Fashion History

Servants of wealthy households were often paid in “livery,” which was the uniform they wore for work.

Because clothing was very expensive, people usually recycled the fabric from older clothes to make new outfits.

Many of these illustrations on this page are taken from 16th century costume books. Although these books often show an idealized version of dress, they help historians reconstruct what fashion may have looked like during the Renaissance.

As the Renaissance world expanded across Europe, fashion began to reflect the different places and the people that lived there. New fabrics dyed in crimson red, deep black, sapphire blue, and bright green were the envy of all. Printed and illustrated costume books showed clothing from around the world, and painted portraits of the rich and powerful displayed their lavish attire. If you travelled back in time to Renaissance Europe, there one lesson you would learn quite quickly: what you wore was very important.

Although fashion varied from place to place, women generally wore long gowns, often with detachable sleeves. A typical men’s outfit included a shirt, a jacket called a “doublet,” cropped pants called “breeches,” and a pair of knitted tights called “hose.” You also may have seen men wearing long or short pleated overcoats.

Now, our young historians might be wondering, “what did people my age wear during the Renaissance?” For this period, historians often describe children as “mini adults” because their clothing looked very similar to the clothes their parents wore. The main difference was that girls and boys both wore gowns during the first years of their life. Around the age of 7, a boy was given his first pair of breeches.

There were some pieces of clothing that clearly separated the commoners from the elite. Linen neck collars called “ruffs,” scented gloves, and embroidered footwear were symbols of an easy lifestyle—a life without hard labor. In the streets of Venice, a platform shoe called a “pianelle” helped ladies saunter through the muck without getting dirt on their beautiful shoes. Some of these platform shoes were too difficult to walk in by one’s self so a lady needed the helping arm of a servant. You could say the higher the pianelle, the higher that woman was in society! Much of elite fashion was defined by this need for a servant. Wealthy men and women wore clothes that laced up in the back, making it impossible to get ready without help.

Those less well-to-do might wear similar styles, but the type of fabric they used to make their clothing would not be as fancy or as decorated. Because they didn’t have access to a servant, they wore clothes that typically laced up in the front, so they could always dress themselves. City officials in places like England and Italy began to pass laws that regulated what people wore. The lower classes of society were forbidden from wearing the expensive garments of the elite. If a laborer was caught dressed in purple or red silk, or using a feather in his hat, he would find himself in deep trouble!

However, we shouldn’t assume that the clothing of lower classes was drab and dreary. Not wanting to skimp on decoration, women used colored ribbons for shoe-strings and aprons. Books from this time also contained recipes instructing people how to make fake pearls and rubies. Much like today, people found ways to spruce up their outfits on a budget. Although fashion was constantly changing during the Renaissance, one thing was certain: people from all walks of life wanted to look their best.