ITALIAN RENAISSANCE/THE NORTHERN RENAISSANCE/ELIZABETHAN PERIOD (1500-1600)

History of costume in the Renaissance

Jade Blasini

Fash 247

Prof- Marie – aja Herrera

The Renaissance was a keen period of European cultural, artistic, political

and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking

place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the

rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest

thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during

this era, while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European

commerce. The Renaissance is credited with bridging the gap between the Middle

Ages and modern-day civilization. This period in time marked the rebirth of humanism,

and the revival of cultural achievements for their own sake in all forms of art, including

music. The word “Renaissance” in itself is defined as a “rebirth” or a “reconstruction”.

During this time, artists and musicians produced works that displayed more artistic freedom

and individualism. This creativity allowed artists to abandon the stricter ways of the

Medieval Era. Their art forms rediscovered the ancient Greek ideals. The great masters of

the Renaissance were revered in their own lifetimes (rather than after their deaths), which

was different from most of their medieval predecessors. With the new printing techniques,

fashion, and musical ideas were able to be preserved and distributed to the people.

The Renaissance period started about 1450 CE in Italy and ended about 1600 CE

Hale (1993) notes that it was the first age that the word “European” was used and

understood/ Hale (1965) observed that the word Renaissance came from the Italian word

“renascrere” meaning to be re-born. Many would say it was the age in which intellectual

and creative energy was re-born. Wilcox (1948) stated that the Renaissance came to Italy

a good 100 years before it even reached north of the Alps. When French Kings Charles VII

and Louis XII invaded Italy they were astounded at the elegance they found there. The

Renaissance Period was the first era that realized it was a new age in human history. Lesley

(1968) stated that it was marked primary by its civilization, not by political organization.

Hale (1993) observed that in the 15th century fashion was also re-born, and beauty of the

human body was discovered once again. The dark, simple fashions of the Middle Ages

were replaced with elaborate, detailed dresses as the Renaissance period went on. Bucknell

and Hill (1967) stated that much of the fashions of the Renaissance were based on Spanish

styles, such as black on white embroidery.

Men in the Renaissance period wore four essential pieces of clothing. First, was the

camicia or shirt. It was worn close to the skin as an undergarment. Tortora and Eubank

(1989) stated that for upper-class men the camicia was made of silk or soft fine linens. The

camicia was never worn alone, for that only symbolized a working man. Baines (1981)

observed that lower- class men’s camicias were made of heavy coarse linen. A gusset was

inserted in the camicia to make it stronger and roomier. From 1440-1500 the camicia was

very plain and never embroidered but thought most of the 16th century the camicia had

cuffs and had black on white Spanish-style embroidery. Over the camicia was the doublet,

which was a close fitted Jacket worn with or with ought sleeves. A longer doublet was

worn with a small skirt. Doublets were worn only until the 16th century when the styles

became fuller and less form fitting. The top of the doublet stood away from the neck to

create a smoother more elegant look. Tortora and Eubank (1989) noted that doublets were

very plain until about 1515, when contrasting fabrics were added. The next piece of dress

for the Renaissance man was the hose. Bucknell and Hill (1967) stated that the hose was

attached to the doublet and seamed together at the crotch. Until the later part of the 15th

century hose were worn by labor workers only. According to Hale (1965) the fabric was

Woven and worn tight to attain smoothness yet hampering physical activity. Because of

the controlled physical activity many painters show men with the laces of their hose untied

and hanging in the back. The outer-most piece of clothing worn by the common-men was

the jacket. In the later part of the 15th century the jacket was worn over the shoulders and

chest then falling in full pleats and belted at the waist. An alternative style was a huke-like

jacket. Tortora and Eubank (1989) reported that early sleeves of jackets had puffs at the

shoulders which tapered at wrists. In the middle part of the 16th century the sleeves of the

jackets were worn severely tight and tended to cause loss of circulation. Tortora and

Eubank (1989) reported that hanging sleeves were generally non-functional and attached

to the jacket. An extra layer worn by lawyers and high political officials only, was a

ceremonial robe. The famous outdoor weather fur jacket was worn over the jacket and/or

the ceremonial robe. Because of the stiff and tight clothing worn by the men of the early

Renaissance period, movement was restrictive and mechanical. By the turn of the 16th

century the movement became more natural with the removal of padding from jackets.

Some thirty years later movement was once again so restricted that it caused men to walk

with their hands and arms out in front of the body with their feet turned out. Footwear was

a big part of the men’s fashion. In the beginning of the Renaissance period the shoes were

long, pointed, and generally worn for indoor use only. Leather clogs with wooden soles

were worn for outdoor weather. In 1485 shoes became less pointed and more rounded.

Most were calf length, form fitting and laced up the sides. At the turn of the century men’s

shoes became broader or duck billed with ribbons tied across the top of the foot. Toward

the end of the period the footwear became more natural and slipper-like. Shoemakers used

slashing and pricking to give the shoe a better fit. At the end of the Renaissance era the

most popular mode of footwear was the footed hose.

Hats, hair styles, and accessories were the last essential pieces that finished off the

man’s costume. At the beginning of the Renaissance Period younger men wore their hair

long from ears to shoulders, while older men wore their hair shorter and sometimes shaved.

Along with the hairstyles the early Renaissance brought turban-like hats that were worn

with a white coif beneath. As well as hair styles and hats, accessories were a big part of the

early Renaissance period. Men of the early period wore narrow belts, carried small purses,

and daggers. They wore finger rings on the joints of their first and second fingers only. In

the middle Renaissance, men started to wear cleanly shaved beards and mustaches,

something never seen in the Renaissance before. Turban- like hats were replaced with

beret-like crowns with upturned brims. The berets were made with thick cloth, felt, beaver,

or velvet. As an accessory, the men in the middle Renaissance carried walking sticks with

their berets resting on top. Hair styles if the late Renaissance period were very short, even

for young men. Hair below the chin was rarely or even seen, the hats of the late Renaissance

were very elaborate, black caps were worn with ostrich feathers, brooches, and jewels. As

an accessory man of the late Renaissance wore huge jeweled rings over gauntlet gloves.

Women’s outerwear during the 15th century did not noticeably change until around

1440. From the years 1440-1500, dresses, worn over the chemise or camicia, were worn in

either a one- or two-piece garment. The one piece was a cut from shoulder to hem, with

the top cut similarly to men’s jacket styles and were smooth fitting with yoke-like

construction over the shoulder, full pleats or gathers over the bustline and were usually

belted. Two-piece styles consisted of a bodice and fully gathered skirt with a similar

construction to one-piece styles and were closed by lacing up the front or the side. There

were many different variations on the styles of women’s outer dresses. During the early

Renaissance, the necklines varied in cut and height. In the mid 1400’s, necklines were

rounded with a usually high cut. With the end of the century came lower necklines with a

more squared cut or deep V-neck cut held together by lacing and showed the upper part of

the chemise. Another style came out which was the two-layer dresses which consisted of

an underdress and over that an outer dress. The underdress was one piece with the bodice

and skirt fully joined with a close fit to the body. The underdress was often visible at parts

of the outer dress, whether it be the neckline, sleeves and/or under the arm. The outer dress

was sleeveless with seams at the shoulders and an open arm to display the underdress. One

variation on the outer dress was the Venetian dress which was not as heavy as most other

outer dresses but was made with more rigid fabric. Thought the 16th century the outer dress

remained similar to the dresses of the 15th century with a few variations. The outwear dress

was made wider and with more fullness. Most sleeves became wider, with more fullness,

and most sleeves were puffed out at the top and had a close fit from above the elbow to the

wrist. The sleeves became more elaborate and decorated with the elaborate puffs and

decorative slashes. The waistlines of the outer dresses were designed straight across at the

beginning of the 16th century, but towards the end of the century, the waistlines acquired a

more v-shaped cut in the front and straight across cut in the back adapted from Spanish

styles. The venetian outer dresses acquired a more u-shaped cut in the front of the waistlines

with a straight cut in the back. Women’s outer garment styles kept the same basic idea

thought the Renaissance, with slight alterations thought the years. Little changes in

necklines, waistlines, sleeves, and such help identify the dress to the different time periods

and different rulers. With the change of rulers came a change in what was considered

fashionable depending on what the Queen or king wore. Women’s undergarments were

also important, when it came to being fashionable and distinguishing status and social class

as with other, more visible fashions, such as outer dresses, head dresses, and footwear.

During the end of the 15th century, part of the neckline of the chemise was shown at the

neckline of the outer dress, fine embroidery, bindings, smocking or edgings were added to

the visible part of the chemise. During the 16th century the chemise was cut high above the

neckline of the outer dress, sometimes just high enough to see a small border. This was

often embroidered or decorated another way; it even formed a small ruffle on some dresses.

The chemise was replaced in favor of a petticoat which defined the shape of the skirt of the

outer dress. In 1485, corselets became popular, which was a closefitting undergarment of

a one-piece girdle and brassiere tightened with laces worn to squeeze the woman’s waist

to give her a curvier figure. Near 1550, corsets were made with stronger material and

reinforced with stays, replaced the corselets. Stockings were also important fashions of the

Renaissance, they were very complicated and elaborate undergarments, even though they

were rarely seen.

Women’s hair and head dresses were the most elaborate, ever changing and time-

consuming parts of women’s fashions in the Renaissance. Women were known to spend

hours plucking hair from their foreheads and side of their face to achieve a high forehead,

which was considered fashionable during this era. Along with all other fashions, women’s

footwear was not neglected. There were many extravagant designs, and trends. Women

had a restriction put on the width of their toes if they wanted to buy shoes that fit. These

shoes were limited to six inches in width and even in some northern countries (France,

England, and Germany) these shoes were cut with a square shape in the toe. Shoes were

made out of wood in the platform and leather in the slipper.

In late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century England, women had to

adhere to the Sumptuary Laws. These were laws that provided strict clothing guidelines in

order to limit the expenditure by people as well as to create a social hierarchy. Clothing

was a sign of status, it not only dictated wealth but also social status in the Elizabethan

Class system. Those that disobeyed the Sumptuary Laws faced the possibility of fines, loss

of property, title, and even life. When Elizabeth was young, she often wore clothing that

covered her from head to toe. Modesty of the woman was admired by many; however,

fashion was beginning to emulate a more seductive look during the later part of

her reign. You can see this trend in her later portraits as she begins to wear lower cut

clothing exposing more of her bosom. However, Elizabeth wanted to remain true to her

“Virgin Queen” identity. Her powdery white face often gave off this pure and innocent

beauty that was lightly dusted with pink blush. To this day, her image remained a vital part

in her success as queen to the people of England. Elizabeth became a sort of “fashion icon”

to all women which followed her rules according to its society. The Italian and Northern

Renaissance can share some similarities in the sense of fashion, but they were still very

different when it came to their art and society. The basic costume silhouette in each setting

was quite distinct, even though there are areas in which they did resemble each other. The

Renaissance clothing of Italy, like the art of the time, stressed simplicity, balance, and an

emphasis on the natural form. While Gothic costume was reaching a final climax of

development at the court of Burgundy, the Renaissance in Florence brought a revival of

many classical concepts to the dress of Italy. By the middle of the fifteenth century the

Florentines were integrating certain classical ideals with motifs and silhouettes inherited

from the north. The early Renaissance style stressed the horizontal over the vertical, the

simple and geometric over the complex and decorative, earth tonalities over bright heraldic

color, and a natural silhouette over exaggerated and artificial lines. The new Italian

Renaissance view of dress underlined the concept that beauty lay in a rational and

harmonious relationship of all parts of the costume rather than in decoration for its own

sake.

This period of the High renaissance marked the rapid assimilation of Italian styles

into northern fashion after the first French invasions of Italy and the changed in Italian

fashion from the loose, youthful look of the last decade of the fifteenth century to the full,

rounded, relaxed fullness and maturity of the first two decades of the sixteenth century. In

Italy it was one of the great golden ages in the history of the west, comparable in its balance

and idealism with the Golden Age in fifth-century Athens. All of its arts, including

costume, were dominated by the artistic ideals projected by Bramante, Raphael,

Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci--the great geniuses of the time. That artistic ideal

was to use circularity, unity, balance, and dignity to achieve a noble grandeur and maturity;

clothing styles also reflected this idea. In the north this rounded fullness and mature dignity

was less apparent as Italian ideals and motifs were integrated with late medieval silhouettes

and forms.

References:

Fleur-de-Gigi. “Italian Renaissance Fashion 1300-1500.” La Bella Donna, 6 May 2016, fleurtyherald.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/sartoria-storica-historical-tailoring/.

Fleur-de-Gigi. “Italian Renaissance Fashion 1300-1500.” La Bella Donna, 6 May 2016, fleurtyherald.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/sartoria-storica-historical-tailoring/.

Fleur-de-Gigi. “Italian Renaissance Fashion 1300-1500.” La Bella Donna, 6 May 2016, fleurtyherald.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/sartoria-storica-historical-tailoring/. Fleur-de-Gigi. “Italian Renaissance Fashion 1300-1500.” La Bella Donna, 6 May 2016, fleurtyherald.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/sartoria-storica-historical-tailoring/. “Elizabethan Era Clothing, Clothes, Costumes: Men, Women, Kids, Children.” Elizabethan Era England Life: History & Facts -, elizabethanenglandlife.com/clothing-in-elizabethan- england.html.

Monet, Dolores. “Renaissance Fashion: Women's Clothing in Elizabethan England.” Bellatory, Bellatory, 26 Apr. 2020, bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Renaissance-Fashion-Womens- Clothing-in-Elizabethan-England.