Costumes of Renaissance Times

Renaissance was the period in European Civilisation which means “rebirth”. It is a cultural movement in Europe that spanned from 14^th to 17^th centuries. They started in Italy and spread throughout Europe. Though this period included great leaps in educational, intellectual and socio-political pursuits, the period is best known for the artists and great thinkers of the time, which include Galileo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo.

Clothing had an important role in the Renaissance Period. It was all about defining and showing off one’s social status. Europe was greatly influenced by French, Italian and Germanic fashions. It was the wealthy that set the trends and fashion which were to be followed. Through clothing, the wealthy displayed their wealth to everyone. There were several different fashions ranging from wealthiest to peasants because of the great difference in wealth and class  in Renaissance Europe. Fashion in this era changed more rapidly than in eras before it. Reason for this rapidly changing fashion was the ever-changing times of Renaissance.

                                                                                         

The wealthy wore expensive fabrics such as brocade, velvet, cotton and silk. Cotton during this time was hard to come by in and therefore was considered a ‘wealthy’ fabric. Furs were also popular among those who could afford them. Often, the wealthy also used the fur as lining on the inside of their garments. Darker colours were the fashion as elaborate embroidery and jewels were often sewn into the fabrics, and dark colors were able to show those features more. The wealthy considered style more important than the function.

The lower classes used to wear simpler garments than the wealthy people. Though, they often tried to imitate their style. Among the lower classes, wide sleeved chemises and tight bodices were common. One very popular and recognisable fashion, specially among the commoners, was a fashion and technique called ‘slashing’. It was created by the common class. Since clothing was a status symbol, the ruling class at one time made a rule that only the wealthy could wear multiple colours of clothes. Common people and peasants were only allowed to wear one colour. Style was important for everyone be it the wealthy or the peasants or the common people so, they did not like this law. To rebel against it the people took their shirts and slash long holes  in them and wore them on the top of another shirt, puffing it out through the holes of the first. This technique ended up becoming a popular fashion of the Renaissance period.

Women’s style was multi-layered and extravagant. Often there used to be at least 5 layers in a wealthy women’s attire. These layes were: skirt, underskirt, bodice, over-bodice/gown, by the mid 1500s the women's silhouette was stiff but puffed out and padded with layers. Layers was just a status symbol. More the clothes, wealthier the person was. ‘Spanish Farthingale’ was a popular fashion at that time. It was a long cone shaped skirt that were worn with a corset to complete the cone shape.  This era gave rise to the corset as fashion.

                       

Men’s clothing changed a few times with fashion. Their fashion centered around a square" silhouette that was achieved by widening the shoulders on vests and coats and padding them. They wore padded breeches on their legs and hosiery with square toed shoes. Often sleeves had long vertical slashes, down them with another layer of fabric puffing out through them to create the ‘slashing’ technique and style.

Outfits were incomplete without headwear in the Renaissance period. Women used variety of hairdresses like Pointed Cone style, lace trimmed veils, popular French Hood style, some headdresses had a woman’s usually long and braided hair completely concealed, while others allowed some or much of the hair to show along with the headwear. Men used wide brimmed hats to finish off their square look.