Video: Women's Clothes in the Middle Ages

This Season: Tailgating; New Year, New You; Tax Time

Women's clothes in the Middle Ages were typically ornate and luxurious for noblewomen, with long sleeves, high waists and tall hats; but clothes were fairly simple for peasant women. Discover more about the clothing for women in the Middle Ages with advice from an educator in this free video on general education.

Comments

Video Transcript

Hi, this is Laura Turner, and today, I'm going to talk with you about women's clothes in the Middle Ages. Women's clothes in any period in history, or even today, reflect the status of women in many ways and how women were perceived in their societies. And whenever we think of women in medieval times, we usually think of the really high hats and the high waists and the really long sleeves. And generally, this is the attire that was worn by women who were of noble station in the middle ages. I'm going to show you a little picture from this book, Let There Be Clothes. And in this book, we have illustrations of noble women, first of all, right here, showing the high-class lady with her long sleeves and her high hat. And we also have illustrations of nuns and other occupations that were held by women at that time. The general feeling of women in the middle ages is that they were very sort of matronly and innocent -- a sweet, innocent portrayal of women in the time of chivalry, really, whenever men sort of raised women up on a pedestal. And really, the only occupations that were afforded to women were to be a wife and mother or a nun. And finally, when we think of these clothes, and this picture that I just showed you of this woman, we're actually thinking of people who are of high station in the middle ages. And usually people -- peasant women -- in the middle ages would really not dress in the same manner -- would not have enough money to afford clothes that were actually made for them in this way. Would probably actually make their own clothes and make them in a much less refined and less intricate manner. So those are some facts about a the medieval dress of women.

Follow eHow: Follow @eHow

Women's Clothes in the Middle Ages

Comments

Related Ads

Related Articles & Videos