Fashion In Medieval Times

In Medieval times, fashion for men and women were not the same as fashion in modern day. Fashion in the Medieval times remained generally the same, as in Modern day the fashion trends tend to change often. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, the characters introduced have certain clothing and colors that would have a meaning in the Medieval times, though compared to Modern day fashion styles, the clothes really have no meaning to them. Modern day societies have drastically changed their clothing styles and fashion on male and female fashion since the Medieval times.
In Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, the characters introduced, each have certain clothing attires. In medieval times certain clothing, colors, and styles would
have a meaning to them. For example, The Wife of Bath’s had a red face to match her red stockings, the color red would symbolize a sexual desire. The Wife's physical appearance matches the stereotype about what a lustful person would look like during the medieval times. In modern day, the colors of the clothing have no meaning to them. Society as a whole is able to wear the color red without being looked as a lustful person or are able to wear any color in general without being stereotyped.
In Medieval times, the clothing worn by men are different from the clothing that men are wearing today. In the 14th century men typically wore leggings, tunics, and cloak trousers held by a belt. The men would also wear pointed shoes with stockings, as well as large coats. Men would wear their hair in sets of rolled up curls, or would often wear wigs and ponytails with a ribbon put in. Today the men have the desire to wear anything they feel the need to wear. Men are able to wear unisex clothing, casual clothing, or luxury fabrics. Men can wear any type of bottoms, tops and shoes in any style or form today, as where in medieval times there was not much to choose from. Modern day men have the option to wear skinny jeans, flare jeans, shorts, sweatpants, venecks, button ups, tank tops, t-shirts or anything that is trending. Mens hairstyles today is chosen by the men themselves, the men get to choose how to style it and or cut it.
Women’s fashion styles today are different from the fashion styles in the 14th Century.
Modern day women most often wear any clothing that is in trend. In modern day women think they “have to have” the greatest and newest trends. Modern day women have the option to choose any type of tops, bottoms, shoes, and dresses they desire to wear. Today, women can wear anything that they want as long as they purchase it. If they do not have a certain clothing item, women are allowed to buy clothes from any clothing department store. As in medieval times, clothing department stores were not really in yet. All women typically dressed the same as one another in the 14th century. Women in medieval times wore clothes like woolen tunics, cloaks with brooches, low neckline tops, as well as skirts to knee length dresses with ruffles, and also high heels. Women also wore horned headdresses and heart-shaped headdresses. Women in the 14th century usually wore head coverings like hats and veils, where as in today women can wear hats if wanted, but not because it is required. Women in modern day typically only wear veils on their wedding day, and hardly ever wear
hats.

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.44
In modern day, fashion trends are disseminated in many different ways. Fashion looks and styles today are being advertised through television and magazines. Today social media is a big part on how fashion styles are being portrayed. Celebrities also play a big part on how the fashion industry is being spread throughout society. Celebrities styles usually stand out in a way that is pleasing to our eye. Celebrities are the ones who people look at at try to be like and that is were we get a lot of our fashion ideas from. We then take a celebrity's style and apply it to our fashion taste, which is most of the time how fashion trends start. In medieval times the clothing was disseminated by travelers and through letters. Clothing attire was also spread by dolls in clothing attire and or costumes that the women were wearing during the medieval times. Society as a whole has alternated their views on how fashion attire for men and women is being styled.
Today the clothing is way distinctive than the clothing from the medieval times. Clothing today is mostly made by a machine in a factory, but some people in modern day still hand make their clothing. In medieval times, clothing was generally man made considering they did not have the technology or machinery needed to make the clothing. Today’s fashion is made up by many different fabrics such as cotton, wool, silk, satin, polyester, and many more. In medieval times, the clothing would most often be made by wool and linen. Modesty of clothing is another drastic change in womens fashion since the medieval times. Clothing used to be very modest, and it seems like now clothing continues to become less modest the newer the trend
is.
In conclusion, men and womens fashions have changed throughout the years and continues to change as the days go by. Since the medieval times fashion has changed a lot and changes daily. The history of fashion has me believing that fashion will continue throughout the years to change daily and to continue to have many different trends.