The Role Of Clothing In The Elizabethan Era

Clothing was also an important part in men's lives. The Sumptuary laws implied to not only the women, but to the men too. Men also wore many layers, some similar to the women. According to Linda Alchin, "The fashions were designed to give the impression of a small waist-especially desired by the women but also emulated by men" (Elizabethan Upper Class Fashion). They wore most of the following under layers: a shirt, stockings, a codpiece, and a corset. Then, most of the following over layers: a doublet, separate sleeves, breeches, a belt, a ruff, a cloak, and boots or flat shoes. Men's clothing fashions were related to those of women's due to the similar, and many layers.

Elizabethan women dressed reasonably different than we do today. Women often wore many layers. The first layer would

Women wore underdresses made of linen or flax and woollen overdresses like aprons with straps fastened by decorative brooches. Over the dresses and aprons she wore cloaks or shawls made of wool. Their shoes were made of leather. They had long hair and usually wore scarves.

“Did you know the men wore corsets”? In other words in the Elizabethan Era fashion for the men. In what men wore as part of their wardrobe they were very tight fitting corsets. During the Elizabethan Era in fashions from the 1500-1600s, the men wore a corset and a white collar that looked similar to a peacock. now what you can except in my topic is how the upper, middle and lower class wore their clothes in the Elizabethan Era .

The linings of these clothes were made of fur. At the end of the Middle Ages, the fashion changed. Men wore stockings and “a jacket with pleating or skirting or a tunic with a surcoat” ("Life") Men also wore long, pointy shoes. Wealthy women wore petticoats made of otter, cat, or miniver fur. The fabric would be reversible and the sleeves could be detachable.

The dress style for ladies continued to have an emphasis on the narrow waist, but the bodice shifted to a low-necked gown trimmed with fabrics, lace ruffles, or a fichu tucked into the low neckline.The front of the skirt was open to feature a separate petticoat, which made up the ensemble.

Every time period have a popular trend of fashion styles. Therefore, during the Elizabethan Era the men and women had their own separate taste of style. Popular fashion during the Elizabethan Era for women was light, snow white complexion, red checks, and red lips. The upper class men during this time, which was known as the Peacock age, were often more fancily dressed than the women, and their hair and beard received a similar amount of attention. Something that makes clothing more variable is the fabric and how it looks and feels on your skin.

In the Elizabethan period, the law on what clothing people wore was so strict that people could have penalties such as fines, the loss of property, and even life (www.elizabethan-era.org.uk)! Clothing was very important to people in the Elizabethan period, and regardless of what social class people where in, what they wore mattered a lot to them and defined them. This applies to younger girls and younger boys, who spent a lot of time dressing nice. Young girls spent their morning putting on their many layers of clothing.

Clothing in the Victorian era was constantly changing. Three of the most common fabrics used, were cotton, flax, and silk. Women’s clothing was changing more often than men’s and different materials were used for each gender. Clothing was different for each social class; to say nothing of, types of clothing and materials also differed by gender.

The people who lived during the Elizabethan Era were not allowed to wear whatever they like or desired. Their Fashion choices had to be followed by a strict law! The English people chose to establish social classes by the colors they wore and this had an affect on costumes used in theatre. Queen Elizabeth I followed the sumptuary laws, which was only certain classes were consent to wear specific fabric and colors. Therefore in plays the actors could only wear certain colors for their costumes that displayed what role and class their character was in. The clothes worn during this era was a result of Queen Elizabeth’s sumptuary laws, which had an affect on costumes used in plays, and each color a person wore had a significant meaning.

In the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare was a well-known and influential playwright, who still to this day impacts our everyday life, from our school studies to daily words such as ‘road’. Shakespeare’s most well know work comes from his time writing plays. Elements such as voice and costume were used to assist the actors in delivering the story to the audience. The clothing worn in Elizabethan England reflected a person’s status in society and laws were put in place to restrict what people could wear, this was the same in theatrical productions where an actors costume reflected the status of the character they played. The theatre companies owned most of the costumes and tried to reuse them as much as possible by completing simple alters like

First of all, Elizabethans were not allowed to wear whatever kind of clothes they liked. This was enforced by English laws about clothing. These laws were called Sumptuary Laws. Elizabethan clothing was dictated by a person's rank or status. Depending on what status or ranking they had, they got a certain type of fabric or style of clothing to wear or make.

How does Shakespearan fashion compare to fashion today? Although fashion was just as important in the Elizabethan Era as it is in today’s society, there has been significant changes in fashion throughout our history. From how people dressed then to how people dress today, fashion has always been a great aspect and impact in our lives. Fashion highlights the social history throughout the various periods, and has always been the center of attraction for most. Evolving over the years into what we know today, from the changes in hairstyles, accessories, and our clothes.

Whenever Victoria took throne in 1837, the influence of high culture morals and low vulgarity was strongly embedded in British Culture. Before the Victorian Era, men were the focus of fashion now the role of the wives were to show off their husbands status and wealth to the public. There were many different clothing styles during Victoria's’ reign. There were seven different eras of clothing styles during the Victorian Era. They had morning, day and evening dresses for the women.

From the rich and wild, this pattern proceeded forward to making a more extensive search for men. Men wore coats and outfits that gave the outline a square look. This was made with the assistance of shoulder braces, which were utilized to enlarge the shoulders for men. Talking a bit more about the jackets, they were cut to some degree after a similar shape: their trunk hose was tight, however, round the midsection they were puffed out. They wore a cloak, which just came to identical to the hips, and was always much ornamented; they conveyed a smooth or ribbed top on one side of the head, and a little upright neckline enhanced the coat. This neckline was supplanted, after the central portion of the Sixteenth Century, by the high, pressed ruff, which was kept out by