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15-16th Century Court Dress in Europe : BETWEEN 1485 AND 1510, THE MOST FASHIONABLE style of dress for the women of the court that was shown below — a long, lined garment, with a square-cut corsage revealing a flimsy chemise and sleeves that were loose all the way down. This outfit - or, more precisely, a uniform - was generally worn with a gold, silver or cord belt, whose ends hung down either at the front or at the sides. AS IN ALL COURTS, THE COSTUMES OF WEALTHY LADIES at the French court of the 15-16th century became more and more resplendent and ornate throughout the Middle Ages. Much of the emphasis was on extravagant headdresses, which probably owed much to the Middle Eastern influences that were assimilated during the Crusades. According to the historian Juvenal de Ursin, these headdresses became so large that "when they wished to pass from one room to another, women were forced to turn their heads sideways in order to get through the doors." WHILE THE TRADITIONS OF THE MIDDLE AGES persisted through the 15th and 16th centuries so far as women's costume was concerned, men's costume changed radically. This was mainly the result of Italian influences following Charles Vlll's expedition to Italy. Some experts think that this was the most gracious and elegant of all the different ages of costume in France. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The illustrations depicted here were taken from a tapestry dating back to the times of Louis XII. The coats of this period were generally large and long (fig. 14), the shirts and blouses were richly embroidered in silk, silver or gold. A new design item was a special collar mounted on a surcoat (fig. 2), or falling loosely over the corsage (fig. 4). Men's and women's headgear was quite varied. Figs. 1 and 3 show the hair coming down from under the hat, which is, in fig. 3. decorated with white plumes. Court dress took many forms. Fig. 13 shows a typical court dress with funnel like long sleeves, fig. 8 shows a detailed of a fur collar, person in 4. wears a dress without a collar, fig. 10 and 12 depict a dress used for grand marriage ceremonies. Martin2001 Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy!
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