ipl-logo

Clothing In Elizabethan Era

1610 Words7 Pages

The reign of Elizabeth I was one of the most remarkable periods of English history. Under Elizabeth's rule, England enjoyed eternal peace and prosperity. The English people had more time and money in their hands to purchase luxuries and pursuit leisure activities, and gradually, this was the beginning of consumer culture (Elgin 6). As a result, clothing became the most obvious way of displaying newfound wealth. Clothing became a way to display wealth because it was much more extravagant in the Elizabethan Era than previous time periods. Clothing became more elegant because of Queen Elizabeth, who set the ravishing fashion trends. The display of lavishness and fancy clothing were not for the aristocracy alone but also for the rising middle class. …show more content…

Since the Renaissance increased an interest in science and mathematics, clothing for men and women was influenced by geometric shapes rather than the natural shape of the body. “Padding and quilting together with the use of whalebone and buckram for stiffening purposes were used to gain this geometric effect with emphasis on the shoulders and hips” (Alchin). This fashion was designed to make the waist appear smaller, which was especially desired by many women. According to Kathy Elgin, “. . . a thirteen-inch waist was the maximum which could be allowed in polite society.” However, this fashion was also copied by men who wore the tight-waisted, stiffened doublets to obtain a slimmer look. Because of the limitations of dress and clothing provided by the Sumptuary Laws, a new fashion called slashing was invented; it was used by both men and women. The slash, or cut, in the outer surface of garments (doublets, sleeves, and gowns) exposed the contrasting color of the lining beneath. Then, the linings would be pulled through the slash and puffed out to further emphasize the contrast of colors, fabrics, and materials. During her rule, Queen Elizabeth I led the way for many of the new styles and fashion. At the start of her reign fashion for women was modest, and they were generally covered from head to foot. However, after a couple

Show More
Related

  • How Did Elizabeth Cady Stanton Contribute To The Women's Rights Movement

    1338 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women from the 18th century had moral ques that was a embedded as a part of society at this time. This was the idea that women would typically get married, have children and take care of the home. Elizabeth did follow the status quo to a certain

    Read More

  • WW1 Week 1 Essay

    643 Words  | 3 Pages

    This meant that there was a dramatic increase of women wearing pants (Guenther, 2004) [Figures 1 & 2] because they needed more comfortable and practical clothing to be able to work the heavy labour jobs they had taken over while the men were away at war (Tortora and Marcketti, 2015). Conversely, during Elizabethan times, clothing was restrictive but it was male actors who were allowed to cross-dress, as women were not allowed to act in theatres. During this time, nearly the entire population, from the upper classes to lower classes wore a ruff which encircled the neck, this dis-joined the head from the body and furthered restricted movement (Entwistle and Wilson (Eds), 2001) [Figure 3].

    Read More

  • What Are The Changes In The 1920's

    693 Words  | 3 Pages

    With World War I coming to an end in late 1918, the country was focused on having a good time. Because of this, fashion went from tight and constricting clothing to unfitted clothing. Dresses became looser, with hemlines rising to knee length (Pendergast et al. 715). Dancing was also a large influence on fashion. Tassels, fringes, floaty layers and feathers became part of the dresses, to draw attention to the movements of the dances, and the shiny fabrics emphasised the dancers (Thorton).

    Read More

  • Women's Fashion In The 1800s

    64 Words  | 1 Pages

    As the 18th century was coming to a close, women 's fashion took on some changes. In art and architecture, many things from ancient Greece had become fashionable and this had an effect on fashion too. Skirts became narrower and waists became higher. Gowns had less lace, frills, and ruffles. Some fashions in the early 1800 's made women look much like statues of Greek goddesses!

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Flappers In The 1920s

    1170 Words  | 5 Pages

    There was a decade of economic prosperity following the conclusion of World War Ⅰ. This time was called the “Roaring Twenties”, because of the ebullient, unrestrained culture of the decade. Before this era, the Victorian attitudes toward dress and etiquette were still prominent, and were the main influence on women’s clothing. Women’s bodies were fully covered, as floor-length dresses were the norm and waists were cinched, tight due to the corsets that were still an accompaniment to most women’s outfits. When the 1920’s hit, however, dresses got shorter, painful corsets were cast aside, and some women even began wearing sports clothes.

    Read More

  • Essay About Clothing Over Time

    891 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tailored clothes were also designed with much more aesthetic detail such as pictures being “embroidered by hand” (Source 2. 5) which meant clothes took hours upon hours to finish. These fancy clothes were a symbol of wealth because only the rich could afford to have these clothes custom made for them. Lower or middle class people often had their own family members making clothes for them because they could not afford to have a tailor. Most clothes made by lower to middle class people were only made of “one or two pieces of cloth” (Source 2. 4) in order to conserve cloth for other clothing. As time when on tailoring changed from making fancy designs to making clothes that fit the body well and looked good.

    Read More

  • Flappers Impact On American Society

    1190 Words  | 5 Pages

    A famous role model and reference to these styles is Clara Bow. During the age of flappers, Bow was envied for having “it.” Flappers rejected tradition styles, and swapped their corsets for more revealing, breathable, and evocative clothing. Though some critics of this type of attire accused flappers of being scandalous and immoral, others saw the practicality and liberation of flapper apparel. Their clothing was a staple of the broad-minded decade, and the development of women’s social

    Read More

  • Consumerism And Consumption In 18th Century Britain

    1464 Words  | 6 Pages

    Aristocratic fashions constantly evolved, changing direction from time to time, and steadily filtered down through society. (Friese) However, the middle class was not the only group imitating

    Read More

  • Women In The 1920s Research Paper

    1857 Words  | 8 Pages

    Women were free to show self-expression and dress the way they wanted. They discarded restricting corsets and were even allowed to wear trousers. Women’s style changed tremendously as they began wearing short skirts,

    Read More

  • Low-Class People In The Elizabethan Era

    175 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Elizabethan Era, the low-class people, such as laborers and yeoman, had a struggle living than the high-class people, such as the nobles and monarchs. The Capulet family are high ranked: “They are nobles” (www.prezi.com). The Montague family are also Nobles. This explains why Romeo’s and Juliet’s mother and father have the title “Lord” or “Lady” in front of their last name. Lord Capulet held a big party for the nobles, so that means the family has a lot of money.

    Read More

  • Hair In The Elizabethan Era

    1268 Words  | 6 Pages

    Extravagant dyes such as Cochineal would be used to redden up the cheeks and lips. Other substances such as madder and vermilion were also used to achieve this effect. For them to darken their eyelashes and eyebrows they would use Khol. Upper class women, the Nobility, of the Elizabethan Era wore makeup. Queen Elizabeth I set the fashion standards.

    Read More

  • Men's Roles In The Elizabethan Era

    1721 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Elizabethan Era was a time where men were in charge and women and children were expected to obey. Nowadays, men and women have equal roles in society and one gender is not better or smarter than the other. During the Elizabethan Era, men, women, and children all had specific and defining roles. Men had a dominant role in society during the Elizabethan Era. Men could do many things that women were not allowed to do.

    Read More

  • Beauty Ideal In The Victorian Era

    2077 Words  | 9 Pages

    As women were expected to have the smallest waist possible, they wore a corset. When a woman wore a corset often, it was said that her intestines would “move” closer towards one another as shown in figure 10. This would then eventually result in the women achieving the super small waistline. Figure 11 Psychical effects of wearing a corset (Hau, 2003) The Roaring Twenties

    Read More

  • Cross Dressing In Shakespeare Essay

    1357 Words  | 6 Pages

    From Casting to Casting Away Gender: Cross-Gendering in Modern Shakespeare Performance The year 1660 marked an important juncture in the English theatre. Not only was monarchy restored in England but Charles II also allowed women to enter the stage. Thus, women replaced the young adolescent males who cross-dressed in order to portray the women characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Although, the cross-dressing motif might seem strange to some, this practice can be traced back to Ancient Greeks who did not allow women to enter the stage and therefore, men had to wear costumes and masks to represent women.

    Read More

  • The Elizabethan Period Of The Renaissance

    802 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Elizabethan period began as the reign of the daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I began as well. However this era wasn’t named because of Elizabeth I herself, although she had done many notable things while she ruled including pouring money into London’s arts scene, building the city’s first theatres, and sponsoring productions. Her patronization of the arts is of no question since the queen herself loved

    Read More

More about Clothing In Elizabethan Era

Open Document