Europe in the 1400′s, the period just before the Renaissance, just after Medieval period. Dressing still defines status, from serfs at the bottom of the pyramid, peasants, lords, nobility, clergy and royalty. It seems like a lot of fairy tales probably are perhaps set in (or near) this time period.
Inspiration: Cinderella (peasant), Little Red Riding Hood (Peasant), Cinderella (peasants meets nobility/royalty), etc.
At the bottom of the Fifteenth Century the arts experienced a insurgence in popularity and funding, leading to further interest in fashion. The economy also experienced some stabilization at this time, increasing accessibility to resources, like textiles, to the masses. Fashion became more less focused on utilitarian needs and more on artistic expression.
Early Fifteenth Century: Long flowing robes (houppelandes, to be technical) were in, from neck to toes, for men and women. Men were just starting to choose hose, breeches and tunics, and light capes and overgarments were common with men and women.
Late Fifteenth Century: A better selection of textiles was available. Men started wearing more fitted hose and doublets, and the codpiece and shoulderpads were in – actually, men started wearing a lot of padding to prove they were buff (Kind of like in that episode of Modern Family where Mitchell wears the padded superman costume to work under his suit). Women’s dresses lost the front gather and billow, and became more fitted in the waist and arms. The skirt hoop starts to make an appearance.
Slashing and dagging were in. That is the slashing of an outer fabric to reveal a fancy contrasting fabric beneath, sometimes taking the fabric underneath and poking it through the outer slashes for dramatic effect. Dagging being the cutting of patterns in the outer fabric for the same decorative peak-a-boo result.
Hairstyles: Men rocked the bowl cut with a clean shave. Fun fact: it was illegal for men to rock a mustache according to 1447 English law. The sugar-loaf hat was where it was at. Women covered their heads once married, but prior to wore it super long, braided and piled up. In the late Fifteenth Century men started wearing their hair a bit longer, – risque!, and feathers became popular (in hats). Women slowed the wearing on their conical hats (as seen in old fairy tales), in favour of smaller headdresses, while hairstyles became more complex, with fake hair added, hair dying, and wigs increasing in popularity.
Makeup was understated, perfumes were natural powder based, and bathing as infrequent. Necklaces, jeweled collars, rings, belts and gloves were worn, and shoes varied from simple moccasins, to ornamented pointed shoes and boots. Shoe competitions to see who has the longest shoe was not unheard of. Near the end of the Fifteenth Century more chunky shoes were where it was at, squared toes were in, decreasing odds of winning a pointed shoe competition.
So, what do you think, could you embrace Fifteenth Century fashion if you were sent there in a time machine? Or would you want to come back to the present and wear the current clothing a la mode? I feel like there was an increased style accessibility, choices and colours during this time – I could dig that. Lack of plumbing – couldn’t dig that, especially knowing what we have today, I would be ruined.
“Europe in the Fifteenth Century.” Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: European Culture from the Renaissance to the Modern Era. Detroit: UXL, 2004. 445-464. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.