The Evolution of Medieval Garb
How Medieval Garb Evolved With The Fashion Trend In The Renaissance
During the period of time between 1200 through 1550, medieval garb was primarily the type of clothing of choice. Clothing for men as well as women was fairly simple and not sophisticated in the early part of this period of time. The type of medieval garb that you would see was a long tunic garment made of wool that was worn by both sexes. Women wore floor length gowns that had tighter sleeves than the cape or mantle over garment worn by men.
Continuing with this tradition, a man always wore a hat or a hood, while a married woman had her head covered by a linen veil or a head piece known as a wimple. Unmarried ladies were easy to recognize as they wore their long hair loose without any type of head covering. Both sexes wore long hose and the standard pointed leather shoes during this period.
Medieval Dresses and Gowns
Some time in the early 14th century, international trade began to flourish and it brought a much wider selection of textiles to the West. At the same time, a new class of tradesmen emerged and as a result, there was more experimentation and variety in medieval garb worn by both sexes. A large number of historians agree that this really the beginning of modern fashion when clothing was cut and sewn, and then by using buttons and lacing, emphasized the shape of the body. This time, the Noblemen were the first to challenge the old outdated style of medieval garb, and they began to shorter garments. They finally settled on a short hip length doublet with tight hose.
Women didn’t materially alter their style of medieval garb, and continued to wear long gown type dresses that had a long waist area, and were were snug down to the hips. From there the gowns would flare out and the long sleeves would hang at the side. Shortly later, married women would be seen with their heads uncovered and they either wrapped the hair around the head or twisted it into a bun at the nape of the neck. The veil or the wimple was only seen on the older women, widows, or nuns.
Medieval Shirts
Medieval garb came into its own during the 15th century as more affluent individuals desiring to follow the latest fashion trends set by nobility, had more money to spend on clothing. Men’s and women’s basic styles of medieval garb changed very little, with the men continuing to wear the doublets and long hose, and the women wearing the long gown type dresses. However, the change that was more noticeable was the extravagance in the fabrics used along with more detailing.
The majority of women during this period would wear a long gown over another under gown that was often revealed at the neckline or through a split in their skirt. The style of medieval garb worn in the previous century, that had long waists were now out of fashion, and the new style of full high waists was in. Married women in some European countries continued to wear the elaborate head dresses, but in warmer climates such as Italy, uncovered twisted hair was more popular.
The most popular fabric for the lower classes was wool because it was warmer and more readily available, and could be woven into a variety of fabrics such as velvet and broadcloth. In addition, it could be dyed in rich colors of gold, green, blue, and red. The various classes of nobility, however, used silk extensively to make the silk brocade and silk velvet, and a variety of other silk fabrics to make up their medieval garb. Eventually, they developed a process known as slashing, whereby slits would be cut into the clothing allowing the bright colors of under garments to show. This type of medieval garb became very popular and could be seen every where.
