The Costume Maker's Companion E-Book

Diane Favell

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Crowood Theatre Companions
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 278

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Authentic historical costume is essential for any performance, to instantly communicate a period, a social standing, an occupation or an identity. The responsibility of this representation lies with the costume maker, in their knowledge of the design and their accuracy of construction. The Costume Maker's Companion serves as an aide memoire, to novice and experienced makers alike, covering the common garments of the Medieval, Tudor, Jacobean, Restoration, Regency and Victorian eras of British history. Learn the key styles and fashions of each period before step-by-step tutorials and detailed orders of work illustrate the costume construction process for eight popular garments, from the designer's drawing through to the finished piece. This book also covers working with a costume designer; key processes and equipment; flat pattern manipulations; cutting a pattern on the stand; taking a pattern from an existing garment; costume details, including goldwork and flounces and finally, making accessories, including gauntlets, corsets and ruffs. Logically divided by historical period and supported by over 400 photographs, sketches and diagrams, this book will develop the confidence of any costume maker to take on new projects and expand their knowledge.

Leseprobe

The CostumeMaker’s Companion

18th-century dress by Pauline Bidegaray.

The CostumeMaker’s Companion

Diane Favell

First published in 2020 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2020

© Diane Favell 2020

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 720 0

CONTENTS

Foreword by Fiona Shaw

Acknowledgements and References

Introduction

PART I: THE HISTORY OF COSTUME

Chapter 1: Medieval

Chapter 2: Tudor

Chapter 3: Jacobean to Restoration

Chapter 4: Regency to Victorian

PART II: COSTUME MAKING

Chapter 5: Medieval:The Houppelande The Lady’s GownChapter 6: Tudor:The Elizabethan Doublet and Hose The Elizabethan DressChapter 7: Jacobean to Restoration:Frockcoat, Breeches and Waistcoat The Saque-Back DressChapter 8: Regency to Victorian:The Victorian Frockcoat The Victorian Dress

PART III: DETAILS AND ACCESSORIES

Chapter 9: Medieval:Chain Maille, Chaperon, Gauntlet Gloves, MoccasinsChapter 10: Tudor:Goldwork, Theatrical Ruff, Reducing Ruff, Simple Tudor CorsetChapter 11: Jacobean to Restoration:Period Shirt, Side Panniers, Stomachers, Simple Eighteenth-Century CorsetChapter 12: Regency to Victorian:Victorian Cravat, Button Fly, Decorating the Victorian Dress, 1860s Corset, Victorian Bustle

Appendix: Useful Pattern Blocks

Glossary

Index

FOREWORD

The history of costume is the history of ourselves at our most sophisticated and at our most playful. We are self-decorating animals so we love colour, we are meaning-given animals so we find symbols in every shape, and we are conforming animals so we love to share and follow fashion.

This book explores the history of costume by someone who learnt her craft in the same place that I learnt mine. The ‘wardrobe’ at RADA was a mysterious world unto itself. We rehearsed for weeks before finally being met by that department’s skill. Then we were transformed from young student actors in our T-shirt and jeans by the poetic embellishment of costume.

Costume makes the language of plays more vivid. The world the actors have been pursuing, often in dense text, reveals itself totally when dressed. The visual experience for the audience means they are receiving a rich and complete picture.

But the actors, too, are changed by costume, made more responsive. They discover a different part of themselves when wearing clothes from another age. Costume makes you breathe differently, walk differently and so think differently, the outlying boundary of the body is shifted. The emphasis is on the chest, the hips or the arms, so the voice and the thought patterns are affected. There are beautiful words for these often-torturous items: ‘stomacher’, ‘doublet’, ‘farthingales’ and ‘crinoline’. Actors discover through the restrictions of a period costume and with the limitations of movement the subjection of personality. It is all a discipline and a revelation.

The other novelty of costume as a young student at RADA was the excitement of who may have worn it before you. I remember one young actor delighted to see Peter O’Toole’s name inside his King John costume. Someone else had Anthony Hopkins’ name inside his velvet hat. Our students were literally in borrowed robes; by stepping into the shoes of a great actor, there was an element of ‘the rub of the relic’ – some of their talent might rub off on you.

Fundamentally, costume is the ‘frontline’. Because the moment we see somebody we make judgements, even before they speak. The colours they choose tell us a lot. The extravagance of the Elizabethans with ruffs and slashing indicated their optimism. The Puritans then seeking line over decoration in an attempt to clear the space between God and Man. Modesty and thought was modesty in costume. The subsequent flamboyance of the Restoration was a firework display to counter the restrained aesthetic of the Puritans – more colour to banish the darkness. And the eighteenth century’s filigree of excess was matched by loquaciousness in writing. Language seemed to be an end in itself.

Sheridan and Congreve excel at showing us how you could dress a human person up in elaborate verbiage. To draw attention to yourself by your costume was to make yourself at the centre of the world.

By the nineteenth century, women’s invisibility vocally was belied by the extravagance of the female apparel. From crinolines to bustles, women were sculpted from the outside. By the end of the nineteenth century, with Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, we see women literally bursting at the seams into the twentieth century, where costume becomes more like the clothes that we are familiar with, where the emblem becomes subtle. The bustle gave way to softer dresses. Soon, shorter dresses, high shoulders and slim waists to hippy draping, and on to ‘us’.

Now, colour, texture and style are more of a dialogue between the actor and the costume maker. How you wear your clothes is as telling as what you wear. The actor’s job is to emotionally hold the eternal present while the costume helps us hold the distance. Costume allows the vividness of the scene fused with the actor’s work to be received with intensity. It is the dance of feeling and thought. And great costume encompasses the individual, plays into his or her uniqueness while doffing its cap to the character and the period.

Our modern age expresses itself with the detail on the trainer or the make of T-shirt – all signs of power and wealth as it has always been. But as you travel on the train or bus, surely the slashed jeans of the ‘cool kids’ replies to the slashing sleeves on the Elizabethan ‘blades’. We speak with voice and cloth. When we act as when we live, the cloth speaks too.

Fiona Shaw, January 2020

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this book. Alex McPherson, who drew the beautiful design drawings and my former students; Kyriaki Bouska, Elizabeth Wang and Laura Haag who made some of the costumes.

More contributors were Paul Aspinall, Hanna Randall, Pauline Bidegaray and Joey Santangelo: thank you.

I would like to thank RADA for allowing me to use the costume store; also my family, work colleagues and students for their patience; and especially my lovely husband Giles, for his help with the drawing, and for his advice and unending support. Lastly, I should like to extend my gratitude to Fiona Shaw for her support, and kind agreement to write the foreword.

REFERENCE BOOKS

Aldrich, Winifred Metric Pattern Cutting

Aldrich, Winifred Metric Pattern Cutting for Men

Bradfield, Nancy A.R.C.A. Historical Costumesof England. (George Harrap & Co.Ltd, 1938, second edition 1958)

Brewer, Mary The Art of Mail Armor (Paladin Enterprises, Inc, 2002)

Clayton Calthrop, Dion English Costume (A.&C. Black. Soho Square, London W, 1907)

Hagger, Ann Pattern Cutting for Lingerie, Beachwear and Leisure

Maclochlainn, Jason The Victorian Tailor (Batsford, 2011)

Norris, Herbert Costume and Fashion (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1924)

Shaeffer, Claire B. Couture Sewing, Tailoring TechniquesSinger Sewing reference library, Tailoring., Cy DeCosse Incorporated (Contempory books inc, 1988)

Thursfield, Sarah The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant

Vaugh, Norah Corsets and Crinolines

INTRODUCTION

This book is intended for the sapling costume maker, who has studied the basics and is about to embark on a career in our illustrious world of theatre costume. I hope it will provide some encouragement to branch out into new areas of skills, and act as an aide memoire for historical styles, and the skills that, although learnt, may benefit from refreshing.

As you continue your career, you will find areas that you enjoy and are good at, and I urge you to follow these paths. Inevitably your path is often dictated by the work you are offered, but you should never lose sight of your ambitions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After many years as a maker and supervisor for theatre, dance and film, I have worked at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and for the last eighteen years as Head of the Costume Department, running a postgraduate course in Costume Making and Supervising.

Many people ask me how I first entered the profession. I was making theatre costumes from a young age, volunteering at school, college and the local amateur dramatic society; I wasn’t afraid to embark on any design required, which is important, as confidence in your skills will show through when you take on a job, and speeds along the process of making, too. When I decided to become a maker (having previously been working in fashion), I wrote to every West End and local theatre offering my services for free, and received just one reply, from Watford Palace Theatre. I worked there for a week before they started paying me, and I spent some months there, gaining more experience and knowledge (something you never stop doing). The contacts I met there got me my next job, and it went from there.

It is a wonderful profession we work in, and the communication within is getting better all the time; social media and websites offer amazing opportunities to the budding maker, as the need for new talent is always there.

SETTING UP A WORKROOM

Ideally, when you venture out into the world of professional costume making, you would find yourself a perfectly organized, fully equipped workroom. Naturally this is not always possible, and constraints of money and space mean that you may have to compromise. I survived several years with an adjustable mannequin, sewing in a small area of a room and cutting out on a large piece of cardboard on the floor of the living room. I know a couple of people who for years used a large piece of wood on the bed as their cutting table, and regardless, their work was beautiful.

Once you have a designated cutting table and sewing area, you realize how important it is. It affects both the quality of the work and the speed with which it is done. Sharing is an obvious solution, although this would not suit everyone; however, there are benefits in being able to discuss making procedures, and sometimes even sharing the work so that each person can work to their personal strengths.

A workroom is something you should aspire to, but whether it is something you are lucky enough to start out with, or something you have gradually built up, both in space and equipment, the advice is the same.

THE WORKSPACE

If at all possible, your workroom should include a space large enough to have a self-standing cutting table that you can walk all the way round; a work station for the machines along one wall; an ironing board, steamer, mannequins, costume rail and room for storage of pattern paper, calico and other fabrics; and shelves for threads and other equipment – and all this without crowding yourself. A garage lends itself very well to this, but I’ve seen workrooms in spare bedrooms, attic spaces, garages and outhouses, all of which work well, so long as they are completely dry with adequate power and ventilation, and a clean floor.

Make sure you have a good light – dim or flickering lights are tiring and cause headaches over time. In my experience, daylight bulbs are very effective, particularly the new LED panel lights now available.

It is important to create a comfortable space in which you can work effectively, especially when cutting and sewing material.

CUTTING TABLES

Few people manage a perfectly free-standing table – at least one of the sides is usually against a wall – but it must be flat (grained wood can be rather bumpy and difficult to mark fabrics on). Formica or varnished MDF makes an excellent surface, though make sure the edges are smooth and that the corners are not sharp, so as not to snag and damage fabrics as they are pulled across.

The table should be set up so that if you stand next to it with your arms resting on the surface, your elbows should be at right angles to your upper arms.

SEWING MACHINES

The only real advice I have here is to buy the best sewing machine you can afford. This doesn’t necessarily mean one that does many different stitches, but it is worth spending the extra on a well-made, strong machine. Take the advice of a professional maker or teacher before buying.

If you have room, consider getting a basic industrial machine as well, as these are not expensive to buy second-hand, and sometimes you just need the strength they afford. Alternatively, I have an old 1930s enamelled singer machine (motored) and still use it occasionally on tough items.

An overlocker is a very useful machine to have, because a good one opens up your repertoire to use on stretch and outerwear fabric, and also makes an excellent job of neatening seams. On the down side, when an overlocker is not working well, it can be very time consuming to sort out and destructive to your work, so read reviews and take advice before buying.

MACHINE FEET

Most machines come with the usual array of feet. The zipper, roll hem and buttonhole feet are especially useful, but also consider buying the following:

Fig. 1A: The walking foot.

The walking foot (Figure 1A): This sorts out the problem that a normal foot has of pushing the top fabric forwards, stretching it as you sew; it will hold the fabric down to the feed dog with every stitch, which is especially useful on stretchy and unstable fabrics.

Fig. 1B: The ruffle foot.

The ruffle foot (Figure 1B): This foot makes short work of frills and braiding; you can also alter the size of pleats.

Fig. 1C: The embroidery foot.

The embroidery foot (Figure 1C): This foot is useful not just for the machine that does its own free-arm embroidery, but also for free-style machine embroidery, as it controls the fabric while you are free to move it around.

The welt foot (mentioned later in the book) is also useful, as it has a ‘tunnel’ on the underside to sit over piping or cord. An invisible zip foot also helps keep the needle from going astray.

IRON/STEAMER

There are times when both of these are needed, so either get yourself a good iron, which steams as well, or invest in a steamer and an iron. The sky’s the limit with the amazing pressing equipment that is available, but as long as you have hanging space and a way of getting steam into a garment, you won’t be held back.

BE ORGANIZED

Whether you are working in a fully equipped workroom or your living room, it is extremely important that you are organized and tidy, both with paperwork, individual pieces of work and equipment. Shelves, files and labelled boxes can all help with this. Buy a few costume bags, as these are good for transporting and separating jobs.

PART I:THE HISTORY OF COSTUME

This section gives a brief tour of the history of costume. My aim is to give a fairly detailed description of the costume fashions from medieval to Victorian times. I have purposefully concentrated on the main garment pieces, leaving out some of the accessories, also hair and shoes, in order to give a clear aide memoire to the different styles of each period. I have also included some suggestions of the main colours used in each period. We shall investigate the costumes themselves more in the following two sections of the book, but I shall endeavour to show the seam lines, and give tips that could help in making these garments look authentic, as well as strong and practical, for theatre, television and film use.

The progression of fashion has always fascinated me. When researching for costume making, we often take snapshots of various periods and therefore see them as very different and unconnected, when in reality there was always a progression of the various parts of the garment from one period to another. The silhouette might stay the same, but the sleeves might have larger cuffs, or the neckline might fall, or all these might stay the same, but the hemline be raised or lowered, or maybe it’s just the colours or fabrics that change.

Of course there are always exceptions to fashion progression. This usually happens after a war or political upheaval, when the fashion changes suddenly; notably this occurred after the English civil war, resulting in the Commonwealth being formed in 1649, and in the following century, after the French Revolution. Both were the result of an uprising by the people who were revolting against the excesses of the monarchy of the time.

Costume can be used to identify a character, their occupation, their wealth or their identity or self-expression. During both medieval and Elizabethan times sumptuary laws were passed that restricted what people from different classes or occupations were entitled to wear. This included colours, fabrics, and in some cases, the style of the garments. Other garments, or parts of garments that identified a character, would also have a practical use – for example, the leather apron of the furrier, the armour of the armies, the uniforms of the police force, and the gowns of the surgeons and doctors, to name but a few.

However, a very large part of the style of clothes is fashion. Historically it was often set by the monarchy and aristocrats of the time, and was then diluted as the styles progressed down the classes, the fabrics and extremes of style changing in order to be practical, and available within the means of the social class. This is not unlike the situation nowadays, when styles from catwalk events might influence what is on the shop floor.

1MEDIEVAL

In this chapter we look at costumes from the late medieval era spanning 1200 to 1485, this being the period in Britain following a succession of invasions from other countries.

The Romans, Saxons (Scandinavia and northern Germany), Vikings, Normans (Normandy) and Danes (Denmark) all brought fashions from their own countries to Britain, and the effect had been significant.

This era also sees the start of the Renaissance period, widely accepted to be from 1300 to 1600, when fashion became a very significant influence on why we wore the clothes we did.

This period embraces Shakespeare’s historical plays about Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III, plays that are often visited by theatre, film and television. The monarchy very much influenced fashions, and so they will often be referred to.

In this section of the book men’s and ladies’ clothes are discussed together, as they at least start in a similar way, and many of the names of garments refer to both genders.

UNDERWEAR

Both men and women would wear loin cloths, although there is evidence that draw-string briefs were also worn, in the shape of shorts and small ‘tanga’ briefs (with no legs and only a short side seam). They would have been made of linen or wool. The loin cloth was either a triangle shape or a T shape, shown in red and blue in Figure 2, and was worn not unlike a nappy, with the sides brought round and tucked in and then the flap brought under the crotch and tucked in at the front. The cote, described below, was also worn as underwear, though made in a lighter fabric. Later, if fancy sleeves were needed, they could be attached to the underwear, usually tied at the shoulder.

Fig. 2: The loin cloth.

Ladies’ corsets didn’t really exist in these times, though there is some evidence of iron forms likely to be used as a form of chastity belt, to be locked on when the husband was away. It is very possible, however, that ‘body binding’ existed, and dresses became quite figure hugging – it is likely that ladies of the higher classes wrapped their bodies tightly to smooth out any ‘unsightly’ bulges.

THE COTE

The cote was a very basic garment, which existed before any invasions. Celtic men wore it as a basic garment, and it was then used under armour. There were influences from many countries, mainly in the way it was decorated, but the development of the shape, and therefore the pattern shapes, were the same. There were garments called a cote for both men and ladies, the ladies wearing them from the middle of the thirteenth century until the fourteenth century, when a more tailored garment came into play.

Fig. 3: The classic man’s cote, worn throughout the medieval period.

The original cote was a T shape, made from one piece of fabric, as shown in Figure 3. More affluent men wore long cotes, while workers would have shorter ones (just past the knee), which was more practical; they would wear trousers, or braies, under the cote. The cote would have a faced or bound opening at the neck, and sometimes splits from the waist to the hem. This developed into a more tailored garment that flared out at the sides and had set-in sleeves.

Blues, reds and greens were the usual colours of the day, with the poorer community managing to dye greys and ‘russet’ colours. All cotes would have been woollen at this time, unless used as an undergarment, in which case they might have been linen.

Fig. 4: A cote made from tweed – from the RADA costume store.

Fig. 5: Wool was the most probable fabric to use for this period, though linen might be worn by the rich.A: The lady’s cote, worn throughout the medieval period and as an undergarment in later periods.B: The gown, with long, wide sleeves. Fashionable circa 1200.C: The lady’s kirtle, also fashionable circa 1200.

Ladies’ cotes were always long, and developed quickly to have gores in the sides, and tailored sleeves. The cote would usually be drawn in at the waist with a girtle (belt), and this gave it the shape that later developed to become a gown. By the 1200s the cote had already developed wide-bottomed sleeves, as shown in Figure 5B, and was either fastened at the neck in a similar way to the man’s cote, or was laced down the back, which allowed for further shaping. This developed into the kirtle, which was a close-fitting garment, often worn under a cotehardy.

In the 1200s it is likely that the looseness of the weave of the woollen fabric allowed for the fabric to be shaped merely by the lacing at the back; it is also possible that felt was used, which would mould to the body well. The kirtle did use seams, first a princess but then a waist seam, which we are much more likely to use when making one of these garments.

Fig. 6: A lady’s gown – from the RADA costume store.

THE SUPERTUNIC

The supertunic is a garment we’re more likely to call a ‘tabard’ now. It was a long piece of fabric that would almost reach the front and the back hem of the cote, as can be seen in Figure 7 in the middle drawing, with a hole for the head; it was attached together at the waist, or kept in place by a belt. Both men and women had these. The women who wore a supertunic were mainly the working class, and it was the forerunner of what we know now as the apron. It was also used by nuns, and still remains part of the traditional habit (called a scapula). Higher classes did wear a form of the supertunic as a fashion item, when it was usually lined with fur and called a pelisson.

Fig. 7: Gold and silver were also worn by the rich. A: The bliaut worn by both men and women.B: The male supertunic.C: The lady’s surcote, showing the progression from the supertunic to the surcote.

Another form of the supertunic was the surcote, which was more shaped, with deep armholes: it is shown as C in Figure 7.

THE BLIAUT

The bliaut was fashionable from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries; it could be one or two layers, and was worn by both men and women. It was cut on the cross of the fabric so it had some give, and was made tightly to the body, wrinkling up over the torso. It was often belted by a wide cummerbund over the belly, shown as A in Figure 7.

The supertunic and surcote were rarely worn in the fifteenth century, the main forms of dress being the houppelande and the cotehardie or gown.

THE COTEHARDIE

The cotehardie appeared during the fourteenth century and was a much more tailored garment. The main difference between the lady’s and the man’s garment was the length: the man’s reached to just below the knee, and the woman’s to the ground. It was worn over a gypon (later referred to as a doublet).

Fig. 8: The cotehardie, worn with a hood with a cape attached, also showing a tippet, worn as a separate garment.

The garment had buttons to the waist, and was shaped into the body. It didn’t usually have darts or any other shaping other than that in the seams. The buttons were on the edge of the centre front, so the opening was almost edge to edge. The drawing in Figure 8 shows a later cotehardie, which was short and often worn with a hood with a cape attached.

The man’s cotehardie often had dagging on the hem (the one in Figure 8 has some on the cape): this was either in the shape of scallops, or squares cut into the edge of the garment. The sleeves were usually short, revealing the sleeves of the gypon underneath, and had hangings from the back of the sleeve. These hangings later became a separate item, comprising a band around the arm with a long piece of fabric called a tippet attached; this is shown separately in Figure 8.

The lady’s kirtle took the name of cotehardie. During the fifteenth century the cotehardie developed a collar similar to the houppelande, high with a turnover or padded top to it. The garment itself was slightly padded and had pleats stitched in place down the front; later in the century these became longer.

The lady’s cotehardie still had the close-fitting sleeves of the fourteenth century but developed an oversleeve, which hung open with long tippets to the ground. During Henry V’s reign (1413) the lady’s cotehardie came to be called a gown.

NOTE: In the fifteenth century silk was broadly used in fabrics. The silk industry was growing in Europe, especially in Italy and Spain, and this brought an abundance of taffetas and brocades in strong, rich colours, which influenced fashion from this time onwards.

THE HOUPPELANDE

Introduced late in the fourteenth century, the houppelande was the main garment in the fifteenth century: it was a long, very full-skirted gown that fell in folds. It had a high neck, which either turned over at the top, or had a padded top to the collar. The skirt was split at the front or sides, and often had dagging along the hem. The sleeves were full at the wrist, and often had dagging here, as well as that shown in Figure 9.

Fig. 9: The houppelande, from the late fourteenth century onwards, made with silk, frieze (a thick woollen cloth), fustian (a fine woollen cloth), and brocade with taffeta linings.

Fig. 10: A houppelande with the pleats sewn down – from the RADA costume store, originally donated by the Regent’s Park Theatre.

Fig. 11: A development of the houppelande, with bagpipe sleeves – from the RADA costume store.

The man’s houppelande could also be short with a belt, and the sleeves were sometimes drawn into the wrist, often with a padded cuff: these were called bagpipe sleeves, and are shown in the gown drawings. A further development of the houppelande in the reign of Henry V was that the pleats were sewn in place with a low girtle (belt), the collar was open at the front, and the skirt was rarely split. During Henry VI’s reign the collar style became low and was often trimmed in fur. The gypon was still worn under the houppelande.

The lady’s houppelande was very similar to the man’s, in that it was brought into the waist, with a belt high on the waist. The high neck of the houppelande gradually became open at the front, and then lower in style, at an earlier date than the man’s; by the end of Henry IV’s reign these necks were replaced with a flat collar on a V neck, while the sleeves remained long and wide, and were sometimes lined in fur. By Henry VI’s reign, the lady’s houppelande was gone, and had been replaced by the gown.

THE GOWN

The earlier gown developed a small bodice and a very high waist, with the smallest stomacher just making an appearance. The skirts were very heavy, gathered or pleated into the waist; the higher classes had the hem trailing on the floor, and in order to walk they had to lift the skirt, thus showing the abundance of fur lining.

Fig. 12: The medieval gown, showing both straight and bagpipe sleeves, from 1420.

Sleeves could be of many types – wide, narrow, or drawn in at the wrist, or bagpipe sleeves as shown on the back example in Figure 12; they could also be tightly fitted with cuffs of fur. During Richard III’s reign, bagpipe sleeves became so long, especially on men’s houppelandes, that they needed to fashion a split in the seam of the sleeve to allow freedom of the arm.

Damask, velvet and silk satins were worn by the rich, while the poor still wore woollen cloth, in predominantly russets and browns.

HOSE

Stockings were worn by both men and women throughout this period, when the cotehardies were shorter. The hose was longer and attached to the gypon with ties, and there was also a type of stocking that came to the waist, separated at the crotch. When skirts were longer, both women and men had hose that came to above the knees and was secured by garters.

HATS

Ladies wore wimples, which were favoured by some throughout this period. The wimple was a piece of cloth bound around the head and often the neck (A). There was also a separate piece of cloth called the barbette (B), which was wound round the head and then brought under the chin. Often a circlet or a shaped headpiece was worn over this and under, or with a veil, as shown in the diagrams. A plain wimple could be worn by the poor, and by pious or older ladies.

Hairstyles developed, which meant that veils took on a wider shape (C). Ladies then started wearing a crispinette, which was a coarse hairnet, sometimes consisting of a cage of silver or gold wire. This developed in the fifteenth century into a hard, round covering for the head and ears, and together with other padded shapes, was worn under a veil.

There was also a padded circlet or roundel, worn by both men and women. Women wore this over the crispinette, and gradually it became larger and larger (E) until it was thoroughly impractical; it was then turned up at the sides and decorated with a veil. This was at its height in Henry VII’s reign (F).

The hennin was a cone-shaped headdress with a veil attached; it was not often worn in Britain, being more of a French fashion. The long cone shape, when it was worn, consisted of a shorter cone with a flat top, again covered in a veil of fine linen, that would sometimes sit higher on a wire frame, called a ‘butterfly veil’ (G). The roundel and the hennin dominated fashion until the end of this period.

Fig. 13:A: Wimple, worn over the head and round the neck.B: Barbette, wound around the chin and over the head.C: A wider veil, shaped over the hair. D: Crispinette, a cage covering the ears, worn under a veil or padded head covering called the roundel.E: The development of the crispinette, which became wider and bigger.F: Further development meant pulling the crispinette upwards.G: The hennin, with butterfly veil (wired to keep the shape).H: The man’s hood and cape, showing the start of a liripipe at the back of the head.I: The lengthening of the liripipe. J: The change in position of the head hole (previously face hole).K: The progression into the chaperon.

MEN’S HATS

Hoods were very popular at the start of our period, often having a small cape attached (H), sometimes dagged. As this became a fashion item, it developed a liripipe on the back of the hood; this became longer (I), so that by 1300 it had become impractical to wear it in the same way. A remarkable development was that men took to wearing the hood and cape with the face hole on the top of the head (J), and then wound the liripipe around the head, encompassing the cape as well. This developed into the chaperon (K), although the fully developed chaperon didn’t become fashionable until towards the end of the fourteenth century.