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Fashion of the Elizabethan Era

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Fashion of the Elizabethan Era
The Elizabethan era was a time period centered around the life of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603). This period in time is considered the peak of English history and is the beginning of when people began to think and believe differently. That brought along changes in the way people dressed. How people, particularly rich ones, dressed was just another way for them to express themselves. Social classes are also very much prominent in the era. These social classes influenced the fashion of the Elizabethan era. This is shown in men’s and women’s clothes, shoes, hats, and accessories in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. (Whitmore, Deanne)

In the 1500’s men’s clothing was generally black …show more content…

It prevented the good shoe from getting dirty. They were eventually banned in some places because women could fall while walking in them. Women’s hats in the 1500’s were, however, very different than men 's. (Head over heels 1500s)

The hats women wore in the era were very diverse. They would sometimes just be wraps, but other times, they would be huge things sitting atop the head. One of the smaller head ornaments they would wear was the curved French hood. It looked like a hood that was falling off of the back of someone’s head. Another smaller head covering was the gable hood. It was pentagon shaped, heavily starched scarf worn on top of a woman’s head. They would sometimes use wire framing inside the scarf which was very decorative. One of the biggest hats women wore in the 16th century was the horned head dress. This was a truly fantastic invention. It had two extensions, one to each side of the head, extending out to each shoulder. Draping off the extensions was some sort of sheer material usually decorated with jewels. For women accessories weren’t very prominent in the beginning of the century because Britain was still a member of the Catholic Church, which banned jewelry, but when the country broke away from the church and the ban was lifted. Towards the end of the century, women began to wear the occasional strand of pearls or a small necklace with gems in it.

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