THEATRE ARTS 178

COSTUME STUDIES

LATE GOTHIC (1350 – 1450)

MEN:

Head: During the 14th century the bob was still a popular style, straight or in
rolls. Men still wore a straight fringe. At the end of the century their hair was
cut shorter, and shaved at the back. The hair at the top was still one length,
with the fringe on the forehead (Fig. 1).
Men were mostly clean-shaven but beards, small and neatly clipped into one
or two points, were popular, as were small moustaches (Fig. 2). Older men
wore longer beards.
The bonnet or coif, made of white linen, was popular throughout this period; it
was a small cap worn under a hat. For older men it was made of black
velvet.
The chaperon was still worn, but had developed into a cap with an over-fold of
a contrasting colour. It had a point on the top, called the liripipe, which
became longer and longer, and was eventually draped around the body and
tucked into the girdle (Fig. 8). Later the chaperon with an opening originally
intended for the face was placed on the head, so that the mantle section
draped down one side, with the liripipe draped around the neck and shoulders
(Fig. 1, 7). Many versions of the draped chaperon were made and from this
developed the roundal, which had a doughnut form with a drape on the top
(Fig. 9).
Many different styles of hats were worn: a hat with a high material crown
without a rim; the bag-cap, which was made of velvet with a band of fur or
ornamentation; and the wide-rimmed hat with a high crown made of beaver
skin, felt or straw (Fig. 5, 6).

Body: The chemise was still worn as an undergarment. It had long sleeves,
was about hip-length and made of white linen.
Over it the men wore a doublet (Fig. 2), which was a tight-fitting short jacket
that was buttoned or laced in front or behind. If the doublet was sleeveless, it
was worn under another doublet or pourpoint (Fig. 4) for extra warmth. The
pourpoint had long sleeves. If the doublet was worn as a jacket with sleeves,
it was close-fitting and sometimes stuffed across the chest.
The cote hardie was a jacket with a long upper body and skirt, both of which
could be pleated. It was worn by less fashion-conscious men.
During the 15th century men wore a short garment in the place of the cote
hardie. It could be calf-length or shorter and was pleated from the breast to
the seam, or only the skirt section was pleated. It was worn with a girdle and
over the doublet (Fig. 9).
The houppelande was worn from the end of the 14th century to the beginning
of the 15th century. It was a very long garment with a high collar, a long skirt
and large flowing long sleeves. It could also be knee-length or slit in the
middle in front. It was sometimes lined with fur and worn as a jacket in winter.
It was usually worn with a girdle (Fig. 3, 6).
Men also wore a gown (Fig. 8), which was long and loose-fitting and worn
without a girdle.
The newest addition to fashion was the collar. The houppelande always had
an upright collar which stood up straight at the back with a whale-bone
support. The collar was buttoned in front under the chin or cut away so that
the neck was open. All stylish men wore a collar, whether with the doublet or
houppelande.
Sleeves were wrist-length or longer to fit the hand up to the knuckles.
Sleeves could also turned over to form a cuff. At the end of the 14 th century
the bellows sleeve appeared, which was a long wide sleeve, pleated at the
wrist with a cuff. The sleeve had a long vertical slit from top to bottom for the
arms.
By the middle of the 15th century sleeves were wider around the upper arm
and narrower at the wrist to form the leg-o’-mutton shape.

Legs: Underdrawers were still worn as underwear. Long stockings were

worn over them, which were sometimes so long that they were attached to the
band of the underdrawers with laces, called points. Underdrawers looked like
the pants of an acrobat and were worn particularly with short garments. With
very short jackets such as the doublet, men wore only stockings made to look
like contemporary tights, although they were cut and sown in the shape of the
leg. Stockings were also knitted. Sometimes the stockings had no feet but a
band that went round under the foot. Other types of stocking did have feet and
sometimes even a sole, so that it was not necessary to wear shoes with them.
Stockings could be of different colours, and sometimes each leg had a
different coloured stocking (Fig. 2, 5).

Feet: Shoes with sharp points, called poulaine (Fig. 3), were very popular.
Points could be up to six inches longer than the toes and were supported with
whale-bone.
Soft calf-length boots were worn outside; they were made of leather and laced
on the inside or outside of the leg, or with a buckle at the ankle. Wooden
shoes or clogs or pattens (Fig. 6) were worn to protect shoes outside. Shoes
were made of leather, felt and velvet, and were ornamented.

WOMEN:

Head: Unmarried women still wore their hair loose on their shoulders with
only a circlet. Married women still wore their hair up and still wore the gorget
and wimple (Fig. 2, 7).
Women wore various types of headdress, but those that covered and tucked
away all the hair, and made of a wire frame lined with material and heavily
decorated, were the most popular. Headgear was always very large and
designed to make women look taller. Any hair that showed was plucked or
shaved, and even eyebrows were plucked or even removed entirely (Fig. 3).
The style of wearing two buns, one on each side of the head, was still
popular, but now they were shaped with wire that was lined with material,
decorative and covered with a veil (Fig. 4).
The heart-shaped headdress was either a stuffed roll placed on the top of the
head, or it was shaped with wire. A bonnet that covered the ears was worn
beneath it, so that no hair was visible. A veil was regularly worn with it, either
thrown over the top or taken from the below the chin and attached to the
headdress (Fig. 1, 8).
The style of the two buns changed into a style in which the round shape of the
buns became more pointed. These conical-shaped buns eventually became
larger until they took on the shape of a half-moon. A veil could also be worn.
From this style the butterfly headdress developed. It was also in the shape of
two cones, but was made of linen that was slightly transparent. Sometimes it
was shaped over the above-mentioned headdress, but otherwise it was
supported with whale-bone or wire (Fig. 5).
Various kinds of hats worn by men were also worn by women, such as the
chaperon and the wide-rim felt or straw hat.
At the end of this period women wore the hennin, which is sometimes
regarded a the most popular headdress of this period. It was a conically
shaped hat slightly tilted towards the back, with a transparent veil hanging
from the point.

Body: The chemise was still worn and over that the corset (like the cote of the
Early Gothic period, now called the corset). It had a tight-fitting upper part
with a cut-on skirt and plain long sleeves. It was laced either at the back or
the front (Fig. 6,7).
The sleeveless surcote was worn throughout this period. It was still cut out
deeply under the arms (up to the hips) and had a full skirt attached. The
openings for the arms were decorated with fur, broaches, gems or buttons,
and were laced at the back (Fig. 4,9).
The houppelande was still worn by women. It was worn over the corset and
still had an exaggeratedly high upright collar. The houppelande was
sometimes worn with a belt and sometimes not, but if a belt was worn, it was
worn high with extra pleats. The skirt was full and long (Fig. 1).
From 1400 women wore a dress with a short and tight-fitting upper body, a
long full skirt and long narrow sleeves. The most important feature of this
dress was the very low V-shaped neckline with a wide round collar and a part
of the corset or the chemise showing. A broad belt was worn to emphasise
the high middle. Fur was a very popular finish for the collar. The long narrow
sleeves ended over the hand on the knuckles, where they became slightly
broader and lined with material of a contrasting colour, so that they could also
be folded back to form a cuff (Fig. 5, 8).
A characteristic of all the dresses worn over the corset or chemise was that
they were very long. Women always had to lift their skirts when they went
walking, or they tucked the skirts into their belts. The dresses were often
even longer at the back to form a train. The skirt part of the dress was often
lined with a material of contrasting colour or fur that could be seen when the
skirt was lifted.
Feet: Women also wore sharp-pointed shoes with stockings. Shoes looked
very much like those worn by men, although the sharp points were never so
exaggerated.

Bibliography:

Barton, L. 1935. Historic costume for the stage. London: A. & C. Black.

Wilcox, R. T. 1958. The mode in costume. New York & London: Charles
Scribner & Sons.