Fashion in 1550–1600
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Fashion in the period 1550-1600 in Western European clothing is characterized by increased opulence, the rise of the ruff, the expansion of the farthingale for women, and, for men, the transition from hose to breeches. The wide, broad-shouldered silhouette of the 1540s and 1550s gradually shifted to a tall, slender look.
Fashion in the period 1550-1600 in
Western European
clothing is characterized
by increased opulence, the rise of the
ruff, the expansion of the
farthingale for women,
and, for men, the transition from
hose to
breeches.General trends
The wide, broad-shouldered silhouette of the 1540s and 1550s gradually shifted to a tall, slender look. Sleeves and shoulders became narrower in the 1560s, expanded through the 1570s and 1580s, and narrowed again at the end of the period. Waistlines dropped toward a low point in front for both men and women.
The severe fashions of the Spanish court under Philip II of Spain were dominant through the early part of the period every where except France; black garments were worn for the most formal occasions. Regional styles were still distinct. Janet Arnold in her analysis of Queen Elizabeth's wardrobe records identifies French, Italian, Dutch, and Polish styles for bodices and sleeves, as well as Spanish.
Ruffs increased in size throughout the period and then began to disappear everywhere except Holland, where they remained in fashion well into the next century.
The general trend toward abundant surface ornamentation in the Elizabethan era was mirrored in clothing, especially among the aristocracy in England: shirts and chemises were embroidered with blackwork and edged in lace, and heavy cut velvets and brocades were further ornamented with applied lace, gold and silver embroidery, and jewels.
Leather and fabric garments continued to be decorated by slashing and punching the fabric in regular patterns, and linings could be pulled through the slashes in small puffs.
Men's Fashion
- A linen shirt with a ruff and matching wrist ruffs early, replaced by a collar and matching cuffs later in the period.
- Hose, in variety of styles, worn with a codpiece early in the period.
- A doublet with separate sleeves tied or laced to the shoulders.
- Optionally, a jerkin, usually sleeveless and often made of leather, worn
Outerwear
Short cloaks or capes, usually hip-length, often with sleeves, or a miltary jacket like a mandilion, were fashionable. Long cloaks were worn for inclement weather. Gowns were increasingly old-fashioned, and were worn by older men for warmth indoors and out. In this period gowns began their transition from general garments to traditional clothing of specific occupations, such as scholars (see Academic dress).
Hairstyles and headgear
Hair was generally worn short, brushed back from the forehead. Longer styles were popular in the 1580s. In the 1590s, young men of fashion wore a lovelock, a long section of hair hanging over one shoulder.
Hats, of various shapes and fashions, but generally tall and trimmed with a jewel or feather, were worn indoors and out.
Close-fitting caps covering the ears and tied under the chin called coifs or biggins continued to be worn by children and older men under their hats or alone indoors; men's coifs were usually black.
Philip II of Spain (d. 1598) in old age. Spanish fashion changed very little from the 1560s to the end of the century.
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, 1594. Note the lovelock hanging over one shoulder, the wide lace-trimmed collar, and gloves with deep embroidered cuffs. Trunk hose are still worn, but without the prominent codpiece.
Sir Martin Frobisher in a peascod-bellied doublet with full sleeves under a buff jerkin with matching hose.
Henri III of France wears a short cape over doublet and hose.
Sir Christopher Hatton wears a fur-lined gown with hanging sleeves over a slashed doublet and hose, with the livery collar of the Order of the Garter, c. 1590.
Women's Fashion
Bodices could be high-necked or have a broad, low, square neckline, often with a slight arch at the front early in the period. French, Spanish, and English bodices were stiffened into a cone shape or worn over corsets. The wide-shouldered look of the 1580s was emphasized with padded and jeweled shoulder rolls. Bodices fastened with hooks in front or were laced at the side-back seam; high-necked bodices styled like men's doublets might fasten with hooks or buttons.
A low neckline could be filled in with a partlet, usually of embroidered linen with matching sleeves. Embroidered sets of partlet and sleeves were frequently given to Elizabeth as New Year's gifts. Alternatively, a high-necked chemise with a standing collar and ruff could be worn.
Gowns with hanging sleeves in various styles, often lined in fur, were worn as an extra layer indoors and out through the period. Loose gowns of the 1560s hung from the shoulders, and some had puffed upper sleeves. Loose gowns could be worn over a one-piece kirtle or under-dress, usually laced at the back.
Later gowns were fitted to the figure and had full or round sleeves with a wristband. These were worn over a bodice and matching skirt or petticoat and undersleeves. Extremely long hanging sleeves came into fashion at the end of the period.
The fashion for skirts worn open at the front to display a rich petticoat or separate forepart continued into the 1580s. The forepart was a heavily decorated panel to fill in the front opening; it might be sewn to a plain petticoat or pinned in place.
Underwear
During this period, underwear consisted of a linen chemise or smock and (optionally) linen drawers. The chemise could have a low, square neckline or a high collar and ruff like a man's shirt. Fine chemises were embroidered and trimmed with narrow lace.
To shape the figure, the fashionable lady wore a corset called a pair of bodies. Her skirts were held in the proper shape by a farthingale or hoop skirt. In Spain, the cone-shaped Spanish farthingale remained in fashion into the early 17th century. It never really caught on in France, where a padded roll or French farthingale held the skirts out in a rounded shape at the waist, falling in soft folds to the floor.
In England, the Spanish farthingale was worn through the 1570s, and was gradually replaced by the French farthingale. By the 1590s, skirts were pinned to wide wheel farthingales to achieve a drum shape.
Outerwear
Hooded cloaks were worn overall in bad weather.
Hairstyles and headgear
Early in the period, hair was parted in the center and fluffed over the temples; later front hair was curled and puffed high over the forehead. Wigs and false hairpieces were used to extend the hair.
In this period, women began to wear hats similar to those worn by men, a fashion which was deplored by Puritan commentator Philip Stubbes in his Anatomie of Abuses 1583.
First-time brides wore their hair down in token of virginity and wore orange blossoms in their hair.
- In this allegorical painting c. 1572, Elizabeth I wears a fitted gown with hanging sleeves over a matching arched bodice and skirt or petticoat, elaborate undersleeves, a high-necked chemise with a ruff, and a Spanish farthingale.
- Lettice Knollys wears an embroidered black high-necked bodice with round sleeves and skirt over a gold petticoat or forepart and matching undersleeves, a lace cartwheel ruff and lace cuffs, and a tall black hat with a jeweled ostrich feather. C. 1580s.
- French fashion: A open ruff fastens at the base of the neck, and the skirt hangs in soft folds over a French farthingale.
- Mary Queen of Scots in capitivity wears French fashions (open ruff and French farthingale) and a cap and veil.
- Elizabeth I, 1592, wears a dark red gown (the fabric is just visible at the waist under her arms) with hanging sleeves lined in white satin to match her bodice, undersleeves, and petticoat, which is pinned to a cartwheel farthingale. She carries leather gloves and an early folding fan.
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The Ruff and the Farthingale Reshape the BodyTwo structures dominate this half-century. At the neck, the ruff grew steadily larger throughout the period, framing the face in starched, pleated linen and demanding matching wrist ruffs on men's shirts and high-necked chemises for women. At the hips, the farthingale expanded women's skirts into a wide, formal shape that matched the period's taste for display. Together they pushed the body toward geometry: a small, pointed waist, a conical stiffened bodice, and volume displaced outward at neck and skirt. Only in Holland did the ruff survive strongly into the next century; elsewhere it began to disappear at the period's end, clearing the way for the broad collars of the 1600s. Surface Ornament and the Elizabethan CourtPlain cloth was rarely left plain. Shirts and chemises were embroidered with blackwork and edged in lace, heavy cut velvets and brocades were further ornamented with applied lace, gold and silver embroidery, and jewels, and both leather and fabric garments were slashed and punched in regular patterns so the lining could be pulled through in small puffs. In England this abundant surface ornamentation was especially associated with the aristocracy of the Elizabethan era. Dress therefore communicated rank at a glance: the cost lay not only in silk or velvet, but in the hours of embroidery, lace and jewel work laid over it. Men's Dress in TransitionMen's fashion records a wardrobe in mid-change. Hose were still worn in a variety of styles, but breeches were gaining ground, and the prominent codpiece of earlier decades faded. The doublet, worn with separate sleeves tied or laced at the shoulders and sometimes covered by a leather jerkin, could take a peascod-bellied, padded front. Short cloaks, capes and military-style mandilions served as fashionable outerwear, while long gowns grew old-fashioned and retreated toward older men and professional dress. Details signalled youth and fashion: tall hats trimmed with a jewel or feather, and in the 1590s the lovelock, a long section of hair worn over one shoulder. Common QuestionsWhat defined the silhouette in 1550-1600?The broad-shouldered look of the 1540s and 1550s gave way to a tall, slender silhouette. Sleeves and shoulders narrowed in the 1560s, expanded through the 1570s and 1580s, then narrowed again, while waistlines dropped toward a low point in front for both men and women. What did fashionable men wear in this period?Men wore a linen shirt with a ruff and matching wrist ruffs, later replaced by a collar and cuffs, hose worn with a codpiece early in the period, and a doublet with separate sleeves tied or laced to the shoulders, sometimes with a sleeveless jerkin and a short cloak or cape. How did the Spanish court influence fashion in 1550-1600?The severe fashions of the Spanish court under Philip II were dominant through the early part of the period everywhere except France, and black garments were worn for the most formal occasions. Regional styles remained distinct, with French, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Spanish styles recorded for bodices and sleeves. More to Explore
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