Clothing

There were many things that were different in Shakespeare’s time, one thing that was very different was the clothing. It wasn’t like today, where you throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They had layers, with buttons, and ties, etc. It was a lot harder getting dressed then, not just for women, but also for men.

Men started with a shirt, stockings, codpiece, and corset as their underclothes. Then they had a doublet, separate sleeves, breeches, belt, ruff, cloak, shoes, and a hat. Women had it even worse. They had to wear a smock, stockings, corset, farthingale (hooped skirt), rowle, stomacher, petticoat, kirtle, forepart, and a partlet. Then over all of that was the actual gown, sleeves, ruff, cloak, shoes, and a hat. They also wore jewelry occasionally, but it was only for the upper class. It included rings, brooches, necklaces, pendants, etc, made of many different types of stones, or even wood occasionally.

The clothing in Elizabethan times was not meant for comfort. It was worn to show off wealth, and class. There were even laws that said only certain classes could wear certain colors, and types of material. The women wore fancy dresses to make themselves seem more attractive because they were not only judged on beauty, but also on their taste in fashion. Their goal was to look skinny and petite.

Clothing in Shakespeare’s time was more uncomfortable, and harder to put on. However, it must have been very interesting to see all of the ruffles, and puffy sleeves. I think it would be fun to dress like that, but after a while it would get tiring, and wouldn’t really be worth it. Although there clothing was more exiting to look at I prefer how we dress today.

Sources:

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-clothing.htm

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/womensfashion.html