Kjfa14+-+Clothing+in+the+Renaissance

The European clothing in the Renaissance Period was influenced mainly by Italy and Germany, and often used to express the amount of wealth one would have. For example, only the wealthy could wear silk and velvet materials, and the lower class could wear one color of clothing. This elevated the status of the rich, and showed those around them how much money and power they had. It was not uncommon for women to where many layers of clothing, for it was a sense of fashion and was often drafty in castles or outside. Men and women decorated their clothing with jewels, and the richer an individual would get, the more variety of clothing they had to choose from.

 Women: > > >
 * Decorative kirtle and gown, linen chemise underneath and hoop
 * Kirtle - frock with a tight bodice, sleeves, and long skirt
 * Cone shaped skirts split to show kirtle underneath
 * Bodice had laces and jewels around the edges and a square neckline
 * When kirtles were worn without gowns, they were worn with girdles - like a belt
 * Gowns made from wool or linen, beautifully woven
 * Only the wealthy wore silk and velvet
 * Wide and fur sleeves
 * Hair not aloud to show and kept in pointed cone style at one point in time
 * Kept in braids at another point in the Renaissance time
 * It then became optional to wear hair coverings at all, most of the elderly did and most children did not

 Men: > > [|Men's Clothing Terms] > > > > > > > > > > >
 * Rich fabrics
 * Square look:
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Vest/coat widened at shoulders and padded
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Breeches on legs were padded
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Square toed shoes
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Wide hats
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Barrel look:
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Middle of vest was padded
 * <span style="color: #007180; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Collars stood up and necklines ruffled - also with women

<span style="color: #260080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">

The colors worn by individuals also helped define what class they were apart of. The English Law enforced the rule that certain colors could only be worn by the wealthy, while the people of the lower-class were not permitted to wear more than one color at a time. This was known as the Sumptuary Law, and the penalty for violating this law could be fines, property loss, title, and/or death. The darkest and lightest colors could only be worn by the highest class because the dyes used to make the colors were very expensive. Some came from insects in the Mediterranean. Pricey fabrics were imported from overseas, and to make both texture and material was time-consuming. The material and color of the apparel in the Renaissance Period depicted the social status of those who wore it.

<span style="color: #260080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> The dyes used to color fabrics were not like that of today. In the Renaissance time, four major dyes were used, and were produced from natural sources. The fabric was heated with the dye and other materials such as wine, salts, fungus, etc. were used to produce a variety of colors.

Woad: European herb (Isatis tinctoria) yielded by its leaves, used for blue dye

Madder: European herb (Rubia tinctorum) in which the root was used for red dye

Weld: European plant (Reseda luteola), also known as dyer's broom, used for yellow dye

Lichen: Lichenes plant from crusty patches on tree trunks, rocks, or bare ground, used for green dye <span style="color: #cccccc; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">

<span style="color: #0088ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: normal;">Here are also a few colors worn in the Renaissance time and their meanings: <span style="font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif;"> > > > <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.98px; line-height: 20px;"> > > > <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.98px; line-height: 20px;"> > > >  >
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%; line-height: normal;">Red:
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%; line-height: normal;">power and importance, color stood out
 * <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%; line-height: normal;">worn by lower class, bright crimson color could only be worn and afforded by wealthy - this meaning mostly applies to rich
 * <span style="color: #8500ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Purple:
 * <span style="color: #8500ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">royalty
 * <span style="color: #8500ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">wealth and power
 * <span style="color: #8500ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">worn by Queen and King and their relatives
 * <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">White:
 * <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">purity and virtue
 * <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">expensive white worn by upper class
 * <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">cheap, off-white natural color worn by lower class
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;"> Black
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">authority and power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">expensive black worn by upper class
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">some blacks worn by lower class, in mourning sometimes
 * <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Pink
 * <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">joy and happiness
 * <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">cheap dye worn by lower class
 * <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">worn by upper and lower class
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">Blue
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">usually worn by servants
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">lower class wore blue
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 107%;">royal blue and indigo worn by upper class

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<span style="color: #800600; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 115%;">Resources: // Clothing of the Renaissance //. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://www.faireattire.com/>. "Meaning of Colors in Elizabethan Clothing." // Elizabethan Era //. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/meaning-colors-elizabethan-clothing.htm>. "Medieval Resources." // Renaissance Clothing //. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://www.medievalresources.com/images/renaissance-clothing-1.jpg>. "Real Armor of God." // Renaissance Faire Homepage //. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://www.realarmorofgod.com/renaissance-fashion.html>. "Renaissance Fashion: Historical Costumes and Clothing of Renaissance Women." // W European History //. Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://weuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/renaissance_fashion>. "Spare Dollars." Web. 16 Jan. 2010. <http://members.sparedollar.com/swstecker/M4997%5B1%5D.jpg>.