Fashion History of the High and Late

Middle Ages—Medieval Clothing

Clothing of the Middle Ages—Hennin (Coned Hat) | Source

 An emergence of changing fashion
 Cultural influences from outside Europe
 The spinning wheel was introduced
 Clothing revealed social status
 Women always wore head coverings
The Evolution of Fashion
In the High and Late Middle Ages, European clothing began to evolve into what
we think of today as fashion. The cut, shape, style, and decoration of clothing
changed at a much faster pace than in the Early Middle Ages (sometimes known as
the Dark Ages) when styles varied little over time. While we think of fashion
changes occurring from year to year, the clothing designs of the Late Middle Ages
changed from generation to generation.
The Crusades and the adventures of Marco Polo introduced new cultural
influences, fabrics, and technological advances to medieval European garments.
Attractive clothing became more available and affordable and the emerging middle
class began to emulate the styles of the elite.

1200 - Costumes of the Middle Ages - Much Like Costumes of the Early Middle Ages |

Clothing as Status
Our knowledge of the costumes of the High and Late Middle Ages comes to us
from the artwork of the era. People dressed in various clothing styles appear in
stained glass, statues, drawings, and oil paintings. While there was class
stratification in clothing, and a garment displayed the social status of the wearer,
the differences became less . The Church still dictated the types of clothing worn
especially by women, clever designers found ways to embellish clothing and add
interesting touches..
Medieval Picnic Circa 1300

Women's Clothing of the High Middle Ages

Men joined for religious reasons, to seek adventure, and opportunity. They
brought back new fabrics like velvet as well as new clothing styles and designs.
Civilians incorporated the new foreign styles as well as military elements into the
manufacture of garments. The shape and fit of garments changed. Where tunics
previously hung lose and undefined, both men's tunics and women's gowns fit
more closely to the body, increasing both warmth and style. Gowns closely
followed the lines of the body from shoulder to below the waist with a separate and
fuller skirt sewn to the bodice. Sleeves widened toward a bell shape. The longer
sleeve of the under tunic elongated with such exaggeration that the hems of the
bottom part of the sleeve sometimes reached the ground.
The under tunic, now called a chemise, was a long garment made of linen. A
pelisson was worn over the chemise.
Jeweled girdles were worn by the elite.A woman carried a small purse that hung
from her belt. Women wore gloves and wove flowers in their hair. The veil became
more ornate and evolved into elaborate headdresses.
And while the Church still insisted that women wear veils for modesty, the veils
became sheer, made of fine muslin or silk. Veils were trimmed with decorative
borders or were interwoven with metallic thread.
Costumes of the Middle Ages—Women in the 1300s
Classic Styles and Clothing Terms of the Middle Ages
As the types of clothing styles increased, so did the names of these designs. The
following are terms and names of fashionable medieval garments.
 Cote—The under tunic came to be called a cote. Dyed in bright colors that
were attractively revealed by slashing the fabric of the outer tunic, or surcote,
to create an interesting contrast.
 Garnache—a long cloak with cape like sleeves
 Hergaut or gardecorps—a style of cloak that featured long, full sleeves
 Chaperon—a hood that was sewn onto a cape
 Houppelande—The houppelande of 1380 was a beautiful, full length robe like
garment featuring a high collar and wide sleeves. Later, the full sleeves
tightened at the wrist. The houppelande fell in folds into a bell shape. Women
wore this style in the late 1300's and men adapted the look in the 1400's. The
houppelande would often feature fur trim.
 Cote Hardie—a 14th century style that buttoned in the front. The low waist
and fitted bodice had tight sleeves that ended at the elbow and long extensions
draped at the back of the sleeve. The bodice was sewn to a skirt.
Clothing of the Late Middle Ages—The Houppelande
Costumes of the Middle Ages 1250 | Source
A Change From the Early Middle Ages (Dark Ages)
The High and Late Middle Ages saw the increased use of buttons. Previous buttons
had been for adornment only, but now they became functional.
Trousers wrapped with leather or cloth strips below the knee in the Early Middle
Ages gave way to the wearing of hose. While men still wore tunics and over tunics,
the way they wore them changed. Men wore either a loose belted tunic or a tighter,
more form fitting one. A form fitting tunic featured slits in the skirt to allow ease
of leg movement. Where once clothing had been entirely functional, designs
featuring elements grew in popularity.
The 13th century saw shoes grow long, pointy toes. The toes were soft, though
later stuffed with moss for firmness. Toe length achieved such exaggeration, that
the government set out rules describing how long the toe of the shoe could be
depending on a person's station in life. Hoods grew extra fabric and were slightly
longer than necessary. Veils and other fabrics made of fine silk imported from the
Far East were interwoven with golden thread for a shimmering effect.
Headgear of the Middle Ages—Note the Horn Shaped Head Dress
Medieval Men's Hats - Many Styles | Source
Hats, Veils, and Head Coverings
The wimple, a style brought back from the Middle East during the Crusades caught
on. A wimple is a piece of cloth worn over the head and around the face and neck.
A wimple would be worn under a veil called a couverchef. The style can still seen
today on some Muslim women and on a few Catholic nuns, though not as ornate as
the stylish wimples of the Late Middle Ages.
Although a wimple was a garment used for modesty, women in the upper classes
decorated their wimples and added padded rolls of fabric to create interest.
Women began to take a great interest in head gear, and the fashions of the High
and Late Middle Ages became ornate and wildly ostentatious.
The wimple and padded roll could be topped with elaborate structures supported
by wire frames. A horn like style created with hair and supports became wildly
popular.

The early 1400's saw the appearance of the hennin- a classic look of the Middle
Ages. A tall, conical hat worn tilted at the back of the head, the hennin was often
worn with a veil. (Pictured at the top of the article)
The more ornate head gear was worn by the aristocracy of the Middle Ages who
sometimes shaved their hairlines to create the illusion of a high forehead.
Eyebrows were plucked or partially shaved as well.
Men wore many types of hats and head gear. The sugar loaf hat was a tallish,
conical hat that resembled as like as flower pot. The flat, mortar board type hat we
associate with graduation emerged in the 14th century.
In the mid 1200's, Jews were forced to wear a pointed hat to distinguish them from
the Christian populace.
Horn Headdress
Late Middle Ages - Queen Isabella of Portugal in a Burgundian Style
Costume | Source
The Birth of Fashion
The recovery was slow, but out of this difficult time came new changes in the
economy, society, and in clothing. Sleeve fullness shrank and grew. Patterns and
designs appeared on textiles both woven in, embroidered, or printed on the fabric.
Elaborately printed gowns in brocade or damask, silk or velvet featuring flowers,
Oriental designs, artichokes, and pomegranates greatly enhanced women's gowns
creating the beautiful costumes associated with medieval times. Head coverings
changed frequently for both men and women. Women’s gowns became high
waisted with a low cut V neck that showed a piece of contrasting fabric
underneath. The V neck would be folded back to reveal an attractive lining. Long
fitted sleeves developed cuffs in what was called Burgundian fashion.
The over tunic men wore evolved into a doublet or a short skirted tunic. Slashings
in the sleeves showed the under tunic which could be pulled through to create puffs
of contrasting fabric and color.Trousers shortened with attached hose with leather
soles.

Middle Ages - Parti-colored Cotehardie | Source

Gothic Fashion of the Middle Ages
Fashions of the Late Middle Ages were influenced by the Gothic style, a look that
accentuated slenderness and an elongated form for both men and women.The
display of a coat of arms became popular as did parti-colored garments. In an
unusual design, garments were made of two colors. Today, we mix colors
horizontally, as in different colors in a shirt and pants or skirt. Parti-colored
garments created a vertical color difference with a split vertical dividing line in the
center of the body.