Clothing

Clothing took on great importance during the Renaissance. It not only protected people from the elements, but also proclaimed their social status. The cut, color, and fabric of a person's garments held clues to the wearer's place in society. The changing styles of the Renaissance reflected new ideas about beauty, luxury, and the importance of class distinctions.

The Clothing Trade. In the late 1300s, the clothing trade grew dramatically in Italy and other parts of Europe. A period of political stability and growing prosperity gave rise to new industries based on the production and trade of fine cloth and other luxury goods. Although wool and linen remained the main fabrics of the time, luxury fabrics became increasingly popular. The weaving of silk, satin, and velvet expanded, and greater quantities of silks were imported from the East through Venice and other ports.

During the 1500s, new centers of cloth manufacturing and trade emerged in northern Europe. Knitting machines and other new manufacturing equipment, which had formerly been banned by the textile guilds*, began to appear. New technology also improved methods of weaving and dyeing cloth. In England, landowners increased wool production by turning farmland into sheep pasture—displacing farm populations in the process.

As fine fabrics became more popular, governments began passing laws to restrict their use. The main goal of these "sumptuary laws" was to limit the consumption of luxury goods. However, they also attempted to keep people from dressing above their social status. Specific guidelines explained which classes could wear particular kinds of garments and ornaments, right down to details of shape and style. Through sumptuary laws, authorities tried to maintain control in a world that increasingly defined itself by dress.

Styles of Dress. Male and female clothing styles changed significantly during the Renaissance. In the Middle Ages, both men and women had worn long, loose-fitting garments called tunics. A sleeveless outer coat or cloak called a surcoat often topped the tunic. Beginning in the late 1300s, these simple styles gave way to more complex garments tailored to show off the shape of the body. Men and women of the upper classes became highly concerned with clothing and adornment.

During the Renaissance, men's garments became much shorter. Men abandoned the surcoat in favor of the pourpoint, a close-fitting jacket, worn with tight-fitting trousers, almost like stockings, called hose. Only the clergy and university scholars continued to wear the long garments of the Middle Ages. Men's clothing became a tool for projecting masculinity and power. Jackets were puffed or padded to broaden the shoulders, and pouches called codpieces encased the male organs. A fashionable man required the help of a servant each morning to tie up his points (the pieces of lace that held garments together), fasten his frilled shirt, and help with other aspects of dressing and grooming.

While men's garments became shorter, women's grew longer. The most common female garments were the gown and the surcoat. Both fitted tightly to the upper body, then extended into flowing skirts that swept along the ground. Gowns featured long, trailing sleeves. Women's fashions often provoked criticism from churchmen who considered them too revealing or luxurious. Sumptuary laws attempted to regulate every aspect of women's dress, from the number of jewels to the depth of necklines.

In the late 1500s, the upper classes throughout Europe began to copy the Spanish style of dress, which featured stiff outlines, dark colors, and narrow waistlines. Men wore tight jackets called doublets that exaggerated the slimness of the waist. Women adopted tight-fitting bodices* that pinched in their waists and compressed their breasts. They also draped their skirts over farthingales, elaborate garments that circled the lower part of a woman's body with a series of hoops. Women in these huge skirts required special high chairs in order to sit down. Both men and women wore high, stiff collars called ruffs, which were often so large that wearers could scarcely turn their heads.

Accessories took on new importance for both men and women. Earrings, which had disappeared in the Middle Ages, became popular once again. Handkerchiefs, fans, and fancy gloves were also fashionable, and women used cosmetics. The English queen Elizabeth I, in her attempts to project a youthful, virginal complexion, regularly applied half an inch of makeup to her face.

Among the lower classes, clothing was simple and varied little. Women wore skirts and aprons tucked up for work, topped by tight bodices and cloaks. Men wore buttoned jackets, short breeches, and wide-brimmed hats. Most clothing was made out of coarse wool or unbleached linen in a limited range of colors—black (in women's clothing), dull brown, and gray. Those who could afford extra frills dressed up these drab clothes with silver buttons or scarves of finer material. Not until the late 1600s did improvements in textile manufacturing offer the lower classes more choices of fabric and color.

Specialized Clothing. The Renaissance also affected the clothing styles of those in specific fields, such as the military, the clergy, and performers. Military dress began to change after the 1500s in response to changes in the nature of warfare. Battles tended to involve large numbers of foot soldiers, creating a need for uniforms to distinguish members of the same army. For example, English soldiers fighting under the duke of Norfolk in the mid-1500s wore blue suits with red trim. However, their clothes did not resemble the basic, practical garments of modern armies.

Many high-ranking clergy members yielded to the allure of splendid clothing. In one extreme case, a cardinal of the mid-1400s fell into debt buying floor-length, Turkish-style robes of rich crimson and green fabric and other garments of velvet, silk, and fur. In 1464 Pope Paul II issued laws to curb extravagant dressing by the clergy. The Italian monk Girolamo Savonarola responded to these lavish displays by organizing "bonfires of vanities" to burn garments, ornaments, and other items he considered dangerous to the soul. The Protestant Reformation* had an important effect on clothing, as churchmen of the new faith adopted white gowns, plain white capes, and black scarves. Members of strict Protestant sects, such as Calvinists and Puritans, scorned any form of luxury or fashion in favor of plain black garments.

Festivals, processions, and other special events were plentiful during the Renaissance. New and creative types of clothing developed for such occasions, especially in the 1600s, when the masque* emerged as a form of court theater. Performers sported elaborate costumes adorned with tinsel, beads, sequins, tassels, bells, and lace. Masks were usually made of velvet and lavishly decorated. During the 1600s, the French court became particularly well known for the richness of the costumes worn at special events.

(See alsoArms and Armor; Jewelry; Luxury. )

* guild

association of craft and trade owners and workers that set standards for and represented the interests of its members

see color plate 4, vol. 2

* bodice

upper part of a woman's dress

Military Styles

Renaissance dress borrowed many elements from the military. One example is the slashed, puffed sleeves that became fashionable in the 1500s. According to legend, this style was modeled on the tattered garments of Swiss soldiers returning from war. The soldiers had donned the clothes of their defeated opponents, but finding them too tight, they slashed the seams, causing the layer below to puff out. In the 1600s the general population also adopted the soldier's soft, broad-brimmed hat, wide collar, and rows of trouser buttons.

* Protestant Reformation

religious movement that began in the 1500s as a protest against certain practices of the Roman Catholic Church and eventually led to the establishment of a variety of Protestant churches

* masque

dramatic entertainment performed by masked actors, or a ball or party at which all guests wear masks or costumes