Clothing During The Renaissance Era
Renaissance Fashion in Dresses
The Renaissance period was an interesting one that had some really elegantly designed clothing for men and women. The fashion in Renaissance period was leaning towards the wealthy designs as well as the simplistic forms. This was the period that saw the abundant use of silks and furs. The Renaissance era’s sense of fashion was extremely mesmerizing but what I found tremendously fascinating are the women’s dress designs. Here’s a detailed look at some of the design, structure, and a little history of the women’s renaissance dresses. First of all, the design of the women’s dresses during the Renaissance era is really exquisite because of their shape, structure, and color sense. Clothing during the Renaissance period was more about displaying one’s social status. The rich would wear clothes in expensive fabrics such as silk and brocade, which were used for clothing during the Renaissance period. Women’s fashion saw an evolution during …show more content…
this era; Style was the prime factor. The initial costumes worn during the Renaissance period did restrict freedom to move around. Women wore around 5 layers of clothing thus forming an important factor of Renaissance clothing for women. This was probably considered as a way to keep the body warm during the cold weather.
Subsequently, the structure of the Renaissance dress design consists of the chemise, farthingale, bodice, petticoat, and then the gown. Let’s take a look at a complete outfit a Renaissance woman might have worn, item by item. The innermost layer is the Chemise. This was an underwear, a straight gown, usually made of woven linen or silk, gathered at the neck and worn as much for warmth as to protect the more expensive outer garments from skin oil and perspiration. The Next layer is the Farthingale which was like a hoop skirt. The farthingale's purpose was to support the skirt, which could be several layers. The fashion at the time was for women to be as wide as possible and a farthingale, with sewn in hoops of wood or whale bone, did just that.
Additionally, Renaissance women also wore a Bodice which was worn over the chemise and was usually sleeveless, with the sleeves of the chemise showing, but detachable sleeves were sometimes added. The bodice was a tightly fitted garment which could be padded to help keep its firm shape, but was also reinforced with whale bone, or flexible wood such as willow branches. Noble women would have more reinforcements than lower classes, who needed to be able to move, to work. The bodice was usually laced up to ensure that it stayed tight. With her bodice, a Renaissance woman wore a Petticoat, or several. The petticoat was merely a skirt. Commonly, worn in multiple layers, in varying colors, petticoats were sometimes pinned up in front to show the layers beneath. They were also frequently slashed or slit to allow the pretty layers underneath to show. Another clothing option was the Gown. This is a bodice and petticoat in one garment as our dresses and gowns are today. Gowns tended to be luxurious. They might be sleeveless or have detachable sleeves and they tended to be very large and wide, because the fashion was to emphasize the width of a woman. Gowns also tended to have open skirts in front to display the skirts beneath. This was also probably one of the reasons, why women took a long time to get ready during the Renaissance period.
Likewise, Women wore the bodies of their dresses closely fitting to the figure, embroidered, trimmed with lace, and covered with gold ornaments; also, the sleeves were very large and open. The Renaissance fashion evolved when Catherine de’ Medici had introduced the fashion of ruffs, and Marie de’ Medici brought the fashion of small collars. Dresses tight at the waist began to be made very full round the hips, by means of large padded rolls, and these were still more enlarged, by an arrangement of padded whalebone and steel, which subsequently became the frame work of the skirt. According to, art-estherbrassac.com the fashion of black colored clothes came from Spain but ladies often wore some colors more pleasant like green, blue or dark red. At the end of sixteenth century, the influence of Spanish fashion increased. The figure was rigid and geometric.
Alongside, the “corset” gave the bust a triangular shape, made the waist look taller and made the breast look flat. Queen Elisabeth preferred to call her stiff corset a “pair of bodies” since the two-part garment could be opened and closed. By the middle of the sixteenth century, a “busk” of whalebone was usually inserted in the front to reinforce upright posture. This tradition became so popular that early corsets in France were often called “whalebone bodies”. Of course the new mode of fashion seemed to contradict the Renaissance woman’s most important duty: motherhood. One irony of corsetry is that the very means of making women physically attractive also made them less fertile, by putting pressure on the abdomen. Venetians recognized that pregnancies could be at risk, and outlawed the more extreme (and non-adjustable) metal cage corsets in 1547. Thomas Gainsborough’s Portrait of the Artist’s Daughters possible depicts that even young girls would be wearing corsets to straighten their posture.
During the Renaissance, the wealthier and more prosperous members of a city, town or region often wore elaborate and highly-decorated renaissance clothing that was hand crafted from an assortment of rich and expensive fabrics.
In fact, the richer a family was the more expensive and elaborate their Renaissance clothing was, as this was one of the primary ways of indicating importance and wealth during the Renaissance period. What was interesting was that there was little opportunity for financial investment; however, the Renaissance clothing of the ruling classes was not only seen as indication of wealth, but a form of investment. According to, John R Hilde from ezinearticles.com, if a family were to require money in the future, the clothing could be resold because the fabrics that the wealthy and their designers favored during the Renaissance, were fabrics that were the hardest to produce and therefore the most expensive and exclusive. These fabrics included cotton, velvet, silk, and
brocade.
All in all, the renaissance era was full of inventive fashion and wonderful designs but most of all it was a time for women to experiment with their body and it started a great era in fashion history. We still to this day have many clothing that has been expired by the exquisite style of the renaissance women. I feel in love with the style and design of the renaissance dresses during this project and I am sure glad I was able to be a part of this subject. From the structure to the design I find it so fascinating how intricate their dresses were compared to our dresses today; it is truly amazing. There are still much more history on the renaissance fashion but I hope I was able to give you a good amount of information to fall in love with the design of the renaissance dresses like I did.
Thank you
Resource Page
Hilde, John R. "The Rich History of Renaissance Clothing." The Rich History of Renaissance
Clothing (2008). Ezine Articles. 30 Oct. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Rich-History-of-Renaissance-Clothing&id=1632302>.
History of Women's Costumes during the Renaissance." Art Création Décoration : Poupées
D'artiste Et Histoire. Web. 01 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.art-estherbrassac.com/anglais/themes_a cloth_r1.html>.
Lad, Kashmira. "Renaissance Clothing." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 02
Dec. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/renaissance-clothing.html>.
"Renaissance Fashion." Renaissance Art, Artists, and Society. Web. 01 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.renaissance-spell.com/Renaissance-Fashion.html>.
Wharton, Helen B. "A Renaissance Woman's Clothing - Renaissance." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.<http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32575.asp>.
The Renaissance period was an interesting one that had some really elegantly designed clothing for men and women. The fashion in Renaissance period was leaning towards the wealthy designs as well as the simplistic forms. This was the period that saw the abundant use of silks and furs. The Renaissance era’s sense of fashion was extremely mesmerizing but what I found tremendously fascinating are the women’s dress designs. Here’s a detailed look at some of the design, structure, and a little history of the women’s renaissance dresses. First of all, the design of the women’s dresses during the Renaissance era is really exquisite because of their shape, structure, and color sense. Clothing during the Renaissance period was more about displaying one’s social status. The rich would wear clothes in expensive fabrics such as silk and brocade, which were used for clothing during the Renaissance period. Women’s fashion saw an evolution during …show more content…
this era; Style was the prime factor. The initial costumes worn during the Renaissance period did restrict freedom to move around. Women wore around 5 layers of clothing thus forming an important factor of Renaissance clothing for women. This was probably considered as a way to keep the body warm during the cold weather.
Subsequently, the structure of the Renaissance dress design consists of the chemise, farthingale, bodice, petticoat, and then the gown. Let’s take a look at a complete outfit a Renaissance woman might have worn, item by item. The innermost layer is the Chemise. This was an underwear, a straight gown, usually made of woven linen or silk, gathered at the neck and worn as much for warmth as to protect the more expensive outer garments from skin oil and perspiration. The Next layer is the Farthingale which was like a hoop skirt. The farthingale's purpose was to support the skirt, which could be several layers. The fashion at the time was for women to be as wide as possible and a farthingale, with sewn in hoops of wood or whale bone, did just that.
Additionally, Renaissance women also wore a Bodice which was worn over the chemise and was usually sleeveless, with the sleeves of the chemise showing, but detachable sleeves were sometimes added. The bodice was a tightly fitted garment which could be padded to help keep its firm shape, but was also reinforced with whale bone, or flexible wood such as willow branches. Noble women would have more reinforcements than lower classes, who needed to be able to move, to work. The bodice was usually laced up to ensure that it stayed tight. With her bodice, a Renaissance woman wore a Petticoat, or several. The petticoat was merely a skirt. Commonly, worn in multiple layers, in varying colors, petticoats were sometimes pinned up in front to show the layers beneath. They were also frequently slashed or slit to allow the pretty layers underneath to show. Another clothing option was the Gown. This is a bodice and petticoat in one garment as our dresses and gowns are today. Gowns tended to be luxurious. They might be sleeveless or have detachable sleeves and they tended to be very large and wide, because the fashion was to emphasize the width of a woman. Gowns also tended to have open skirts in front to display the skirts beneath. This was also probably one of the reasons, why women took a long time to get ready during the Renaissance period.
Likewise, Women wore the bodies of their dresses closely fitting to the figure, embroidered, trimmed with lace, and covered with gold ornaments; also, the sleeves were very large and open. The Renaissance fashion evolved when Catherine de’ Medici had introduced the fashion of ruffs, and Marie de’ Medici brought the fashion of small collars. Dresses tight at the waist began to be made very full round the hips, by means of large padded rolls, and these were still more enlarged, by an arrangement of padded whalebone and steel, which subsequently became the frame work of the skirt. According to, art-estherbrassac.com the fashion of black colored clothes came from Spain but ladies often wore some colors more pleasant like green, blue or dark red. At the end of sixteenth century, the influence of Spanish fashion increased. The figure was rigid and geometric.
Alongside, the “corset” gave the bust a triangular shape, made the waist look taller and made the breast look flat. Queen Elisabeth preferred to call her stiff corset a “pair of bodies” since the two-part garment could be opened and closed. By the middle of the sixteenth century, a “busk” of whalebone was usually inserted in the front to reinforce upright posture. This tradition became so popular that early corsets in France were often called “whalebone bodies”. Of course the new mode of fashion seemed to contradict the Renaissance woman’s most important duty: motherhood. One irony of corsetry is that the very means of making women physically attractive also made them less fertile, by putting pressure on the abdomen. Venetians recognized that pregnancies could be at risk, and outlawed the more extreme (and non-adjustable) metal cage corsets in 1547. Thomas Gainsborough’s Portrait of the Artist’s Daughters possible depicts that even young girls would be wearing corsets to straighten their posture.
During the Renaissance, the wealthier and more prosperous members of a city, town or region often wore elaborate and highly-decorated renaissance clothing that was hand crafted from an assortment of rich and expensive fabrics.
In fact, the richer a family was the more expensive and elaborate their Renaissance clothing was, as this was one of the primary ways of indicating importance and wealth during the Renaissance period. What was interesting was that there was little opportunity for financial investment; however, the Renaissance clothing of the ruling classes was not only seen as indication of wealth, but a form of investment. According to, John R Hilde from ezinearticles.com, if a family were to require money in the future, the clothing could be resold because the fabrics that the wealthy and their designers favored during the Renaissance, were fabrics that were the hardest to produce and therefore the most expensive and exclusive. These fabrics included cotton, velvet, silk, and
brocade.
All in all, the renaissance era was full of inventive fashion and wonderful designs but most of all it was a time for women to experiment with their body and it started a great era in fashion history. We still to this day have many clothing that has been expired by the exquisite style of the renaissance women. I feel in love with the style and design of the renaissance dresses during this project and I am sure glad I was able to be a part of this subject. From the structure to the design I find it so fascinating how intricate their dresses were compared to our dresses today; it is truly amazing. There are still much more history on the renaissance fashion but I hope I was able to give you a good amount of information to fall in love with the design of the renaissance dresses like I did.
Thank you
Resource Page
Hilde, John R. "The Rich History of Renaissance Clothing." The Rich History of Renaissance
Clothing (2008). Ezine Articles. 30 Oct. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Rich-History-of-Renaissance-Clothing&id=1632302>.
History of Women's Costumes during the Renaissance." Art Création Décoration : Poupées
D'artiste Et Histoire. Web. 01 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.art-estherbrassac.com/anglais/themes_a cloth_r1.html>.
Lad, Kashmira. "Renaissance Clothing." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 02
Dec. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/renaissance-clothing.html>.
"Renaissance Fashion." Renaissance Art, Artists, and Society. Web. 01 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.renaissance-spell.com/Renaissance-Fashion.html>.
Wharton, Helen B. "A Renaissance Woman's Clothing - Renaissance." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.<http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32575.asp>.