Historical Italian Clothes

Italian Rolled Headdress

Throughout its existence, Italy has witnessed a wide range of clothing styles and fashions. A review of four periods in Italian history shows how these styles developed over time and reactions to these changes by both government and church authorities.

Roman Empire

During the Italian Republic and Roman Empire clothing for men consisted of linen or woolen tunics or togas worn over loincloths. The toga--usually pure white--could only be worn by citizens once they reached the age of political majority. Magistrates and priests could trim their togas with a purple border, and priests also wore ceremonial togas embroidered with palms and edged with gold and purple. Women also wore tunics, or long draped gowns similar to togas over loincloths and breastbands. Usually made of dyed cotton or silk, women often decorated their gowns with embroidery, braid or fringe and held them in place with flat belts at the hips and under the breasts.

5th Century B.C. to 14th Century A.D.

During this period, the chemise--or a long, long-sleeved shirt worn as body linen--replaced the earlier loincloths and breastbands. Men began wearing breeches--narrower than modern trousers--and the length of their tunics varied with their social class, with those of the wealthy classes becoming longer than those of workmen and soldiers. Near the 12th century both men and women began wearing outer tunics decorated with embroidery, braid and multi-colored cloth inserts; women wore detailed girdles around their waist and hips and flaring sleeves that sometimes dragged on the ground.

14th to 16th Centuries

Italian clothing continued to increase in individual style and ornamentation during this period. Men wore short, fitted outer garments with sleeves wide at the shoulder and tight at the wrist, tight hose and breeches with slender, pointed hats. They often decorated their sleeves and hose with insignia, emblems, names, mottos and arms, sometimes on only one side of the outfit or different decorations on each leg.

Women wore fitted, low-cut silk gowns, elaborate sleeves with slits to show the chemise, and complicated headdresses of tiered rolls. According to Boucher, Italian women never wore hennins--the pointed headdresses often associated with historical costumes. Both sexes wore large mantlets--or capes--that reached to the knees, decorated with gold braid and embroidery.

16th Century

Ornamentation overload characterized Italian clothing during this century. Period portraits show outfits of scarlet brocade and stiff velvets highlighted with elaborate embroidery and magnificent jewelry. Influenced by Spanish fashions, Italian styles adopted corsets, a focus on high-quality and beautiful materials and an emphasis on black fabric, especially for men. Men often wore all-silk clothing and velvet mantles and hats trimmed with fur. Women wore an outer gown over a longer under gown, both of costly materials and decorated with elaborate embroidery, long trains, full or tightly-fitted sleeves and veils.

Sumptuary Laws

As Italian clothing grew more elaborate over time, officials attempted to curb fashion abuses arising from exaggerated luxury. Beginning in the 1200s, sumptuary laws forbid certain styles such as low-cut necklines, limited the number of velvet or silk garments an individual could own and required identifying seals for authorized garments. The laws also forbid individuals of lower classes from wearing clothes of certain colors, styles and ornaments. The laws applied to clergy members as well--after 1464--when Pope Paul II published vestimentary laws for cardinals.

References

• "20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment, Expended Edition;" Francois Boucher; 1987