Preparation
Our knowledge of dress and its construction in the medieval period is scarce since there are so few surviving garments. Attempts at reconstruction have to rely on interpreting visual sources that can be studied at first hand, or in reproduction, and on scholarly books about the period. Readers can enhance their knowledge and understanding of the subject, and often have fun in doing so, by looking closely at the sources they can find for themselves.
Sources of information
Good visual sources include illuminated manuscripts, paintings, memorial brasses and effigies. Some may be dated fairly accurately, but there are also pitfalls to consider.
Many of the manuscripts and paintings of the period in British collections are from other European countries. Historical characters shown in manuscripts might be clothed in garments of the illustrator's times rather than their own. Also, medieval painters often put religious figures into 'antique' dress, which might include turbans and other exotic
head-wear, or long, flowing sleeves emerging from short tight ones; while the minor figures
- soldiers, peasants and onlookers - were usually dressed in current styles, as were the 'donors' who paid for the painting, sometimes seen kneeling in the foreground.
Memorial brasses and effigies offer useful and accessible records of British dress, but may be stylised and misleading in date. Lack of colour and detail, particularly on brasses, can make it difficult to distinguish between layers of clothing.
Paintings, manuscripts and monuments may not always be readily accessible without prior arrangement, but many can be seen in publications. The most helpful books on costume history will indicate their sources, including countries of origin. The Bibliography lists titles I have found helpful.
Art gallery and library collections are increasingly accessible for study on the internet.
Collecting information
Besides the more obvious items such as a postcards, slides and guidebooks, which you can gather during visits to country houses, churches, museums and galleries, you may find it useful to draw objects of particular interest. Drawing will make you look more closely and may reveal significant detail such as a seam line.
Establishing the period for your outfit
This is a key decision. Don't be tempted to wear something out of period just because you like it or it is more convenient! It is safer to go for an earlier style: garments for best would probably be worn by at least two generations and even working clothes might be passed on. There was a lively trade in used clothing.
Some basic garments were virtually unchanged over the three centuries covered in this book: others, especially head-dresses and outer garments, changed more frequently; but who wore what depended on status. Styles for working dress changed slowly, so they should be possible to date within about fifty years. More fashionable styles may be more closely dated.
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The garments and the period
Linens
braies
shirts/smocks with collar variations
fitted braies
Main garments
simple cote finer cote
close-fitting cote
separate hose
doublet
kirtle
waisted kirtle joined hose
Outer garments
men's/women's sleeved surcote men's sleeveless surcote
women's sleeveless surcote men's cotehardie
women's
men's/woman's early gowns
men's gowns women's gowns
Overkirtles
frocks/coats
Cloaks,
men's basic hood
cloaks
men's hoods & hats
head-wear
1200
women's linen,cloth&fashionablehead-dresses
1300 1400 1500
Historical events
Magna Carta
Black death reached England
Chaucer writing
Canterbury Tales
Joan of
Gutenberg's printed bible
Columbus discovered America
Crusades
Crecy Agincourt Arc died
100 years war
Bosworth
Wars of the roses
Defining the wearer
Two main factors need to be taken into account in deciding what dress is appropriate. Wealth and status - Dress was an important indicator of income and status. The dress of the wealthy demonstrated that they were not subject to the hardships of normal work, and had the leisure and servants required to dress them.
Visual sources show that male manual workers wore their clothes around knee length for convenience and might strip off their outer clothes in hot weather, while professionals such as lawyers and doctors wore sober calf-length garments of finer quality, and full-length robes were worn by senior clergy, noblemen and royalty. Women's clothes were long, but working women might tuck up their skirts above their ankles, while grander ladies wore them trailing over their feet.
A rural worker would usually be limited to the cloth available in his local market and the skills of the person making (or remaking) his garment. Town-dwellers had a wider choice but their clothes would still be made to last, so they tended to be plain and substantial. The nobility and gentry would use finer fabrics with richer adornments, reserving their finest and most elaborate for ceremonial occasions. They had access to a range of luxury imports and to innovative craftsmen.
Age - Young men wore short outer garments, but older men wore them calf-length or longer. Unmarried women could wear their hair loose and their necklines low; married women were expected to cover their hair and be more modest, while widows often dressed plainly and in earlier styles.
Selecting your garments
You will need to select garments from the categories below to match your chosen period and wearer. Each category is described in detail in its own section later in the book.
Many people wore three layers of clothing: linens, main garment and outer garment, but some garments such as the cote and kirtle may be used in both the main and outer layers. If your sewing experience or your budget is limited start off with simple styles.
Body linens
This is medieval underclothing, a layer of washable linen between the body and the outer clothes. Even if it can't be seen, the shirt or smock helps the other garments to hang well and will save on dry-cleaning bills. Medieval women wore nothing under the smock, but modern women must decide for themselves, bearing in mind that a bra will affect the line of the
outer garment. Men should wear the appropriate style of braies, unless their outer clothing is long enough to keep everything covered even during active movement.