Royalty in All Ages: The Amusements, Eccentricities, Accomplishments, Superstitions and Frolics of the Kings and Queens of EuropeThiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger)
History
Royalty in All Ages: The Amusements, Eccentricities, Accomplishments, Superstitions and Frolics of the Kings and Queens of Europe
Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (Thomas Firminger)
Europe -- Kings and rulers
Similarly, it seems that James regulated the dress of his subjects in
Scotland, for in 1621 he enacted that the fashion of clothes in use be
not changed by man or woman “under the pain of forfeiture of the cloths,
and an hundred pounds to be paid by the wearer, and as much by the maker
of the said cloths.” According to the fashion in use, no person could
wear lawns or cambrics, or cloth trimmed with gold, or feathers on their
heads, or pearls and precious stones, &c. But, to make this law more
arbitrary and invidious, it exempted from its operation “noblemen,
prelates, lords of session, barons of quality, their wives, sons, and
daughters, as also heralds, trumpeters, and minstrels.” And, it may be
remembered, short and tight breeches were so much the rage in France
that Charles V. was compelled to banish this fashion by edict.
Louis XI. greatly disliked finery, and on one occasion dismissed a
_gendarme_ from his service for appearing before him in a velvet
doublet; and his Majesty had an open quarrel with the Duke of Cleves by
showing his disapprobation of his extravagance in dress. Similarly,
Ferdinand V., the Catholic, is reported one day to have turned to a
gallant of the Court noted for his finery, and, laying his hand on his
own doublet, to have exclaimed, “Excellent stuff this; it has lasted me
three pair of sleeves!” But this spirit of economy was carried so far as
to bring on him the reproach of parsimony.[118] Henry IV. of France
curtailed as much as possible his wardrobe expenses, usually wearing a
plain grey habit, with a doublet of either satin or taffeta, without any
ornament. Oftentimes, when he saw a courtier in his costly apparel, he
would humorously remark that he “carried his castle and his wood on his
shoulders.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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