When people discuss fashion in the Tudor period, they tend to only discuss the clothes worn by the richest members of society. Something that I too will be doing today. The clothing worn by the rich and powerful in Tudor times tended to be more complex and detailed that that of the poor and as such is the subject of today's post. This can be attributed to several reasons, such as the rich having servants to help them dress in extravagant layers of clothing and the money to buy ever more elaborate costumes.
For the women of the elite, getting dressed was something of an extensive ritual, with shoes, perhaps surprisingly, being one of the first items put on.
Chemise or Smock
This was the Tudor underwear, a thin, full-length garment that was made of linen. For the rich, the linen would have been of a purer white, and the collar and cuffs would have been edged with embroidery and/or frills. At the start of the Tudor period, the neckline was square, following the lines of the bodice, later smocks became high necked, with a frill edged standing collar, that would eventually become the ruff. Most people would have owned sufficient smocks to last them a week, as having fresh linen everyday was a matter of pride. The smock protected the outer garments from dirt transferred from the skin as the outer garments were beaten out as opposed to washed.
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| Example of a smock |
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| Visible blackworked chemise from portrait of Mary I |
Petticoat
In the early part of the Tudor period, a petticoat (or little coat) was a garment, similar to a waistcoat that was worn by both genders, underneath their outer garments, to provide warmth. However, by the 1550's the word petticoat had come to mean a women's underskirt, either with or without an attached bodice. Petticoats would be made of wool, the fineness of the wool corresponding to the wealth of the owner, and could be stiffened or padded to help give extra volume to skirts. Petticoats tended to be red, perhaps because the colour red was believed to have a warming effect on the body, or to bring good health. |
| Modern recreation of Tudor Petticoat |
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| Servant in red petticoat c.1570 |
Farthingale
This was a hooped underskirt primarily worn by the wealthy. It was typically stiffened with willow, but reeds, whalebone, fabric trim, or cord could also be used. Despite being hidden, farthingales were often made of more expensive fabrics such as satin or silk taffeta, and were often colourful, Queen Elizabeth having a purple and orange striped Spanish fathingale! There were three main types of fathingale: |
| Spanish farthingale |
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| French farthingale |
The French Farthingale - Also known as a bum roll or French wheel, the French farthingale was a stiffened roll of fabric worn around the hips. It gave the fabric a domed shape at the waist, before allowing it to fall in soft waves to the floor. It was popular in England during the late 1570s.
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| Great farthingale |
The Great Farthingale - This evolved from the French farthingale (and in fact some consider them to be one and the same garment). This type of farthingale can also be referred to as the wheel or drum farthingale. The fabric of the over skirt was held out at right angles to the body, before falling to the floor, giving the skirt a drum shape. Often the back of the 'wheel' was higher the front, extending the wearers torso, whilst shortening her legs. This type of farthingale first appears in England the late 1580's and was popular during the 1590s.
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| Mary I in Spanish farthingale |
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| Woman in a French farthingale |
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| Woman in great farthingale |
Stays or Corset
The corset was first introduced during the Tudor period, in about the 1530s, and unlike its Victorian counterpart, was intened to given the torso a cylindrical shape. Previously, a similar effect had been achieved by stiffening the bodice of the kirtle. Similar to farthingales, corsets could be stiffened with willow or whale bone, but stiff fabric was also commonly used. However, Tudor corsets were not the health risk of their later counterparts, instead providing support and following more of the natural lines of the body. |
| Surviving Tudor corset |
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| Replica Tudor corset |
Partlet
The partlet was a yoke, generally with a flared collar, that was worn at a gowns neckline. Initially worn as an outer garment, by the Elizabethan period, the partlet was worn as an undergarment. These were made of lawn, a type of fine linen or another lightweight fabric, but could also be made to match the rest of the gown. Similarly, partlet's were traditionally black or white, but could also be colourful to match gowns. For the rich, partlets would be decorated, such as with embroidery or edging. In Elizabethan times partlets also provided anchors and protection for ruffs. |
| Catherine of Aragon in a blackworked partlet |
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| Replica partlet |
Stomacher
The stomacher was a triangular front panel that was worn over the front opening of a gown or bodice and in many cases was used to keep it closed. Stomachers of the rich tended to be highly decorated using embroidery or jewels. They could be made from the same material as the gown, or as a contrast to it and as such came in a huge variety of colours and fabrics. Stomachers first appeared during the Tudor period in England, becoming a key part of the Tudor wardrobe in about the 1580s with the popularity of the French farthingale, although they did not fade when that farthingale did. |
| Elaborate Tudor stomacher |
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| Tudor lady with elaborate stomacher |
Kirtle
The kirtle was the penultimate layer of tudor dress. It consisted of an attached skirt and bodice. In the earlier part of the Tudor era, the bodice of the kirtle was stiffened, either using buckram or boning, to create the appropriate silhouette, however by the 1530s stays had begun to he used for this purpose. Before 1540, the skirt of the kirtle may also incorporate a train. The front section of the kirtle's skirt would be highly decorated as it could be seen, and is often referred to as a forepart, however the back of the skirt would be likely made from a cheaper material.
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| Jane Seymour in a grey kirtle |
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| A replica elaborately patterned kirtle |
Gown
The final layer to a Tudor outfit was the gown. The gown would be seen in its entirety and as such was made from suitably expensive materials according to the wearers wealth and rank. Materials used included velvets, damasks or even Cloth of Gold. Gowns were typically square necked dresses, often with attached sleeves. Most gowns fastened at the front, with the front on the skirt being split to display the elaborate forepart beneath. |
| Replica brown gown |
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| Elizabeth I in red gown |
Sleeves
On many occasions, gowns would have detachable sleeves. This allowed an increased variety in outfits as gowns could be worn with different combinations of sleeves, kirtles and later stomachers. Sleeves amongst the nobility were often big. In the early part of the Tudor period, 'hanging sleeves' were popular, but by the Elizabethan era 'leg of mutton sleeves were preferred, first made popular by Anne of Cleeves.
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| Katherine Parr in hanging sleeves |
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| Elizabeth I in 'leg of mutton' sleeves |
Ruff
Beginning as a frilled standing collar on a smock, the ruff soon developed into the iconic neck ware of the Elizabethan Era. Ruffs were a starched and pleated frill that circled the neck, and could be held up to the ears, or lie over the shoulders. The introduction of starch allowed ruffs to far outstrip their humble origins. Early ruffs, in the 1560s, were three inches wide and two inches deep, but soon they got bigger, some more than a foot wide, and had to be supported by wire frames and vast quantities of pins.Ruffs were worn at all levels of society. For the rich common fabrics used included lace (for the most expensive) , or very fine linens such as Holland, Lawn and Camerick. Ruffs could also be decorated with lace, gold and silver thread and fine silk. Despite dying out as a fashionable accessory in the 17th century, ruffs are still worn by Danish clergy.
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| Early Elizabethan ruff |
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| Lace ruff worn by Lady Catherine Killigrew 1595 |
Eleanor
For more information:
http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-ruff.htm
http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/resources/tudor-life/tudor-clothes/#ixzz4JIE4Wceh
http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-dress.htm
http://olivialongueville.com/something-about-tudor-costume/
http://www.worldofshakespeare.com/strictly-shakespeare/history-of-tudor-ruff/
https://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/an-appetite-for-fashion-decadence-a-brief-history-of-stomachers/
http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-underwear.htm
http://www.tudortalkandcatwalk.com/a-pretty-partlet/
http://www.renaissancetailor.com/demos_partlets.htm
http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2013/12/09/what-did-a-noble-tudor-lady-wear/
https://historyofeuropeanfashion.wordpress.com/tag/elizabethan-fashion/
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Tudors/tudor_costume.htm
Images:
http://opattern.info/pattern-chemise/
http://simbelmyne.us/tudor/pages/chemise.htm
http://www.cardinal-creations.com/projects/tudor-lady
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/petticoat.html
https://quizlet.com/82670888/history-of-fashion-flash-cards/
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/139400550942164153/
http://pixgood.com/farthingale.html
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O54683/queen-mary-i-of-england-oil-painting-mor-antonis/
http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com/TudorWomenU-V.htm
http://jeannedepompadour.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/english-portraits-1570-1630-george.html
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/corsets/history.html
https://lucycorsetry.com/research-corset-brands/guided-galleries/pairs-of-bodies-effigies-stays/
http://tudortimes.co.uk/daily-life/tudor-dress
http://www.thistlebees.com/basefile/partlet.htm
https://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/an-appetite-for-fashion-decadence-a-brief-history-of-stomachers/
http://www.artnet.com/artists/british-school-16/portrait-of-a-lady-aged-42in-a-black-dress-with-3jSc17FGChKKc8YLC0pJpw2
http://olivialongueville.com/something-about-tudor-costume/
http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/resources/tudor-life/tudor-clothes/
http://www.yourdressmaker.com/shop/en/tudor-dress-no-22-gold-35
http://hoocher.com/Portraits_of_Elizabeth_I_of_England/Portraiture_of_Elizabeth_I_of_England.htm
http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2013/12/09/what-did-a-noble-tudor-lady-wear/
http://www.gogmsite.net/the_late_farthingale_era_fr/minialbum_queen_elizabeth_o/ca_1575_darnley_portrait_by.html
www.shakespearesengland.co.uk/2010/01/12/a-brief-history-of-the-ruff/
http://www.gogmsite.net/the_late_farthingale_era_fr/ca-1595-1600-catherine-kill.html
