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Clothes worn during this era were mostly inspired by geometric shapes, probably derived from the high interest in science and mathematics from that era. Other nobles (lesser ones) were allowed only to wear foxes and otters. Regarding fabrics and materials for the clothes construction, only royalty was permitted to wear ermine.
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Most of the time they ended in the loss of property, title and even life. These rules were well known by all the English people and penalties for violating these sumptuary laws included harsh fines. Įlizabethan sumptuary laws were used to control behaviour and to ensure that a specific social structure was maintained. Style would depend usually of social status and Elizabethans were bound to obey The Elizabethan Sumptuary Laws, which oversaw the style and materials worn. The Elizabethan era had its own customs and social rules that were reflected in their fashion. As the Queen was always required to have a pure image, and although women's fashion became increasingly seductive, the idea of the perfect Elizabethan women was never forgotten. Since Elizabeth I, Queen of England, was the ruler, women's fashion became one of the most important aspects of this period. Later ruffs were made of delicate reticella, a cutwork lace that evolved into the needlelaces of the 17th century. Ruffs were worn throughout Europe, by men and women of all classes, and were made of rectangular lengths of linen as long as 19 yards. Linen ruffs grew from a narrow frill at neck and wrists to a broad "cartwheel" style that required a wire support by the 1580s. Italian doublet and hose decorated with applied trim and parallel cuts contrast with a severe black jerkin, 1560. Janet Arnold in her analysis of Queen Elizabeth's wardrobe records identifies French, Italian, Dutch, and Polish styles for bodices and sleeves, as well as Spanish. The clothing was very intricate, elaborate and made with heavy fabrics such as velvet and raised silk, topped off with brightly coloured jewellery such as rubies, diamonds and pearls to contrast the black backdrop of the clothing. As well as Spanish courtiers, it appealed to wealthy middle-class Protestants.
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Black was difficult and expensive to dye, and seen as luxurious, if in an austere way. Black garments were worn for the most formal occasions. The severe, rigid fashions of the Spanish court were dominant everywhere except France and Italy. New alliances and trading patterns arose as the divide between Catholic and Protestant countries became more pronounced. Spanish style Ĭharles V, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, handed over the kingdom of Spain to his son Philip II and the Empire to his brother Ferdinand I in 1558, ending the domination of western Europe by a single court, but the Spanish taste for sombre richness of dress would dominate fashion for the remainder of the century.
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Isaac Oliver's allegorical painting of 1590–95 contrasts virtuous and licentious dress and behavior. The characteristic garment of the period was the ruff, which began as a modest ruffle attached to the neckband of a shirt or smock and grew into a separate garment of fine linen, trimmed with lace, cutwork or embroidery, and shaped into crisp, precise folds with starch and heated irons. Sleeves and women's skirts then began to widen again, with emphasis at the shoulder that would continue into the next century. The wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders had reached its peak in the 1530s, and by mid-century a tall, narrow line with a V-lined waist was back in fashion. Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation remained prominent. English opulence, Italian reticella lace ruff, (possibly) Polish ornamentation, a French farthingale, and Spanish severity: The "Ermine Portrait" of Elizabeth Iįashion in the period 1550–1600 in Western European clothing was characterized by increased opulence.