to wear
the hair short, and that, of course, became the fashion for men
throughout the land.
The pictures at Hampton Court representing episodes connected with
the Field of the Cloth of Gold have been called “general pictorial
encyclopædias” of the costume of this reign. The portrait of the Earl
of Surrey at Hampton Court is a good illustration of the costume
of the nobility during Henry’s reign. He is represented in a short
doublet, open at the neck down to the waist, displaying an embroidered
shirt. Round his waist is a girdle with a dagger in a richly gilt
case fastened to it. His jerkin is made very broad at the shoulder
(a characteristic of this reign) and wide at the sleeves, which are
gathered, puffed, and slashed.
He also wears full trunk hose reaching to the knees, tight stockings,
and a small, flat cap with feathers. His hair is cut short in the
prevailing fashion.
It is interesting to note that breeches were often spoken of as
“sloppes,” and a certain class of clothier’s shop is still known
colloquially as a “slop-shop.”
It was the custom at this time for people in the lower and middle
classes to bequeath their articles of dress in their wills.
The apprentices of London wore blue cloaks in summer, and in the winter
gowns of the same colour. Their breeches and stockings were usually
made of white broadcloth. Generally speaking, a person’s station in
life was well indicated by his dress.
_Edward VI. and Mary I._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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