Fashion In Elizabethan England

People of the Middle Ages would wear tunics “made of a long rectangle [piece] of wool with a hole in the center for the head and crude stitching at the sides” accompanied by an under-tunic and a heavier over-tunic (Pendergast). But then, in the early 1300s, clothing became "straightforward and practical, appropriate to rank, adding distinction through color and fabric quality rather than cut and tailoring." But then around the late 1330s, the clothing started to change. Everything soon depended on how the sleeves of the fabric are cut. People would have certain restrictions depending on their status. A lord was given the freedom to wear anything, and no constraints. Knights had freedom of clothing depending on how much their land was worth. A knight with land worth 400 marks has a few limitations, but may dress as they will, while a knight with land worth 200 marks has many restraints. Correspondingly, as people continue down the line of rank, they get more and more regulations. The royal families also have absolutely no restriction as to what to wear (Mortimer). Obviously, a cultural phase from the Middle Ages is clothing.

Unlike today’s society, different types of clothing were reserved for a certain occasion. Queen Elizabeth had huge impact on women’s clothing because she wanted women to seem “virgin-esque.” In order to seem “virgin-esque” women had to cover their bodies and couldn’t seem provocative. Another group who influenced clothing was prostitutes. They started trends such as wearing platform shoes and tight clothing (“Daily Life”). During the Renaissance, jewelry became more popular. Men and women wore jewelry. Men would wear jewelry on their hats while women wore earrings and pearls. Dangling necklaces appeared more as the neckline of dresses got lower (“Jewelry”). In the lower class, people normally didn’t wear shoes, but if they did the shoe was “a flat sole held by a leather strap wound around the leg.” Religion played a role on clothing, too. Protestants wore white clothing because it was thought of as pure. Pope Paul II was chastised because instead of

Clothing has existed in many cultures for thousands years, and clothes have advanced in their style and functionality over all of these years. From ready-made apparel used in the America Civil War to using computers to design clothes during the 21st century, clothing has come a long way from its origins. Preferences in clothing changed drastically as well, going from preferring style over comfort to comfort over style and back again countless times throughout the years. Overall, the evolution of clothing has been one of the biggest in terms of items for humans and will most likely grow even further into the future with new and better technology.

Through the years of 1558 and 1603, Elizabeth I was the queen of England. This time was known as the Elizabethan era. The queen loved music and dance so much, that both were an integral part of the Elizabethan’s lifestyle. The Elizabethan era had many different types of music and dance. There were different aspects of music and dance and all often reflected the Elizabethan’s way of life.

In the “Elizabethan Era” most people cared about their appearance. They would carry mirrors, combs, ear scoops, and bone manicure sets. Pale skin and dark eyebrows were a big part of the bizarre trend in the Elizabethan Era. Women would do anything to achieve pale skin. Not only was pale skin popular so was having long fair colored hair. They wore extravagant makeup and even though they put harmful things on their face they took very good care of it at the end of the day. Few of the trends they used back then are still around.

Although still not entirely popular or accepted, women also began to emerge more and more in postsecondary education. Women were only seldom allowed to go to college in the beginning of the 1920’s and when they did, they attended an all-women's school. By 1921 a woman was enrolled in a college that did not traditionally allow women (Benner). This was a monumental step for women’s educational rights. Women were allowed to graduate and become nurses or teachers, the only careers seen fit for women. This was a limitation for women, but this limitation only encouraged women to surpass their expectations and push the limits of what they could achieve as strong and successful members of society.“...by the end of the decade, women represented 47%

A variety of jobs existed during the Elizabethan era. There were some people who worked for the queen, others who worked with their hands, and lastly people who worked for royalty. These jobs that people did were really important out of the elizabethan era.

During Shakespeare 's time upper class men like Romeo would have worn very abnormal clothing. Upper class men would have worn a shirt that consisted of enormous puffed sleeves. Men wore enormous sleeves becuase it showed the lower classes they were richer than them. Men back then would have also worn long stocking with small pointed shoes. Honestly, I could never see Romeo wearing stockings with pointed shoes but it is apparently what they wore back then. Wealthy men wore fabrics that were colorful with lace that were made out of gold and silver. They would also wear hats. Hats were mandatory in public especially for the upper class group of women and men, if they did not wear a hat during the Renaissance they would get a fine. I chose Romeos

The Aztecs engaged in various items that were very unique and different from the rest of society. The Aztecs had an incredibly complex social structure system. They also believed strongly in education, family and the arts.

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!

“Whatever crushes individuality is despotism, by whatever name it may be called and whether it professes to be enforcing the will of God or the injunctions of men.” John Stuart Mill, a renowned philosopher, has exceptionally communicated his meaning. Although, his original meaning was not about this issue in particular, it still applies. I first heard this quote in passing fashion but, ultimately, ended up returning to it since it lead me to this topic. Today, I’ll be arguing against dress code on a national scale. Do you have an opinion on dress code? Well, most students, teachers, and parents have somewhat strong feelings about dress code. Whether negative or positive, these opinions need to be heard to be able to fully understand the

(Kremer) The distinctions between male and female dress began to reflect larger cultural shifts in the eighteenth century. Fashion was redefined as feminine and light-hearted, furthermore representing women as unsuitable for education or citizenship and lacking reason by nature. Solely men were considered gifted with rational thought which entitled them to be politically empowered. They expressed this in their clothing, replacing the heeled shoes with the promising three-piece suits, carefully avoiding standing out too much from each other. Expressed in literature: [Find Alexander Pope’s satirical men’s club rules. “Shall wear the Heels of his shoes exceeding one inch and half... the Criminal shall instantly be expell’d... Go from among us, and be tall if you can!”] The character Harriot in a story called “The Delineator” represented the typical feminine ideal of the eighteenth century and was described as “lively”, “tottering on her French heels and with her head as unsteady as her feet” (Potts 342), proving how the masculine connotation of the high heel shifted towards a portrait of a potent accessory of ‘ditsy desirability’. Despite these rather light-hearted associations, heeled shoes were furthermore connected to

The lower class wore light, dingy shades because they could not afford dyes that would give a pure color.

Fashion is more common in current society than in the ancient tribes or peasant communities. Modern society is an open one where class differences are not as severe as in primitive society. Its urban and mobile class structure allows people to develop its own personality taste and implement its new course. The modern world is more open-minded to differences and consequently places few restraints on the cycle of fashion. Our principles of judgment have also changed. Nowadays the individual is evaluated more by observable externalities than by his descents, his personality or his authentic accomplishments. The clothes a man dresses in, the language he speaks, the behaviors he demonstrated have more credence in ascribing a status than his simplicity, patriotism and

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. Shakespearean critics, on the other hand, have been divided over the use of ‘cross-dressing’ in his plays. Questions like does Shakespeare use