1300-1400 in fashion

From Style Encyclopedia

Fashion in fourteenth century Europe was marked by the beginning of a period of experimentation with different forms of clothing. The straight stitching of previous centuries was replaced by curved stitching techniques which allowed clothing to more closely fit the human form. Also, the use of buttons allowed a more snug fit to clothing,^[1] although the very rich were still usually sewn into their clothes each day, and unsewn at night.

In the course of the century the length of male hem-lines progressively reduced, and by the end of the century it was fashionable for men to omit a long loose over-garment (whether called gown, kirtle, or other names) altogether, putting the emphasis on a tailored top that fell little below the waist. This was arguably a decisive shift in western fashion, that we still live with today.

Northern Europe, especially the French court, seems to have been the main innovator in fashion. Italian clothing was led by the Visconti court in Milan, whilst the Italian cities were relatively conservative, in contrast to the following century.

[edit] Materials

Wool was the most important material for clothing, due to its numerous favorable qualities, such as the ability to take dye and its being a good insulator.^[2]This century saw the beginnings of the Little Ice Age, and glazing was rare, even for the rich (most houses just had wooden shutters for the winter). Trade in textiles continued to grow throughout the century, and formed an important part of the economy for many areas from England to Italy. Woodblock printing of cloth was known throughout the century, and was probably fairly common by the end; this is hard to assess as artists understandably tended to avoid trying to depict patterned cloth. Embroidery in wool, and silk or gold thread for the rich, was used for decoration.

Although wool was used for the outer layers of clothing, linen, made from the flax plant, was generally used for clothing that was directly in contact with the skin, as it was not as coarse as wool and therefore much more pleasant.^[3] Unlike wool, linen could also be laundered and bleached in the sun.

Silk was the finest fabric of all. In Northern Europe, silk was an imported very expensive luxury.^[4] The very well-off could afford woven brocades from Italy or even further afield.

A fashion for parti-coloured garments made of two contrasting fabrics, one on each side, arose in mid-century^[5], and was especially popular at the English court.

Checkered and plaid fabrics were occasionally seen; a parti-colored cotehardie depicted on the St. Vincent altarpiece in Catalonia is reddish-brown on one side and plaid on the other, and remains of plaid and checkered wool fabrics dating to the 14th century have also been discovered in London.^[6].

Fur was used by those who could afford it, often worn as an inside lining for warmth. Vair, the fur of the squirrel, was particularly popular and can be seen in in many illuminated manuscript illustrations, where it is shown as a white and blue-grey softly striped or checkered pattern lining cloaks and other outer garments. Ermine was worn by royalty, with tufts of black fur worked through the white for decorative effect, as in the Wilton Diptych above.

[edit] Men’s Clothing

The innermost layer of clothing were the braies or breeches, a loose undergarment, usually made of linen, which was held up by a belt.^[7] Next came the shirt, which was generally also made of linen, and which was considered an undergarment, like the breeches.^[8]

Hose or chausses made out of wool were used to cover the legs, and were generally brightly colored,^[9], and often had leather soles, so that they did not have to be worn with shoes.^[10] Hose were generally tied to the breech belt, or to the breeches themselves, or to a doublet.^[11]

A doublet was a buttoned jacket that was generally of hip length. Similar garments were called cotehardie, jaqueta or jubón. These garments were worn over the shirt and the hose.

A gown, tunic or kirtle was usually worn over the shirt or doublet.^[12] As with other outer garments, it was generally made of wool.^[13] Over this, a man might also wear an over-kirtle, cloak, or a hood.^[14] Servants and working men wore their kirtles at various lengths, including as low as the knee or calf. However the trend during the century was for hem-lengths to shorten for all classes.

However, by the end of the century, courtiers are often shown, if they have the figure for it, wearing nothing over their closely tailored doublet. This fashion may well have derived from military clothing, where long loose gowns were naturally not worn in action. Alternatively it may derive from bourgeois fashion from the increasingly important cities and their growing middle-class. At this period, the most dignified figures, like King Charles in the illustration, continue to wear long gowns - although as the Royal Chamberlain, de Vaudetar was himself a person of very high rank. This abandonment of the gown to emphasize a tight top over the torso, with breeches or trousers below, was to become the distinctive feature of European men's fashion for centuries to come.

The funeral effigy and "achievements" of Edward, the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral, who died in 1376, show the military version of the same outline. Over armour he is shown wearing a short fitted "arming-coat" or "gipon", the original of which was hung above and still survives. This has the quartered arms of England and France, with a rather similar effect to a parti-coloured jacket. The "charges" (figures) of the arms are embroidered in gold on linen pieces, appliqued onto coloured silk velvet fields. This type of coat was in fashion from about 1360 until early the next century. Only this and a child's version (Chartres Cathedral) survive.^[15]

Edward's son, King Richard II of England, led a court that, like many in Europe late in the century, was extremely refined and fashion-conscious. He himself favoured high collars, and is credited with having invented the handkerchief.^[16]He distributed jewelled livery badges with his personal emblem of the white hart (deer) to his friends, like the one he himself wears in the Wilton Diptych (above). Male courtiers enjoyed wearing fancy-dress for festivities; the disasterous Bal des Ardents in 1393 in Paris is the most famous example.

A new garment, the Houppelande, appeared around 1380 and was to remain fashionable well into the next century.^[17] It was essentially a gown with fullness falling from the shoulders, very full trailing sleeves, and the high collar favored at the English court.

During this century, the chaperon made a transformation from being a utilitarian hood with a small cape to becoming a complicated and fashionable hat worn by the wealthy in town settings. This came when they began to be worn with the opening for the face placed instead on the top of the head.

Belts were worn at the waist early in the period, and at the hips with the tightly fitted fashions of the later half of the century. Belt pouches or purses were used.

[edit] Style gallery

1. Braies are worn rolled over a belt at the waist. Catalonia
2. Serving man wears a knee-length tunic or kirtle with long, tight sleeves over hose. Hears a belt with a waist-pouch or purse. His shoes are pointed. From the Luttrell Psalter, England, c. 1325-35.
3. Man in a particolored cotehardie of reddish brown and plaid fabric, 2nd half of the 14th century, Catalonia. The cotehardie fits snugly and is buttoned up the front. A narrow belt is worn around the hips.

[edit] Women’s Clothing

The innermost layer of a woman's clothing was a linen or woolen chemise or smock, although there is some mention of a "breast girdle" or "breast band" which may have been the precursor of a modern bra.^[18]

Over the chemise, women wore a loose or fitted gown called a cotte or kirtle, usually ankle or floor-length, and with trains for formal occasions. Fitted gowns had full skirts made by adding triangular gores to widen the hem without adding bulk at the waist.

Various sorts of overgowns were worn by over the kirtle, and are called by different names by costume historians. A fitted and buttoned garment is often called a cotedhardie and might have hanging sleeves or streamers called tippets. A common sleeveless overgown for the upper classes was a sideless surcoat.

Women also wore hose or stockings, although women's hose generally only reached to the knee. ^[19]

Married women wore some type of headcovering. The most common was the combination of a veil and wimple^[20] or a chinstrap called a barbet.^[21]

Ourdoors, women wore cloaks or mantles, often lined in fur. The Houppelande was also adopted by women late in the century. Women invariably wore their Houppelandes floor-length.

[edit] Style gallery

1. Women at dinner wear their hair confined in braids or cauls over each ear, and wear sheer veils. The woman on the left wears a sideless surcoat over her kirtle, and the woman on the right wears an overgown with fur-lined hanging sleeves or tippets. Luttrell Psalter, England, c. 1325-35.
2. Woman in a garden on a breezy day. Her kirtle sleeves button from the elbow to the wrist, and she wears a sheer veil confined by a fillet or circlet. Her skirt has a long train. Luttrell Psalter, c. 1325-35.

[edit] Footwear

Footwear during the fourteenth century generally consisted of the turnshoes, which were made out of leather.^[22] It was trendy for the toe of the shoe to be a long point, which often had to be stuffed with material to keep its shape.^[23] A carved wooden-soled sandal-like type of clog or overshoe called a patten would often be worn over the shoe outdoors, as the shoe by itself was generally not waterproof.^[24]

[edit] External links

• Digital Codex Manesse
• Women's 14th century clothing with illustrations from manuscripts (Menswear on another page)

[edit] Notes

1. ↑ Singman, Jeffrey L. and Will McLean: Daily Life in Chaucer's England, page 93. Greenwood Press, London, 2005 ISBN 0-313-29375-9
2. ↑ id, p.94
3. ↑ ibid
4. ↑ id, p.95
5. ↑ Black, J. Anderson, and Madge Garland: A History of Fashion, 1975, ISBN 0-6880-2893-4, p.122
6. ↑ Crowfoot, Elizabeth, Frances Pruchard and Kay Staniland, Textiles and Clothing c. 1150 -c. 1450, Museum of London, 1992, ISBN 0-1129-0445-9,
7. ↑ Singman and McLean: Daily Life in Chaucer's England, page 101
8. ↑ ibid
9. ↑ id, p.101
10. ↑ ibid
11. ↑ ibid
12. ↑ Singman and McLean:Daily Life in Chaucer's England, page 101
13. ↑ ibid
14. ↑ id. p.97
15. ↑ Claude Blair in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200-1400, Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 1987, p 480.The effigy and arming-coat of the Black Prince
16. ↑ "little pieces [of cloth] for the lord King to wipe and clean his nose," appear in the Household Rolls (accounts), which is the first documentation of their use
17. ↑ Laver, James: The Concise History of Costume and Fashion, Abrams, 1979
18. ↑ Singman and McLean: Daily Life in Chaucer's England, page 98
19. ↑ id. p.101
20. ↑ id. p.112
21. ↑ Laver, James: The Concise History of Costume and Fashion, Abrams, 1979
22. ↑ http://user.it.uu.se/~arnoldp/SCA/Articles/1998/SHOES/
23. ↑ Singman, Jeffrey L. and Will McLean: Daily Life in Chaucer's England, page 114. Greenwood Press, London, 2005 ISBN 0-313-29375-9
24. ↑ id. p.116

[edit] References

• Black, J. Anderson, and Madge Garland: A History of Fashion, 1975, ISBN 0-6880-2893-4
• Crowfoot, Elizabeth, Frances Prichard and Kay Staniland, Textiles and Clothing c. 1150 -c. 1450, Museum of London, 1992, ISBN 0-1129-0445-9
• Laver, James: The Concise History of Costume and Fashion, Abrams, 1979
• Payne, Blanche: History of Costume from the Ancient Egyptians to the Twentieth Century, Harper & Row, 1965. No ISBN for this edition; ASIN B0006BMNFS

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "1300-1400 in Fashion". Principal authors: PKM, Johnbod, Witan, Daniel Case, Metagraph