Fashion+and+Classes

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=Introduction= During the Elizabethan time period, one's clothes and fashion defined one's social status. This is because the society of the Elizabethan era was divided by class. These divisions in clothing were stated in the Sumptuary Laws, and these laws provided the citizens with stern rules about what the citizens could and could not wear, right down to the color and material of their clothing. The reason for these laws was to limit the amount of money the people spent on clothing, jewelry, accessories, etc because they might spend all the money for their clothing and live fancy life. I n addition, the laws were designed to maintain the social structure and division between the people of the Elizabethan class system. Disregard of the Sumptary Laws would result in puinshment, fines, or even death!

Therefore, because of the Sumptuary Laws, there was a great difference in the fashion of people from the high, middle, and low classes.

=Upper Class/ Nobles/ Royalty=

Because of the Sumptuary Laws, the upper class and royalty of the Elizabethan Era were allowed to wear many luxurious types of clothing, unlike the middle or lower classes. The upper class and royals were permitted to wear clothing made out of different types of expensive and rare materials, such as fur, velvet, silk, lace, etc. However, there was division even within the upper class, so that the higher the position of the person, the more privilege they had when it came to their wardrobe. For example, only Queen Elizabeth and her relatives could wear clothing that used gold or gold trimmings as embellishment. While lesser nobles may not have been permitted to wear gold or gold embellishments, they were allowed trimmings such as velvet, lace, or silver [|(source)]. Another example of this division between the upper class is the fact that only royalty were allowed to own robes that were trimmed with the lavish fur of ermine, while lower nobles of the upper class were allowed less expensive furs such as fox or otter. The upper class differed from the lower class in the colors of dyes used in their clothes as well. The wealthy upper class wore clothes with dark and bright colors that were expensive to attain and produce, which is why the lower classes did not wear them. In fact, some of the clothing that had rich dyes were made from a rare insect in the Mediterranean, therefore it was extremely pricey and only available for the priveledged upper class. Some of these rich colors would have included bright red and purple. One of the most important items in Elizabethan Fashion for the upper class were ruffs. Ruffs were large, fan-like collars that were worn by both men and women, and they were extremely important to the Elizabethan upper class because they signified high position and status[|(source)]. These important accessories of the time were also worn on the wrists in addition to on the neck, and they may even be worn with veils flowing out behind for further decoration [|(source)]. Upper class Elizabethan men and women wore many different layers of clothing. Women wore a chemise under all of their clothes, then a corset (stiffened with wood, iron, or whalebone), then a petticoat, then a farthingale, stockings, a gown, sleeves, and neck and wrist ruffs. A chemise was worn as a slip and it was worn to protect other clothing from bodily odors, while a corset was used to flatten the bosom and create a fashionably flat stomach and chest and a small waist. Wealthy women would have silk outer layers on their corsets for added decoration[|(source).]The farthingale was a large hoop structure worn underneath the skirt used to give the skirt a bigger shape. These hoops were often padded, as was the fashion at the time. Farthingales were generally made out of wire or whale bone. In Elizabethan times, the bigger the skirt, the more powerful and rich the woman was, which was why Queen Elizabeth I wore extremely large farthingales under her skirts. In addition, skirts were usually very fancy and adorned, as were gowns because they were the parts of clothing that showed the most. [|(source)] Elizabethan men dressed similarly to the women, but they wanted to look masculine, so they wore clothes that had broad shoulders, broad hips, and narrow waists; their outfits looked slightly like a suit of armor. One of the similarities between men and women's fashion was Elizabethan men also wore many layers of clothes. Men wore doublets, sleeves, hose, breeches,cloaks (gowns) and ruffs. Well-to-do men would wear beautiful, costly, and intricate doublets that looked like breastplates of suits of armor, which were worn to give men a more manly shape. Sleeves were separate peices of clothing, and they were tied to the doublet with laces. Hose were worn on the lower half of the body, and they were usually tight fitting. Breeches were attatched to the doublet and they covered the body from the waist, to the seat, and all over the upper legs. Cloaks were capes that worn over the doublet.[|(source)]. Men wore good quality leather shoes, and shoes were generally round and flat. [|(source)] Boots were also commonly worn by men in this time period. Both men and women of the upper class took pride in their hair. In fact, the wealthy would spend long hours in a barbershop getting their hair done in fantastic styles. When upper class men went bald, they depended on wigs to help them to keep up with the latest hair trends. Fashionable wigs for men were either white or yellow. Men also cared a great deal about their facial hair. Many upper class men spent a lot of money keeping their beards groomed and fashionable. [|(source)] For women, the most fashionable hair colors were blonde and red, and many an Elizabethan women dyed her hair one of these two shades. In addition, it was considered fashionable for women to have high foreheads, so many women plucked their hairlines until the desired height was achieved. Some of the wealthy upper class women enjoyed wearing their hair in a small beehive on top of their heads. Women occasionally used hair accessories and hats, and many women liked to wear elaborate silk hairnets that were decorated with jewels and gold trimmings. Men enjoyed wearing fashionable hats as well, and it was common for a man of the upper class to wear a fine silk hat with a feather inside. Some common accessories of the Elizabethan Age include fans for women and perfumed gloves for both women and men. [|(source)] Upper class women loved jewelry; however, women only occasionally wore earrings (usually pearls). Wealthy women also enjoyed wearing extreme makeup. The ideal look was an extremely pale complexion with red cheeks and red lips. Women would use lead to create a very pale face, but the lead slowly poisoned their bodies. This trend was modeled after Queen Elizabeth I, who, after suffering from smallpox, used heavy white makeup to hide her scars.[|(source)] Finally, another beauty trend in Elizabethan times was for well-off women to pluck their eyebrows very thin and to draw on beauty marks. [|(source)]

= = = = =Middle Class:=

The middle class in Elizabethan times were mainly composed of rich people. ([|source]) Almost every person in middle class wore hats in public, and both men and women enjoyed jewelry accessories. __([|source]__) Also, people always had at least one accessory such as keys, pouch, jewel, handkerchief ( [|pict]). All men and women wore gloves whenever they went out, and they were one of the most important accessories since glove was beautiful and it protected hands. Many women sprayed perfumes before going out, since the streets were filthy. Elizbethan middle class women could wear clothing made out of broadcloth, linen, and cotton as well as wearing a chemise to protect their clothing from sweat and other bodily oils. Chemises could be of three different lengths, and then a bodice is worn over the chemise, like a vest, but it laces up, moreover, caps or shoulder puffs can be worn on their body. Cloaks were optional ([|pict]). Poor middle class people like less wealthy middle class people wore jerkins, and most wore doublets. Doublets are worn over a shirt, and sometimes over a waistcoat. The sleeves were seperate from doublet.([|source]) Men wore a padding inside the shirt called codpiece, which plumped their belly, so the wearer would look rich. The codpiece, a fashion item for men at the time, originated from platings that some high class people worn to protect their belly. At first, a codpiece was for protection, it eventually became a symbol of wealth. Underwear was optional for men at that time, and some men slept without their underwear. = = = = =Lower Class (Peasants):=

People in the lower class were mainly poor people such as peasants, servants, marketpeople, and beggars, who did not have much money to spend on things such as clothing. People wore aprons, fitted sleeves, and partlets or neckclothes. Colors of clothes at that time stood for the position and rank of their status.([|source]) For example, working women should wear simple clothes because they couldn't wear clothes that are visualized and having decoration, and because of this, patterns and fit of the people were absolutely different. During that period, clothes with decoration was the symbol of the upper class. Furthermore, they wore fewer layer than the other classes because they could not afford to buy the same fabric as the richer upper classes. People in lower class usually wore clothes that look like one-piece, and it fitted to their body so that it shows with a waistline seam. With this look, they also wore the matching bodices and some narrow skirt.([|source]) Clothing of lower class were definitely different from upper and middle class because they weren't able to afford the fancy materials, such as silk, that were needed to make luxurious clothes. Due to this fact, most of the people in the lower class wore clothes that were made of muslin and wool because those were the most basic and inexpensive fabrics that they could easily obtain. Also, lower class people had a limitation on their color of the clothing because most fancy color fabrics were for other classes. For instance, most wore muted shades of red, blue, green, brown, or yellow color [|(source)]. Becuase they could not afford expensive dyes,they used natural plants to get the color of the clothes. Wood provided the blue color, roots supplied the red color, and the yellow color was obtained from a dye plant called golden marguerite. Blue was the most common color for the lower class because it was cheap and people could get it easily. For their hair styles, both women and men of the lower class had a common style. They could have longer hair than before the Elizabethan time because the Queen allowed them to grow their hair longer. Women almost always braided their hair into one braid so that it was more comfortable when they were working.