Clothing

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Clothing

Patterns

Here are the first pages of patterns I intend to put up on this website.

Doublet, Shirt & Underwear, Hose, Pattens, Livery/Jacket

I would also recommend the following book for helping with developing patterns:

Thursfield, Sarah. The Medieval Tailor's Assistant, making common garments 1200 - 1500.

Ruth Bean Publishers, Victoria Farmhouse, Carlton, Bedford. 2001. ISBN 0 89676 239 4

Clothing:

The clothing you wore expressed your estate and degree, through the use of fabrics and style. The higher nobility wore cloth of gold, silks and velvets in the current court fashion, with gold jewellery and precious stones. The rest of the nobility followed suite, with quality wools being added to the list of fabrics, but the style following the court fashion. The servants of the nobility also tended to follow the court fashion style wise, and gifts of cloth to household staff tended to be fairly regular, with the cost of the cloth depending on the current position of the servant within the hierarchy. Outside of the Nobility and their employees there were the fashions of the commoners, broadly speaking the rural commoners had a fairly consistent style, the main place of variation was with the urban commoners. Rich merchants and guildmasters often dressed identical to the higher nobility, causing in some areas statutory laws being passed limiting what a person could wear based on their estate and degree.

Nobility:
Shirt, Braies, Shoes, Hosen (joined style), Doublet (with ball shoulders), Jacket, Belt, Hat.
Materials, fine wool, fine linen, fine cotton, silk, velvet, brocade, cloth of gold. Depending on wealth and degree, a squire, may for example have a brocade collar on a wool doublet, as that is all that will generally be seen under his jacket.

Servants of the nobility:
As above, the richness of the material will depend on the wealth and degree of their master, for example, a household servant of the duke may have a doublet similar to the squire mentioned above.

Commoners:
Shirt, Braies, Shoes, Hosen (often with separate legs for labourers) Doublet (often without the ball shoulder for those of lesser degree and labourers) Jacket, Belt, Pouch, Hat or Hood (particularly for rural fashion, or those working outside).
Materials, depending on degree, a wealthy merchant would be similar to the nobility, for others it would range from fine wool and linen through to course wool and linen

Special clothing; certain offices have ceremonial or official clothes, such as the Aldermen of a city are usually depicted wearing long gowns, as do certain functions at court.

Basic Clothing for all Male Personages starting in the CdO

A basic set of clothing for male personages comprises; shoes, hose, shirt, doublet, livery jacket, belt and hat.

Shirt & Underwear – simple linen construction, people portraying a social level of hommes d’armes or above may use silk..

MS Casanatense

Hose – either one piece or split style with removable codpiece (popular with the working classes). Preferably made of wool.

Doublet - with Sleeves and Collar. For anyone above the social class of pikeman it should be of the fashionable burgundian style with padded shoulders (Except for mounted archers for which it is forbiden in the ordonnance regulations). Pikemen may have a sleeveless collarless vest to wear under their padded jack, but must have another sleeved and collared one for wearing under their jacket. Doublets may be of linen or wool.

Jacket - people portraying a social level of valet or above, must have a fashionable jacket which can be pleated at least up to chest height. Valets and lower may also have a sleeveless livery jacket. Should be made of wool.

MS 9967 Bibliotheque Royale Albert, Brussels MS 9967 Bibliotetheque Royal Albert, Brussels

Belt - leather with brass or pewter fittings.

Shoes, Pattens – leather of turn shoe construction, with slightly pointy toe, people portraying higher social positions may have longer toes on their dress shoes, but not on battlefield shoes. Pattens may be worn by all social levels, but not on the battelfield.