Men’s fashion aimed to exaggerate the wide-shouldered, narrow-wasted look, with padded shoulders and pleated gowns helping to achieve this ideal image. The basic garments of doublet and hose were common to all levels of society, hose being made of woollen cloth carefully tailored to be as tight fitting as possible. Doublets were also made to fit the body closely, and the hose were laced to the doublet using ‘points’ – metal tipped cords. From about 1460 fashionable doublets are often seen with padded shoulders, which support the gown worn on top, and are sometimes also open at the front and down the sleeves to reveal some of the white shirt worn underneath.
The gown, worn over the doublet, could be a long garment reaching the floor, and the illuminations in Rene of Anjou’s famous tournament book shows the judges wearing red gowns like this. Merchants and townsmen are usually depicted wearing long or middle length gowns, while the young, vain or fashion-conscious are usually shown dressed in rather short garments. Some commentators at the time are known to have frowned at the length of some of these gowns. All were cut full in the body, and then gathered into pleats at the waist, with sleeves that could also be left open along the seem to allow the arm to protrude. Fur lining – or just trimming round the neck and sleeve openings – are often seen, providing not just additional warmth in winter, but another chance for display.
In England, famed for its wool trade, good quality woollen cloth would be quite acceptable for a high quality doublet or gown, but the Burgundian and Italian taste for ‘flashier’ silk damasks, velvets and cloth-of-gold invariably had an influence on what was worn by the really wealthy.
Hats were worn by all, and styles varied considerably, The big chaperon, popular earlier in the century, was going out of fashion by this time, but was still seen occasionally on older gentlemen. Tall ‘acorn’ hats are often depicted, as are the ‘Robin Hood’ style that was popular over a long period.
Of course, the ideal image of the young, broad-shouldered, slim horseman would be incomplete without long, thigh-length riding boots, bucked at the ankle for a close fit.
Various other garments for men can be seen in the paintings and illuminations of the time. Sleeveless tops worn in place of the gown are shown being worn by squires in several pictures, sometimes pleated like the gown. Livery coats are often thought of as garments issued to soldiers in their Lord’s heraldic colours, but ‘livery’ refers to an issue of cloth made to a nobleman’s retainers, so could be in any colour, style or fabric.
Ladies’ clothing from this period conjures up most people’s image of the ‘fairytale princess’ – long flowing gowns and high pointed hats! The tall cone-shaped hennin was probably most popular in France, and then only on occasions were the wind was unlikely to cause havoc with it! In England a shorter, truncated version was popular, draped with very fine silk that was sometimes supported on wires extending from the top of the hennin. From about 1470, a black velvet frontlet became fashionable, and this would eventually develop into the Tudor ‘gable’ head-dress.
Gowns were high-waisted with narrow arms (not the long flowing sleeves from earlier in the century). The neck line was very wide and usually trimmed in fur or velvet, exposing a triangle of the underdress or a separate piece of material known as a frontlet. This underdress was sometimes made from a very rich fabric, and can often be seen when the front of the gown is hitched-up to aid walking. A wide belt completed the outfit, often with very decorative gilded buckle and belt-end.
As with more recent fashions, those of the 15th Century were constantly changing, but the above is intended as a guide to what was worn by the upper classes during the decades Destrier concentrates on.
