During the reign of Edward VI. the earnest desire to settle religious questions introduced through the Reformation, and the persecution and consequent national depression in the reign of Mary, are responsible for the fact that the costumes were not extreme in these reigns, being plain and serviceable, and the rank being generally indicated more by richness of material than by extravagance of style. In this reign was introduced the small, flat bonnet or cap, worn on one side of the head, preserved to this day in the caps of the boys of Christ’s Hospital (which they should wear but do not). Blue coats were the common habits of apprentices and serving men, and yellow stockings were very generally worn at this period. Their whole dress is, in fact, the prevailing costume of the grave citizens of London at the time of the foundation of the school in the reign of Edward VI. The flat cap was known as “the city flat cap,” common to citizens, and it was also known as “the statute cap” because Elizabeth afterwards ordered that everyone should wear “one cap of wool knit, thickened, and dressed in England,” or be fined 3s. 4d. for each day’s transgression. The broad-toed shoe was put out of fashion by proclamation in the reign of Mary. The portrait of John Heywood, a citizen who was held in high esteem by Mary, is a good example of the costume of citizens and merchants of London in her reign. (Fig. 12.) _Elizabeth._ During this reign the change of costume, which had commenced in the reign of Henry VIII., was completed, and was of that fantastic character now known as “the Elizabethan costume.” Elizabeth, by her strong individuality, would not be content “with the same garments her grandmother affected.” She was fond also of pleasure and display, and the richness of her costume and that of her ladies naturally brought about a corresponding richness in the costume of the men. Before this time, the English had been largely indebted to foreign influences for their changes in dress, but now their costumes were largely developed in this country, and the many extravagances and the numerous changes caused considerable surprise to Continental nations. The innovations in dress were as bold as those in literature and the drama, and corresponded to the daring and adventures of her soldiers and sailors in far-off seas. The trunk hose were of various kinds, “the French hose being round and narrow and gathered into a series of puffs around the thighs. The Gally hose were made large and wide, reaching down to the knees only. The Venetian hose reached beneath the knee to the gartering place of the leg.”