Such colours as "Rat" (grey), "puke" (khaki green) and "Goose-turd green" (self-explanatory) were worn by poor folk and the more unfortunate. Upper class : clothing for women. The upper-class also had many accessories. Embellishments: Elizabethan women adored jewelry and wore brooches and pins on everything from their bodies to their hats. White was rarely worn at wedding but upper class women sometimes did. Middle Class Elizabethan Clothing . For the … This was done because it was considered unhealthy … The bright colored clothing was only available to the rich because the dye used to make the bright colors was very expensive. The highest in the hierarchy of the Elizabethan era was the Monarch. This blog post, adapted from an article published in the Fall 2011 issue of Folger Magazine, is the first in a two-part series on clothing and fashion in Shakespeare’s England.Read Part 2 to learn more about the rise and fall of England’s sumptuary laws, the elaborate rules for dressing in Shakespeare’s time. They were made of stout or fine leather or, for the Upper Class velvet or silk. But still there is a division line between the upper class and royalties. Elizabethan Era Clothing Upper Class. There are very few sources of information on Middle Class Elizabethan women's clothing available today. The materials they worn were satin and silk. A signature piece of clothing in the Elizabethan era was the ruff, a garment worn around the neck made of several yards of linen cambric or lace bunched up together to a voluminous shape. The broader theme of Elizabethan vogue was greater exposure and immodesty in the clothing. Men wore ‘jerkins’ which were shirts with buttons down in the front. Shoes with high heels were created during the end of the Elizabethan era but were only worn by the nobility. An upper-class girl might also wear a starched, pleated ruff around her neck, with matching wrist ruffs as well. Wow, that is a lot of clothes! For all but the very poor, supper had many dishes. On top, they donned a kirtle along with a fitted bodice that helped accentuate the small waist. Women's clothing was often heavy and elaborate. In late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century England, women had to adhere to the Sumptuary Laws. The evening meal was called “supper” and was eaten at home. The women who belonged to the upper class wore a knee-length or full-length chemise. The working class was relegated to muted shades in yellow, orange, green, pale blue, pink, and rust. Fashion, for both sexes, went to extremes of design and lavishness, andchanged almost by the week. They mostly used velvet, silk, fur, even taffeta. Over her stockings, an Elizabethan female slipped on her thinly-soled shoes. While England flourished during the second half of the sixteenth century, fashion remained strict for both men and women. Doublets were mostly wore over shirts and waistcoats. Many people had to be awake before dawn, so breakfast was a quick bite for servants and farmers. For example, women tended to wear hats or silk hairnets in their hair that were adjourned with jewels while men wore silk hats that had a feather or a jewel attached. The wealth… Their clothes were made of expensive velvet, silk, and satin. Chemises are just like a vests, but it laces up,they would put their bodice over over it, just like we wear a vest and put a top over it.they wear allowed to wear cloakes unlike the lower class. It is commonly understood that this era goes from The Sumptuary Laws put in place by the monarchy governed the way people dressed. Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation remained prominent.The wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders had reached its peak in the 1530s, and by mid … Lower classes were not allowed to wear silk, velvet or satin or any clothing that resembled the luxurious upper … Shoes were always made of fine quality leather. Elizabethan shoes There were clearly two categories of shoes during the Elizabethan era - those for the lower class and those for the upper class. Legal codes, called “sumptuary laws”, endure from the era, acerbically denouncing “the great excesses of apparel… of the inferior sort” among the lower classes. These include silk, fur, lace and velvet. Woman Attire (Upper class): They would buy new dresses that would fit the wedding style. Men who belonged to the upper class also wore fine silk hats with a single feather. If I had to wear that many pieces of clothing, it would take me half the day to get dressed and the other half to get undressed. Elizabethan Life for a Middle Class Townsperson Introduction : There was no formal middle class at this time period. Elizabeth 1 was the one who led this era and was the last the 6thruler of Tudor. Men and women, young and old all wore ruffs back in the day. Children's Fashion When a child was born, the infant was wrapped in swaddling bands for the first six to twelve months. Before Elizabeth’s reign, fashion was mainly moderate and conservative (“Upper Class Fashion”). However, many merchants and townsfolk were becoming so wealthy via trade and services that they could ape the manners of the upper class and enjoy many of the same luxuries. The queen was considered to be the God’s representation on Earth during those days and ruled for over 45 years. Any female much past toddler age always wore a head cover of some sort, including a coif, or linen cap. There was the nobility/gentry and the lower classes. Elizabethan Nobles and Upper classes wore many different expensive clothing made of velvets, satin, furs, silks, lace, cottons and taffeta. The upper class wore very elegant and luxurious clothing. In contrast, the upper class luxuriated in … To the strict social order of the day, the symbolic infringement of overstepping one’s clothing violated one’s dictated class, an offence severe enough to constitute a crime. Fashion in the Elizabethan era saw women wearing a number of different layers. Poor middle class people wore jerkins, and doublets. The Elizabethan period covers the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabethan Fashion demanded that the men and women attending her should also be players in the on-going glamorous drama of court life.Artificiality was the watchword,and the more obviously artificial the better. The midday meal was called “dinner” and might be eaten on the go, though those who could afford to stop working to eat at home would do so. The heaviness of the clothing was due to the extreme cold of England in the Elizabethan Era. Clothing was an important indication of social order. Such exotic materials were imported from different places around the world. She ruled England during 1558 to 1603. During the Elizabethan era, fashion expressed who you were, what family or rank you are. Reds, from pinks through clear red to rust, plum, brick and burgundy colors are also good. The gowns were not allowed to be revealing and the bride was not allowed to wear yellow. A woman usually wore linen undergarments, a kirtle, bodice, several layers of petticoats, then a cloak. The upper class used all kinds of fabrics. Bright colors robe very much sought during this phase, such bright colors were also expensive purchase. During this time, the Protestant Exploration occurred and also expansion or exploration abroad. It was split into Upper class fashion and lower class fashion. People in Elizabethan times ate similar meals to what we enjoy today. While plenty of attention has been paid to the cross-dressers of Elizabethan England—a fifth of Shakespeare’s plays feature some kind of cross-dressing plot, and men regularly portrayed women on the Elizabethan stage—the act of cross-class dressing is less understood. I do NOT own the music or pictures used in this video. The Jacobean era is a period of English history that coincides with the reign of James I. Stiffer ruffs required more cloth and were associated with the upper class. Fashion in the period 1550–1600 in Western European clothing was characterized by increased opulence. Clothing : Clothing was important in the Elizabethan era and so were values.Upper Class Fashion - rich, sumptuous materials and elegant styles to clothes were worn by the lower classes using basic materials. Anyone appearing at court in an Unlike the middle and lower class, Elizabethan upper class and nobilities were permitted to wear many types of rare and expensive materials. This video was made for a high school class For … List of clothing women would wear during Elizabethan era. This period is often considered a renaissance in England, in both literature, art, and even political expansion. modern day upper class are the same when it comes to their attitude towards fashion, facing the judgment of the public, and the trends in Elizabethan court have even shaped the high fashion trends of today.The attitude toward fashion during the Elizabethan era was … Upper class women wore a chemise under all of thier clothes, then a ccorset, then a petticoat, then a farthingale, stockings, a gown, sleeves, and neck and wirst ruffs. It was common for upper-class women to be seen carrying a fan and for both men and women to be wearing perfumed gloves. There was division even within the upper class-Queen Elizabeth and her relatives would wear clothing that used gold or gold trimming . Fine needlework and embroidery also decorated upper class women's clothing. In the Elizabethan era Women would wear Clothing such as - … Each piece was carefully designed and styled to cover every part of a woman’s body. The sleeves are seperate from doublet. The women wore gowns, underclothing, corsets, hats, ruffs, collars, jewelry, and shoes. One source, is a set of city maps produced in the mid to late 16th century, known as the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.The first volume of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum was published in Cologne in 1572. As you can imagine, getting dressed wasn't a one-woman job for the nobility! Men’s clothing in the Elizabethan Era also witnessed quite a few changes.