In the uncertain times of 1509
Henry VIII inherited the throne from his father, Henry VII.
One of the first things he set about doing was establishing his presence, image was everything.
Weaving together the finest of fabrics, jewels and accessories, the King used his extravagant attire to convey his majesty, control and power.
(© Historic Royal Palaces)
His efforts must have paid off because 10 years later, in 1519, a Venetian ambassador declared Henry the "best dressed soverign in the world".
Men of the time were typically seen wearing long socks, close fitting jackets and gowns.
Henry preferred the more flamboyant style with bright and bold colours. He adored his own legs, which had become muscular and shapely from all the hunting he did, so what better way to show them off then by making gowns shorter to ensure leg showey-offage.
(Source: https://www.tudorsociety.com/the-physical-decline-of-henry-viii-by-sarah-bryson/)
At one point, Henry owned 128 gowns in 27 different fabrics. Of course, always they were richly decorated, with him being particularly favourable towards gold, velvets and satins.
By 1521 Henry's wardrobe was valued at a whopping £10,380. Enough to pay the wages of 1100 skilled craftsmen, equivalent to £4 million in today's money.
By 1537, Henry was well into his luxury velvets. Deep red was in fashion, and everything Henry had to wear was adorned with rubies and gold and pearls and diamonds.
Henry became the "poster boy" for codpieces.
The codpiece, in its early form, was a baggy cloth gusset laced to the stockings, but, in the course of the next century, rising on a tide of ostentation, it bulged and distended. In Italy and Spain, and soon across Europe, padding and stays came into vogue.
Often heavily padded and elaborately decorated, Henry strode around in his codpieces with intent to convey an impression of masculine virility.
Henry got fat, Fashion got fat
The people around Henry felt obliged to flatter him, so when he got fat they found ways to shape their clothes to fit in with how the King looked.
The skinnier males would have double paddings sewn into their clothes to give the impression of being fat.
No one would ever outshine the King of course. After all, there had been laws created specifically to ensure this never happened.
Sumptuary laws dictated the manner in which each level of society was allowed to dress, from nobles right down to ordinary people. You could be killed if you disobeyed.
The use of pure cloth of gold for example, was restricted to be used only by the King and his immediate family.
Henry and his daughter, Elizabeth I, knew how to wear there clothes as a means of power and control.
Over their reigns, they brought in various laws to regulate what other people were allowed to wear. You would be told what materials, what colours and what accessories you could use according to your hierarchical status in society.
General extravagance was prevented in order to encourage use of local, boring coloured English materials like wool. Need to keep the Kings wardrobe funded somehow.
This was a genius control idea nicked from the Romans.
(The Romans once thought about making all their slaves wear matching uniforms, but they decided against it in the end out of fear that the slaves would then recognise just how many of them there were, and decided to use mass-power to revolt.)
Henry seemed to love the colour purple, so that was one of the first things he banished others from wearing. Purple became a colour only for the Royal Family.
He must have been pretty obsessed with image because he added much detail to his laws, leaving no loop holes or crannys for people to dare wear a fabric that doesnt belong to their status.
This is where money couldnt buy anything, even in those days.
Even if you could afford furs, silks, cloths of gold and silver, if you were not classed as an elite person, you could shove your money.
This stemmed from Henry's concern about wealth and just how many "normal" people in society were getting rich now. Money doesn't mean elite. But it was getting harder to diffrenciate.
Of course, all these posh weird clothing demands proved massively unpopular with most people. This was one of many factors that helped turn the country into a new age, discussions and debates about social equality.
I might add though, none of these ridiculous clothing laws affected the women. They were not seen as a threat by Henry, having them out-extravagant him was never possible.
Women clearly took advantage of their gender exemption from sumptuary laws, increasingly wearing more elaborate versions of men’s accessories, such as decorated flatter caps, and doublet-like bodices on loose gowns.
Henry died, so what next?
Well, in those days men and women dressed very differently from each other.
For the male, it was all about poofing out the shoulders, wide shoulders meant you were manly. And legs. Get those legs out, show off those calf muscles. In contrast, women's fashion was high on covering up the legs, the less on show the better, in fact, the less shapeleyness seen of a woman, the more pure she was supposed to be. That is why at some point, women had to walk around wearing shape-altering contraptions underneath their clothes. Woo.
Elizabeth's Dress Code
In 1574, Elizabeth I decided to extend the sumptuary laws to include women. Once again, fashion takes a turn. Women now had to dress according to the status of their husbands. You can almost believe that many wanted to marry rich men just so they could wear their favourite clothes again.
All the beautiful fabrics were kept for the Queen.
She wanted all the ladies that surrounded her to look dull and not outshine her, but she wanted all the men to dress to impress her. Oh how the tables turned.
Elizabeth even wanted to control what folk wore in Ireland. The Irish had been made to conform any matters in English, they were made to change their manners and clothing in order to show they defer to English authority.
Imagine having an actual Fashion crime!
(Source: https://www.ranker.com/list/history-of-elizabethan-collar/melissa-sartore)
Enter the ruffle necks
Around the 1600's, towards the end of the Tudor era, beginning the era of the Stuarts, Ruffs had become a key fashion for the necks of folk. Probably thanks to Europe.
But they had a drawstring effect which was good at keeping everyone's collars in tact as they hadnt yet invented buttons.
They were hailed for their ability to be clipped on and off, thus being able to be washed separately from ones posh clothes. It wouldnt surprise me if they were used for adult bibs either.
However, Ruffs were designed to be stiff so they fell out of fashion with commoners and became a symbol of wealth. At some point they were made from laces and softer materials, as well as having a fad where everyone has to see how big they can make theirs. After awhile, as with any fashion, the Ruff became unfavourable in Europe, with some countries like Spain banning the wearing of Ruffs. These fancy, and let's be honest, silly looking collars, still had a place with the religious folk where a ruff was the formal attire for a bishop until as recent as 1980.
King James Stuart changes the culture, yet again
It's now 1603, England's rule is now under the Stuarts. James was quick to establish that Winter, that is, the time between Christmas and Lent, was to be spent lavishly celebrating.
This is the time when Masque balls really kicked off.
Masques were eleborate performances involving music and lush costumes, special scenary and special effects.
It had been noticed first coming from Italy, and it took a few decades to catch on across Europe. By King James' reign, it had hit England's favour.
These masques were high-profile events and it was considered an honour to be invited to perform in them.
Design and visual symbols played an important role in masques. Masque imagery tended to be drawn from classical sources, with nobles and royalty often playing mythological gods or historical figures.
In 1609 the silks for the garments used in the performance "Masque of Queens" cost the considerable sum of £1984. Just for the silk fabrics.
In contrast, an entire Masque party, including the set designs, the performers wages, the creators fees etc, would in total cost in at around £2000. So you can start to get the jist of just how expensive this material game really is.
Charles and his selfies
King Charles I took England's reign in 1625, and although quite a short-live reign, mostly consumed with politics and war, Charles did manage to bring yet another fashionable wave to the table.
Portraits.
(Source: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/14081.html)
Charles being forced to focus on business didnt have a much time to flamboyant around. So in order to establish his powerful image, he hired the finest artists in the world to showcase his majesty. He even started to use his image to portray propaganda, such as getting the painter to make him seem more militarily superior.
Charles had british coins bear an image of him on horseback, all galant and that.
Coins were even more important to get image out there. Coins would be seen by everyone so it was vital to have a sturdy image of yourself.
Paintings became full of symbolism, another fashion.
Wearing the right costumes
From 1714 onwards, the country was in the hands of the Georgians. By then, the fashion had become one of the most expressive ways to inform others of ones social status.
Wearing the right outfits was regarded as good mannered, and it was also a necessity.
Get caught wearing the wrong things, you could be beaten for it and you would received a good social frowning from all.
If you were caught wearing clothes that looked too good for your status, you would be branded a pretender. So it's not like you could cheat, somehow everyone knew everyone's business.
So, if a master gifted his servant a pretty gown, the servant would have to edit, simplify the gift to dull it down just so they could wear it without being judged and reprimanded.
Again, even those with money could not necessarily dress in materials that were above their social position.
Clothing was more powerful than money
At court, dress codes were even stricter than in wider society, since these rules controlled who could attend court events. In the 18th century there was no formal system of invitation to court, and there was no need. Court dress was so expensive that only the wealthiest in the top tiers of society could afford it. As long as you were dressed according to the rules, you would be granted admission.
(Source: © Historic Royal Palaces)
The court was the ultimate place where dress to impress was meant serious business.
Silk or rich embroidery could often attract the attention of the Royals, and having a chat or two with your leader is always everyone's high priority as it most often would equal to more powers in whatever it is you do.
Ah, the Revolution
The French Revolution really helped to prove just how closely connected politics was with fashion as the French revolutionaries used clothing to make political statements against the ruling aristocratic classes; trousers of the working man, caps of liberty and a red white and blue badge.
During the early 1700's, France was the fashion leader of Europe, but then people started abadoning the clothes and accessories that were linked with the aristocratic lifestyle, to make a point of course, and it seemed to work.
This arguably could be the beginning of the downfall of the powers of clothing.
People would even make cartoons and make jokes about silks and posh garments.
By 1787, King George III had created the Windsor uniform which soon became the stancdard uniform style worn by the King and all of his Royals.
(Source: Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018)
This uniform made the King stand out from the crowds, it gave him a separate image from the government too, which really helped to split where the politics lies in these more modern times.
Victorians ahoy
This was an era for rapid and extensive technology and the invention of steam powered machines meant that England could now easily, and in large quantities, create its own cotton instead of importing it. An industry rocket.
Cotton was so ideal for clothing, it was easy to wash, and could be decorated easily with other products, allowing for new and varied fashions to exist, without needing a fortune for once!
Corsets were invented, women were deciding on what shapes their skirts should or could be; big bell domes? slim fitting but shorter than usual? The expected shapes of women, and how men thought a woman should look, was dramatically changed. So much choice brought more freedom in both styles, and love.
What you wear no longer affects you life!
Men started to wear things closer to our modern day suits and ties. Women found new colours and shapes. Royals had ceased to have such cloth-related leverage on the rest of the population, and now they keep their posh attire and traditions for special occassions.
We all know how free we are to look these days! Just keep an eye out on what materials you are being allowed to buy, they are trying desperately to nylon, plastic, cheap shit us paupers up. Invest wisely in your clothes, wars dont just disappear into thin air.
And so it seems that after all that, one of our biggest freedoms has been mastered with thanks to those who helped build the machines, who cottoned us out of a few hundred years of cloth wars.
