There is an almost new form of overcoat which is really a tunic of the
time, unbelted, and with the sleeves cut out; also one with short, but
very full, sleeves, the body very loose; and besides the ordinary
forms of square, oblong, and round cloak, there is a circular cloak
split up the right side to the base of the biceps, with a round hole
in the centre, edged with fur, for the passage of the head.
[Illustration: {Two men of the time of Henry VI.}]
Velvet was in common use for gowns, tunics, and even for bed-clothes,
in the place of blankets. It was made in all kinds of beautiful
designs, diapered, and raised over a ground of gold or silk, or
double-piled, one pile on another of the same colour making the
pattern known by the relief.
The massed effect of well-dressed crowds must have been fine and rich
in colour--here and there a very rich lady or a magnificent gentleman
in pall (the beautiful gold or crimson web, known also as bandekin),
the velvets, the silks of marvellous colours, and none too fresh or
new. I think that such a gathering differed most strongly from a
gathering of to-day by the fact that one is impressed to-day with the
new, almost tinny newness, of the people's clothes, and that these
other people were not so extravagant in the number of their dresses
as in the quality, so that then one would have seen many old and
beautifully-faded velvets and sun-licked silks and rain-improved
cloths.
Among all this crowd would pass, in a plain tunic and short shoes,
Henry, the ascetic King.
THE WOMEN
[Illustration: {Six types of head-dress for women}]
One is almost disappointed to find nothing upon the curious subject of
horns in 'Sartor Resartus.' Such a flaunting, Jovian spirit, and
poetry of abuse as might have been expected from the illustrious and
iconoclastic author would have suited me, at this present date, most
admirably.
I feel the need of a few thundering German words, or a brass band at
the end of my pen, or purple ink in my inkwell, or some fantastic and
wholly arresting piece of sensationalism by which to convey to you
that you have now stepped into the same world as the Duchess out of
'Alice in Wonderland.'
[Illustration: {A head-dress for a woman}]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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