Women's Clothes in the Middle Ages
Women's fashions changed considerably from the early to late Middle Ages in Europe. Until around the 1300s, women's clothing was functional. By the end of the period, the idea of fashion had become more important.
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History
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The Middle Ages was the period during which Europe transitioned from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. It ended in the middle of the 16th century. At the beginning of the period, women wore long, shapeless dresses, called kirtles, with long, wide sleeves. Underneath, they wore an under-bodice that had much tighter sleeves. Their hair was covered with a veil. The fabric was cotton or wool, which would be dyed browns, yellows, reds and orange--earth colors--using plant dyes. Wealthy women wore large gold belts and decorated their clothing with pearls and gemstones. Their shoes were long and had pointed toes.
Features
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In the 15th century, a woman's kirtle became more fitted and also revealed the neckline using a decollete style. The sleeves were also made to fit tightly around the arms using buttons. Women wore an outer garment, the cotehardie, with long, wide sleeves. Some sleeves were so long that they touched the ground. They also wore a surcoat, which was a bit like a poncho that extended from the shoulders to just below the waist. It was fastened with a steel busk. In the winter, the surcoat could be made of fur, but in the summer, wealthy women wore silk surcoats.
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Effects
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By the next century, women stopped wearing surcoats. Instead, they wore long gowns with wide sleeves, fur cuffs and long trains--at least until the 1550s, when trains stopped being fashionable. Slits on the outer garments would reveal the fabric of undergarments. Embroidery and jewelry decorated wealthy women's clothes.
Function
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Disney films like "Snow White" make us associate the long, pointed women's headdresses and trailing net veils with this period, but the Middle Ages boasted several different hat styles for women. In the early Middle Ages, women covered their hair with veils. By the 1400s, older women wore veils over their hair and wimples over their chins. Younger women kept their hair pulled back by a metal net and crepine. They also wore long veils and high headdresses supported by a wire frame underneath the fabric.
Considerations
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Catherine de Medici introduced the ruff, or high lace collar, into women's fashion. Like the headdress, the earliest ruffs were supported by a wire frame. However, starch soon became popular as a more comfortable way to stiffen the fabric. By the time ruffs became popular, farthingales also became the standard way to pad the hips. So, by the end of the Middle Ages, women wore gowns that fit very tightly at the bodice and the waist but were extraordinarily wide at the hips.
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