Monday, August 26, 2019

How To Date Elizabethan Portraits By Costume: Men's Portraits


Above: Robert Dudley, the First Earl of Leicester c. 1560 by van der Muelin (Yale Center for British Art). Wrist ruffles, jerkin slashed vertically with long skirt ending in tabbed (pickadil) border. Jerkin (outer jacket) sleeveless and winged with double layer of pickadil tabs. Tall standing collar also ends with pickadils. Sleeves of doublet are tight to arm without bombast padding. Non-peascod doublet attached down center with buttons top/bottom and hooks in center. Codpiece still prominent. Hose paneled, padded for onion-shape. Small figure-of-eight ruff collar worn open at neck (ruff likely attached to linen shirt as were wrist ruffles). Hair short all around. Beard forked and decorated with beaded strings or yarn. Black squat cap beret-like pleated with ostrich feather.

HOW TO DATE ELIZABETHAN PORTRAITS BY COSTUME
Sources used: 
--DRESS IN THE ELIZABETHAN AGE (BT Batsford) by Jane Ashelford (Ashelford, DIAE) 
--FASHION IN THE TIME OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (Shire Books) by Sarah Jane Downing (Downing, FTWS) 
--HANDBOOK OF ENGLISH COSTUME IN THE 16TH CENTURY (Plays Inc) by W. and P. Cunnington (HEC)
 
Note to those attempting to date portraits: if you plug any clothing items into a page-wide search engine, a chronological history of each item should appear.  

MEN’S DRESS UNDER ELIZABETH I
HAIR STYLE 
--Hair close cropped all over 1545-1600 but more general from 1560-1570. (HEC16C)
--1570-1600 hair brushed up stiffly from temples and forehead. Mustache usually brushed upward as well. (Brushed up effect achieved with gum.) Back hair usually short. P141 (HEC16C)
--1580-1650s close curls all over (most pronounced during the Armada perm craze of the late 1580s). (HEC16C)
--1590-1650s longer hair reaching to the ears or even the shoulders, the forehead fringe brushed back from face to one side, or maybe a wisp or curl left to dangle over the forehead. Style might incorporate a love lock just now coming into fashion. (HEC16C)

BEARD STYLE  
--Mustaches never worn alone, always as part of beard. (HEC)
--Vandyke beard long and pointed 1560-1640. (HEC16C)
--Pickdevant beard short and pointed usually with brushed up mustache 1570-1600. (HEC16C)
--Forked beard short and pointed or squared 1560-1600 (see top image). (HEC16C)
--Spade beard cut square and spreading 1570-1605. Was known when worn long as "the Cathedral beard" (favored by clerics). P. 142 (HEC16C)
--Marquisetto beard cut close to the chin 1570 more visible at chin, was pointed there. p143. (HEC16C)
--Long and square “Cadiz beard,” a short-lived fashion following Earl of Essex’s victory in Cadiz. 1580s. Remained popular only with old men. (HEC16C)
--Wispy beard or tuft under the lower lip. 1580s-1600. p143. (HEC16C)
--Whiskers began to be shaved off in the 1590s. Young men sometimes clean shaven but they were the exception. p 143. (HEC16C)
--Patches of beard sometimes worn by dandies from 1590. P. 143. (HEC16C)
--1555-65 beard sometimes decorated with hanging string or yarn (see top image).

CAP STYLE 
--Flat cap 1535-1570. Beret-shaped crown with narrow brim. Often ostrich feather tip drooped over one edge, jewel or medallion place over one temple or crown or brim. Balanced on head, often worn with sideways tilt. After 1570 it was chiefly worn by working class and became known as "city flat-cap." P. 133 (HEC16C)
--Small bonnet with raised tam-like crown pleated into a brim about equal width to spread of crown 1565-1600. Worn tilted, sometimes perched. (HEC16C)
--Bonnet aka sugarloaf aka capitano with a very tall bag like crown, stiffened with buckram and pleated into a narrow brim, feather optional but when present often set upright in front 1580-95. Worn somewhat perched. De vere Welbeck portrait good example. P. 135(HEC16C)
--Court bonnet small with a crown gathered into a headband or rolled brim w/ twist of pearls or spangles, small plume, and/or jeweled ornament up front. Worn backward tilt at court functions p. 135. (HEC16C)
--Hats (not caps) styles too numerous after 1575 to list. (HEC16C, 135)

MEN’S FASHION BY DECADE 
1558-1570

Key telltales: tall standing collars trimmed with small ruffs still attached to linen shirt (often frilled with blackwork embroidery). Pickadil tabs common at end of collars, sleeves, and skirts. Ropes of chains worn on doublets (both men and women). No swelling or “peascod” bulge to lower doublet yet. Wrist ruffs only, no cuffs until mid-1580s. Short hair still in style. Small neck ruffs or falling band collars. Kettledrum  or onion-shaped trunk hose (heavily padded). Codpiece still prominent.
  
General description for decade: Before Elizabeth I, men’s dress restrained and dignified, rich dark colors set off at neck and wrists by white frills, with gold embroidery, slashing, and profuse use of aglet fasteners. Clothes followed line of body except for trunk hose. (Ashelford, DIAE)


Above: Never trust inscriptions. Dating by costumes proves that, in spite of its giant inscription, this is not a portrait of Edward de Vere (born 1550) and is likely his father John de Vere (known as Earl John) the 16th Earl of Oxford. Beard forked and decorated with strings or yarn. Tall standing collar on doublet (slashed) ending in pickadil tabs that support the small figure-of-eight-ruff attached to shirt and garnished with blackwork (tubular sets of ruff folds visible on sitter's left side). Small shoulder wings with pickadil fringe and padded bishop-style sleeves. Doublet either slashed-and-puffed with embroidered shirt linen pulled through slash or perhaps doublet is displayed open-pocketed to reveal embroidered lining--very unique. Blackwork (silk embroidery) evident on wrist ruffles. Short hair. Dope boar pendant (family crest) hanging by ribbon. Painted by unknown artist c. 1565 (Portrait formerly owned by the Duke of St. Albans, currently in the possession of the Minos Miller Trust Fund.)

Men's Fashion Notes: 1558-1569: 
--In the 1560s the small ruff (attached to shirt until mid-80s as were wrist ruffs) usually worn open in front with the tasseled ties or bandstrings that unite it. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--1553-early 70's a prominent feature of the doublet was the standing collar which during this period peaked almost to the ears and was often topped with pickadils (stiffened tabs joined and turned out at right angles). (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Hair close cropped all over. 1545-1600 but more general from 1560-1570. (HEC16C)
--Blackwork (silk embroidery) evident along top of both neck and wrist ruffs. This style will remain in fashion until the early 1570s.
--Thick rope of linked chains remained a popular accessory for men throughout the 1560’s. True for women as well. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--1567 description: “a doublet that has a curved shape, high standing collar and narrow pickadil hem.” P. 57 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Shoulder wings flat welt, broad over shoulder, narrowing to armpit with scalloped or tabbed border, sometimes double 1550-70. P. 93 (HEC16C)
--Beard sometimes forked with string or yarn danging from peak.
--Wings (doublet shoulders) a series of flat looped tabs, double row being usual 1565-1590. P. 93(HEC16C)
--1565 description: “high standing collar with open ruff and band strings showing. Short skirt flared over very distended trunk hose. Doublet sleeves tabbed in pickadils." P. 98 (HEC16C)
--Until the 1570s the most fashionable style trunk hose was called the Spanish kettledrum, which reached to mid-thigh and was distinguished by a round onion-like shape achieved by stuffing. P. 47 After kettledrum hose, more sloping outwards from small waist to maximum swelling below and then turned directly on to the thigh. P. 49 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Note: “hose” refers not only to stockings but to upper garment (often stuffed with bombast) at and below waist.
1570's 
Telltales: most marked difference is the pronounced peascod (bulged) shape of lower doublet and also the narrow skirt of the doublet, the fuller, more swollen style of trunk hose, and the deeper, closed ruff. P. 57 (Ashelford, DIAE)
General description: 1570’s used lighter, brighter colors, variety of cut with doublet and skirt, and more marked use of braids, pinking, embroidery, with neck ruffs getting steadily larger--two of the largest example of these late 70's ruffs are seen directly below. (Ashelford, DIAE) 
 
Above: Called Sir Philip Sidney (left) and Lord Russell of Thornhaugh (right) from Shakespeare Matters. These are two examples of English ruffs at their largest during the late 1570's. The 80's will see the arrival of the even wider French cartwheel ruff. Starched linen ruffs are now supported by rabato wire system (underpropper) designed to tilt the ruff forward and frame the face.

Notes for 1570's:
--Start of the peascod doublet: about 1575 the point of the doublet padded to such an extent it overhung the girdle. Padding used was called bombast and made from horsehair, flocks, rags, cotton. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Peascod belly. Originally Dutch. from pea pod, it created apex that pointed to where codpiece pocket used to protrude. Came into fashion c. 1575 and lasted almost 20 years to 1595. Perfect for men with portly statue. P. 37 (Downing, FTWS)
--Jerkin a jacket worn over doublet, sleeved or not. Jerkin not worn open, fastened down center, embroidered, slashed.
--Buff jerkin popular made from ox hide dressed with oil, inexpensive, went out of fashion mid-1570s, was a military garment adopted for civilian use. P 47 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Leather jerkin or buff jerkin 1545-75. Body cut in narrow panes from chest to waist. Skirt short, occasionally double, usually scalloped or tabbed. Shoulders often padded. Standing collars and yoke were plain or pinked. Sleeves very short and straight. P. 99 (HEC16C)
--1577: Forbisher portrait (buff jerkin) by Ketel reveals method of fastening the hose to the doublet. Voluminous Venetian hose with looped border in pickadil at knees, jerkin, skirt, and wings. His jerkin is tied by points but is open lower down, disclosing the doublet (or perhaps line shirt of bombast) beneath. Venetians closed usually beneath the knees often with pickadils frill. P. 58 (Ashelford, DIAE)
Above: Martin Frobisher 1577 by C. Ketel (Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.) Buff (leather) jerkin is military outfit adapted for polite society. Tall raised collar still in style, ruff getting larger sets. Still wearing wrist ruffs (until mid1580's). Upper sleeve now padded leg-of-mutton style that narrows towards wrist. Skirt ends in looped pickadils, as do breeches and shoulder wings (even shoes are tabbed). New-fangled loose fitting breeches were called Venetians, or slops, and fell to the knee, where stockings were gartered to them. Jerkin open at belly to display doublet (rare). Hair still cut short. Dope fish-shaped gat.

--Venetians or slops were large and full hose that reached beneath the knee to gartering place. Early forms evident in the 1570s fitted snuggly to thigh and worn with stockings pulled over them. Most popular in the 1580s-90s when at their fullest and most pear-shaped. P. 38 (Downing, FTWS) 
--Venetians. Hose. Voluminous with looped border in pickadils at knee. Forbisher 1577 illustration in which doublet also has looped pickadil border. P. 123(HEC16C) 
--Codpiece became less tumescent after 1570s nestling inside the trunk hose. Still used for storage of purse or handkerchief. Finally went out of style in the 1590s. P. 45 (Downing, FTWS)
--Men’s girdle (waistline belt) worn at most natural level in 1560-70 almost always supported a sheath for a sword or dagger or both. Dagger often worn behind back on right side. (Downing, FTWS) 
--Standing collar began to subside slightly after 1570. (HEC16C)
--1575-85 doublet skirt became short, a mere border. P. 91 (HEC16C)
--Doublet or trunk sleeves: wide above, narrowing to wrist (called "cannon" or "leg o mutton" style) usually pinked or slashed for decoration. Often worn with sham sleeves after 1575. P. 91(HEC16C)
--Bishop-style sleeves (stuffed with bombast) full to closed wristband sometimes without wings 1575-1600. Padding evident in forearms and toward wrists. P. 91(HEC16C)
--Shoulder wings flat welt, broad over shoulder, narrowing to armpit with scalloped or tabbed border, sometimes double 1550-70. P. 93. (HEC16C)
--Wings a series of flat looped tabs, double row being usual 1565-1590 P. 93 (HEC16C)


Above: Sir Philip Sidney c. 1578 (National Portrait Gallery, London). Note pronounced bulge to doublet belly. (Peascod doublet stayed in style from c.1575-1596). Metal gorget around neck is a military garment adapted to polite society. Codpiece still prominent. Wrist ruffles indicate pre-1583 (when cuffs came into fashion). Jerkin slashed and pinked with minimal wings and tight fitting sleeves (minimal padding). Tall standing collar, about to go out of style, topped with figure-of-eight ruff. Hair is short all around. Hose paneled and heavily bombasted into onion shape. Sword belt guarded in gold as is gorget.

1580's 
General: Ostentatious! Everything changes: male dress assumed its most extreme and artificial shape. Ruff encircles head and isolates it, a padded doublet (peascod) curved into a point below waist, trunk hose minimal (like a mini skirt at times), thighs encase in tightly fitting canions (attached below to stockings). Demanded well-proportioned figure with long shapely legs. Strong emphasis on elongated tapering waist. Wide circular ruff and swollen hips and arms common to both sexes: all in all a less aggressively masculine style. (Ashelford, DIAE) p. 43

Above: called Martin Forbisher c. 1590 by H. Custodis, Dulwich Picture Gallery London. (Source photo schoolhistory.co.uk.) Note that cuffs have replaced wrist ruffs (indicating post 1583). Large buttons now prominent. Collar full-blown cartwheel titled forward with figure-of-eight sets trimmed with reticella. Short black Spanish bat-wing cloak or cape, now a staple of fashion, hung over both shoulders. Hair getting longer now. Thin, not thick, gold chains circling buttons to a point that helps the waist appear narrow.

Notes on 1580s:
--Shirt becomes more visible, not only wrists and standing collar visible
--Collar did not become a separate article until the mid-1580s. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--By the 1580’s the full rounded trunk hose had shrunk to a mere pad round the hips worn with canions. Canions were close fitting tubular extensions from the trunk hose to the knee. P. 49 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--A ruff placed above the falling band collar was sometimes worn after the 1580s until 1615. P. 110(HEC16C)
--1580s preference for cloaks with definite patterns of vertical or diagonal stripes of gold braid against a dark background. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--By 1587 large ornamental buttons on doublet are fashionable. Huge telltale for 1580s. P. 65 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--1588 four transparent lawn collars on top of each other popular. Raleigh. P. 67 (Ashelford, DIAE) 
--Saucy micro mini bum roll at the hips originated in French court became popular in England in 1580s. (Downing, FTWS)
--French cloak reached knee and later even ankle-length during the 1580s. Often decorated with bugle beads or pearls or guarded with bands of velvet or lace. P. 43 (Downing, FTWS)
--Wrist ruffs/ruffles disappear after c. 1583, replaced by cuffs forever. Very helpful telltale!
--The Mandilion, pure Elizabethan eccentricity, originally a military garment, came into fashion around 1577 and reached top popularity during 1580s. A cross between a jacket and a cloak, it was hip-length and loose with side seams left open and sleeves hanging. It had a small standing collar and was fasted at throat to chest to allow it to be put on over the head and then whipped around 90 degrees so that the front and back panels swept the shoulders and the sleeves hung deflated front and back. P. 43(Downing, FTWS)
--Rebato (wire underpropper) support system for collars became fashionable from 1580 to 1635. Rebato originally term for a collar similar to a fan ruff, but after 1600 it became exclusive to the support system made of wire. The collar being supported was often trimmed with lace-like reticella (pronounced ree-tick-e-la) and very ornate, could be worn in several layers. (Downing, FTWS)
--Folding fan appeared around 1580 and was regarded as quite a status symbol, and was often ridiculed as such. P. 57 (Downing, FTWS) 
--1575-85 doublet skirt became short, a mere border. P. 91(HEC16C)
--Standing collar continues to subside.
--In 1580s the short French cloak replaced by the long French cloak that reached to the knees or ankles but was still thrown over the left shoulder (Spanish cloak worn over both shoulders). P.50 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Wings often a series of flat, looped tabs (pickadils), double row being usual 1565-1590. P. 93 (HEC16C)
--Sleeves: leg-o-mutton style (padded at shoulder but narrows toward wrist) and bishop style (padded shoulder to wrist) both still popular.



Above: Young Man Among Roses, possibly the 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, by Nicholas Hilliard between 1585-95 (Victoria & Albert Museum London). Note how jerkin, with large buttons, follows pronounced peascod curve of the underlying doublet. Hose now mini bum roll that highlights long legs in mini-skirt effect with silk stockings below. Fluted, starched linen cartwheel ruff at neck. Searing cuffs not wrist ruffles indicating post. 1583. French cloak, long, thrown over left shoulder with sleeves hanging as was fashionable. Short doublet skirt. Hair curly all over, a good example of the Armada perm. Melancholy disarray now in style.

Above: this Unknown Man by Hilliard 1588 (Victoria & Albert Museum) is wearing an early example of Italian cutwork on his cuffs and fall collar. He is also sporting the Armada perm hyper popular from 1585-88. Hat is bonnet aka capitano style. Note: Harvard's legendary scholar Leslie Hotson once wrote an entire book arguing the above sitter was William Shakespeare.

1590's: 
General: the men’s look becomes more relaxed and romantic, doublet looser and worn undone at times in melancholy disarray, a soft lawn falling collar starts replacing the large ruff, hair worn longer in curls, skirt of doublet gets longer, ruff flattened at times (see below) and multi-layered. Italian cutwork collars become popular. Gloves now have gauntlets (wrist coverings). P. 43-4 (Ashelford, DIAE)
Above: Sir John Ashburnham 1593 by H. Custodis (Berger Collection, Denver). Note that cuffs have replaced wrist ruffs. Doublet is ultra Peascod (maximum bulge) and will start to get smaller in this decade. Slashed jerkin with bishop sleeves padded from shoulder to wrist. Mini bum roll, paneled, with traces of canions visible below them. Doublet skirt still small. Sword hangers not embroidered, only guarded in red. Neck ruff is flattened figure-of-eight style layered. Rare example of mustache without beard.
 
Notes on 1590's: 
--Gloves made with gauntlets (extended section of glove covering the wrist) only after about 1590. Gauntlet section was decorated with embroidery and trimmed with braid and fringing. P. 51 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Love lock 1590-1650 tress of hair grown long usually curled brought forward from nape of the neck to fall gracefully over the chest. p. 142 (HEC16C)
--During 1590s skirts of doublet more evident again. (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Early 1590s peascod doublet had reached absurd proportions, belly so exaggerated that it has curved back upon itself. Hose even briefer. (Ashelford, DIAE). Peascod almost gone by end of decade.
--1598 Raleigh portrait unlike portrait ten years earlier doublet is no longer distended by stuffing and is far less exaggerated in shape. Peascod fashion dying out. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Peascod doublet goes out of style c. 1598. Raleigh and Essex's Cadiz portraits still reveal peascod as late as 1596. P.70 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--In the later years of Elizabeth, white was worn universally at court. P. 102 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Codpiece, much reduced, finally out of style in the 1590s. P. 45 (Downing, FTWS).
--The ruff known as the “three steps and a half to the gallows” a three piled ruff c. 1590 and later. Also flattened figure of eight. P. 49 (Downing, FTWS).
--Dyed beards. Earl of Essex portrait Gheeraerts 1596 “His square cut bead is dyed a startling red in emulation of the Queen’s auburn hair.” P. 61 (Downing, FTWS).
--Round waist end of doublets were uncommon, usual between 1590-1610. P.88 (HEC16C).
--Narrow neck band or plan round neck with small V opening in front becomes fashionable (1590-1600). P. 90 (HEC16C).
--Jerkin’s standing collar subsiding toward 90s. Jerkin collar narrow band or none at all, sometimes turned down flat on shoulders 1590-1620. P. 94 (HEC16C).
--Boots became long and close fitting with lace trimmed boot hose tops appearing c. 1595. P. 124 (HEC16C)
Above: Sir Thomas Drake 1585-93 by H. Custodis. (Weiss Gallery. Buckland Abbey, Yelverton. Photo source wikicommons.) Good example of pinking (decorated with small perforations). Fall or falling collar of linen done in two layers the top one transparent. Cuffs at wrists. Skirt of doublet a bit longer. Minimum shoulder wings with attached bishop style sleeves with pocket. Peascod bulge still pronounced. Paneled hose. Hair worn longer.

Early 1600s: 
--Jerkin collar narrow band or none at all or one turned down flat on shoulders 1590-1620. P. 94 (HEC16C).
--1603 portrait p. 72 shows breeches to knee. No peascod. (Ashelford, DIAE.)
--Falling linen collar remains popular sometimes layered.
--Rich embroidered sword belt and ganger is typical of 1600 period. P. 73 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare is “whisk-style rebato” supported collar. Known in Spain as golilla. Became fashion choice at turn of century with a pristine semicircle of lawn framing the head behind and often trimmed/highlighted by rich edging of cutwork or Vandyked lace. P. 5 (Downing, FTWS) 
--Round waist at end of doublet uncommon until 1590, usual between 1590-1610. P.88 (HEC16C).
--Hooks and eyes used by nobility originally but by end of century were associated with working class. P. 90 (HEC16C).
--Onset of shield-shaped rebato supported linen collar made famous by Shakespeare’s Droeshout engraving in 1623 First Folio.

General Rules and Telltales for Elizabethan Fashion:
--From France: long cloak, cartwheel ruff, peascod doublet, brief trunk hose, pantofles, curled hair, and a variety of effeminate accessories blended with other ideas from Low Countries into a unique style. P. 44 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Shirt: straight linen, usually embroidered around the neck and sleeve hand. Until 80s only visible areas of shirt were standing collar and wrist ruffle unless worn with a slashed doublet. Embroidered shirts very expensive. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--A neck band was a collar of Holland cloth, lawn, or cambric worn about the neck of a shirt. The ruff developed from a frill edging at top of the standing collar of shirt. Increased in size until it became separate article that could be starched and goffered (crimped). (Ashelford, DIAE).
--The falling band, or fall, was a collar which rose from the upper edge of the shirt neckband and was worn over the collar of the doublet, but it did not become a separate article until the mid-1580s when it was left open at the throat. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--All the methods of cutting the surface of the doublet were intended to show the colors of the lining to create contrast and meaning. Called slashing (slashes) and pinking (perforations) (Ashelford, DIAE.). Sometimes silk undergarments (puffs) pulled up through the slashes.
--Fastening buttons, hooks and eye, or ties down the center (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Jerkin is worn over doublet, sleeved or not. Not worn open, fastened down center, embroidered. P. 47 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Waistcoat. Padded garment worn under the doublet for warmth or worn as an informal top garment. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Hose. Variety of style often satirized. Two parts upper or trunk hose, also known as breeches. And lower or nether hose, which could either be canions (from 1580’s onward) or stockings. P. 47 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Breeches were an alternative form of hose and were fuller and longer. They were available in three basic styles: venetians, galligaskins, and open. Galligaskins were long and wide, reaching down to the knees (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Slops or slop hosen were all baggy breeches closed at the knee. P. 49 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Cloak. Most prized item for dandy. How worn depended on national style. Spanish was hooded, very full, and short. Dutch was hoodless, heavily guarded and worn with wide sleeves hanging loose. The French was generally worn over left shoulder and fastened under the arm (difficult to keep on).
--Gowns ankle length worn by academics, men of legal profession doctors, civic and crown officers, and ceremonial occasions. Gowns of working men restricted to calf-length unless over 60 years old. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Hatbands distinctive, highly decorated. Ostrich, osprey, or heron feathers. Brimmed hat with shade popular with melancholy humor. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Revers is the upper part of garment that folds back to resemble collar. Made with same fabric as rest of garment (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Suit: jerkin with matching doublet, hose, and cloak. P. 53 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Codpiece: big during Henry VIII, once the visible expression of man virility, decline and gradually disappeared around 1577 from male dress under Liz. P. 57 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Metal neck gorget worn over the doublet with military men who were allowed to wear it with civilian dress. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Two of most reviled male fashions that originated in France were the use of feather fans and make-up. P. 68 (Ashelford, DIAE)
--Usual for military to wear a scarf draped across the body tied under the arm. P. 73, a lieutenant’s scarf. Military men also wore gorget. (Ashelford, DIAE)
--The “Pawn” a shopping area south side of the Royal Exchange where posh items old, a hive of specialist. Mercers of fashion. Budge Row known for furriers, Silver Street with wigmakers, Cheapside had goldsmiths’ row etc. P. 74 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Fashion dolls circulated in England to pass on fashion trends (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Embroidered and spangled nightcaps were worn indoors with nightgown (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Falling bands could be bought either detached from shirt or attached (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Gowns could be lined with lynx (expensive) or Spanish fox (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Cutwork lace collars were of Italian origin (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Elevation in status celebrated by new clothes and portrait (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Phrase “Straunge Fantastic Habit” used to describe outlandish clothing P. 122 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Chest armor worn for normal military purposes or on festive occasions, usually echoed the lines of the doublet.” P. 137 (Ashelford, DIAE).
--Phrase: “open lace ruff worn with transparent gauze ruching.” (Ashelford, DIAE). Ruching is a gathered overlay of fabric strips that are pleated, fluted, or gathered together to create a ripple effect.
--Doublet sleeves were separate, often contrasting colors, attached by points with ribbons or narrow cords or aiglets. P. 36 (Downing, FTWS).
--French slops or gally hose or galligaskins hose that sagged to a couple of inches above the knee. Venetians extended to just below the knee. P. 37 (Downing, FTWS). Only Venetians extend below knee.
--After mid-16th century term HOSE began to refer only to upper breeches. (Downing, FTWS)
--Hose were slashed to allow soft lining material to be pulled through in puffs. P. 38 (Downing, FTWS).
--Venetians were large and full hose that reached beneath the knee to gartering place. Early forms evident in the 1570s fitted snuggly to thigh and worn with stockings pulled over them. Most popular in the 1580s-90s when at their fullest and most pear-shaped. P. 38 (Downing, FTWS).
--Everything was upholstered except the leg, considered man’s finest feature. P. 39 (Downing, FTWS).
--Canions were the tubular extension that joined from the puff of the trunk hose at upper thigh to the knee stockings (gartered at knee). P. 40 (Downing, FTWS).
--Bad form for a man to appear in public without a cloak or gown over his doublet p. 41 (Downing, FTWS).
--Full length gown for weather known as a nightgown. P 41 (Downing, FTWS).
--Cloak most glamorous and most expensive item. Spanish was short but full and had ornamental hood. Dutch had wide sleeves which were left hanging loose. The French, worn over left shoulder, was the most dashing. (Downing, FTWS).
--Starch revolution. Starch arrived from Holland in 1560 started a revolution for the ruff akin to alchemy, each flute set with a poking stick. Originally made of wood or bone, stick was poked into each fold and smoothed to create a set of perfect loops. In 1573 poking sticks became metal and more effective which led to more elaborate wrist ruffs. P. 48 (Downing, FTWS).
--Ruffs once prepared kept in band box, sometimes taken to parties in box and put on upon arrival. P. 49 (Downing, FTWS).
--Anne Turner, a court dressmaker worked with Indigo Jones on masque designs holder of patent for saffron starch. Helped murder Overbury. Revealed at her trial in 1616 that she had used French fashion dolls to represent the people who were subject of her spells. Voodoo dolls! Her executioner wore the saffron ruff and cuffs she’d made fashionable, which ended that fashion for saffron ruffs. P. 51 (Downing, FTWS).
--Tints used to dye ruffs vegetable dye applied at starch stage to produce pin, mauve, or yellow shades. Blue ruffs became associated with prostitutes and were banned in 1595, but they remained popular because blue made the skin appear more white, and white skin was considered noble (Downing, FTWS).
--Hats worn most of the time including while dining and at home. P. 55 (Downing, FTWS).
--Small waist strong feature of this time, effect increased by bombast p. 87 (HEC16C).
--Both trunk sleeves and bishop style were known as “farthingale” sleeves p. 91(HEC16C).
--Doublets had detachable, interchangeable sleeves but were never worn w/o sleeves in polite society. P. 93 (HEC16C).
--“Hand sleeve” term for wrist portion of sleeve and were not a separate item. P. 93 (HEC16C).

--Jerkin lined but not usually padded or busked worn over doublet followed shape of doublet. P. 94 (HEC16C).
--Jerkin with standing collar 1540-90 collar maximum height in the 1560’s subsiding toward 90s. P. 94 (HEC16C).
--Cloak height of fashion 1545-1600 one for morning one for afternoon one for evening p. 103. Sometimes cloaks were hard to distinguish from short gowns (HEC16C).
--Spanish cloak or cape shorter and often worn over both shoulders. P. 106 (HEC16C). Batwinged appearance.
--French cloak, worn over left shoulder, generally long to below knee even to ankle. P. 106 (HEC16C).
--Dutch cloak was full, short, often waist length, wide sleeves, was always lavishly guarded (HEC16C).
--The Tippet. A short shoulder cape worn with a cloak or gown. Sarcenet tippets common in the 1550s. p. 107 (HEC16C).
--Mandilion (1577-1620) open on side, worn sideways often, was originally a military garment, a loose hip-length jacket with standing collar, side seams open, handing sleeves, worn awry, sideways in “Colly Weston” style (“wrong”). P. 109 (HEC16C).
--Neck falling band or the fall. Always in fashion. Turned down over the standing collar of the doublet. Attached to shirt. At first small but gradually increased in depth and became flatter and spreading as the doublet collar diminished in height after 1570s. Post 1585 was often left open at throat and became a separate article. Usually linen. Embroidered in colored silk, metal thread, or blackwork common between 1540-70s. Elaborate lace borders from 1570’s on. A ruff placed above the falling band was sometimes worn after the 1580s until 1615. P. 110 (HEC16C).
--Phrase: “lace ruff with flattened figure of eight set” 1598 (HEC16C).
--Tubular pleats of ruffs were called sets. P. 112 (HEC16C).
--Starch colored red, blue purple, green or yellow, but white, and more rarely yellow, far more prevalent in England. P. 113 (HEC16C).
--Arrangements of sets: vertical figure of eight one layer 1560-1620. Flattened or horizontal figure of eight, often in several layers 1590-1620. Arranged in massed convolutions in several layers 1590s- 1605. P. 113 (HEC16C).


END


5 comments:

  1. https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/symbolism-portraits-elizabeth-i

    I recall Elizabeth I claimed her colors were black and white. This link mentions it.

    I have heard this as an explanation for the purported earl's black and white ribbon.

    The 16th earl died in 1562, so there is a bit of overlap with Elizabeth I.

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  2. Yes, white and black were her colors. Toward the end of her reign her courtiers mostly wore white. There is some overlap with Earl John and a younger Burghley, who had installed spies into the earl's house. After Earl John died, many of his properties were claimed by Robert Dudley.

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  3. this may sound confusing

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  4. A google search identified the "goofy looking jack" in the armor as Luís Mendes de Vasconcellos
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Mendes_de_Vasconcellos

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you're looking for a contemporaneous Shakespeare portrait, you must have seen this, right?
    https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw11574/William-Shakespeare?LinkID=mp04051&role=sit&rNo=0

    ReplyDelete