Sewing as Authority in the Middle Ages
Analysing manuscripts, relics, indulgences, and even a bishop’s mitre, the article argues that stitching was a way to enact, or intensify, the ritual purpose of objects, whether that was ceremonial, devotional, or authoritative.
A Young Man’s Progress – The First Book of Fashion
A Young Man’s Progress is art work by London photographer Maisie Broadhead and fashion designer Isabella Newell in collaboration with Cambridge cultural historian Ulinka Rublack.
Late medieval bling-bling
Illustrations and surviving clothing and accessories however present an entirely different picture of medieval fashion: bright, contrasting colours, costly, lavishly decorated fabrics and belts and bags adorned with all kinds of golden and silver-coloured mounts.
Lessons from the Viking Lifestyle
‘I am here to talk to you about my life as a Viking and how it has changed and shaped my personality and the way I view several aspects of today’s society, and how I started hunting for the authentic experience.’
Move over Milan! Late Medieval and Renaissance Fashion in Venice
Milan may be Italy’s current fashion capital, but Venice had an important role to play in the development of the Italian fashion and textile industry since the late middle ages and renaissance period.
The Nun’s Crown
The nun’s crown, a white linen circlet with overlapping bands forming a cross worn over her veil, formed part of the dress of monastic women in northern Germany.
Early Medieval Tunic recreated in Norway
A few years ago, the oldest known piece of clothing ever discovered in Norway, a tunic dating from the Iron Age, was found on a glacier in Breheimen. Now about to be reconstructed using Iron Age textile techniques, it is hoped the tunic will inspire Norwegian fashion designers.
How to Make a Medieval Costume in Under Four Minutes
Luke Seinen shows how to make a medieval costume in under 4 minutes! Just in case you needed something to wear for Halloween. Plus more videos on medieval costumes and looks.
The Fashion Police in 16th-century Italy
Patrolling the streets and squares of the bustling city as arbiters of the level of ostentation that was deemed appropriate, the sumptuary magistrates were quite simply the Fashion Police.
Silk Tunics of Saint Ambrose to be restored and studied
Archaeologists from the University of Bonn, working with restorers, are preserving and studying 4th-century tunics ascribed to St. Ambrose. In the course of examining these valuable silk garments, they have made surprising scholarly discoveries regarding the development of early relic worship.
15 Medieval Fashion Trends
How did fashion change during the Middle Ages? Using images from medieval manuscripts, we can track some of the changes in fashion over the centuries. The styles of dress and clothing would see new trends emerge, ranging from long-toed shoes to plunging necklines.
The Wardrobe of Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland
Margaret of Denmark dressed at the height of fashion in mid-15th century Scotland.
Fabrics in Medieval Dress in Pomerania
The use of colour effects – motives of stripes, colour ribbon and string additions as well as pieces of embroidery – is a testament to the decorative character of medieval clothes.
Shoes and shoemakers in late medieval Bergen and Stockholm
The purpose of this article is to analyse the differences between shoemakers in late medieval Bergen and Stockholm on one hand, and the differences between the archaeological finds of shoes in the two towns on the other hand.
Estreitement bende: Marie de France’s Guigemar and the erotics of tight dress
This article examines the change in women’s fashion that occurred during the 12th century. Garments went from loose and flowing to tightly fitted, featuring belts and laces. The author examines this cultural change through the romance stories complied in the “Lais” of Marie de France, specifically one featuring the character of Guigemar.
How to pleat a shirt in the 15th century
Based on the shirt fragments from the 15th century found at Lengberg Castle in East-Tyrol this paper describes the methods with which these shirts have been pleated, what type of stiches have been used for sewing and how the trimming strips were fashioned. Seventeen textile fragments could be identified as parts of shirts, fourteen of which feature either partially or totally pleated areas. Two sleeves with textile buttons and button holes, two sleeves with button holes, one sleeve with a textile button, one neckline and five fragments being either sleeve or collar are pleated on their entire width. One shirt each is pleated partially on the front, one of them with a preserved textile button. One sleeveless shirt is pleated at the shoulder.
‘Grandissima Gratia’: The Power of Italian Renaissance Shoes as Intimate Wear
In the Renaissance fashion system gender identification and expressions of power through shoes were instead primarily based on varying degrees of their invisibility.
Persian silk worn by Vikings, researcher finds
When the Oseberg Ship was discovered in Norway in 1904, more than one hundred silk fragments were found among its artefacts. New research has shown that these silks were probably purchased from Persia through a trade network.
Medieval Shoes
What set the trends for medieval shoe styles? The Politics, power, economics and climate behind medieval shoes.
Transvestite Knights: Men and Women Cross-dressing in Medieval Literature
In this thesis, I will look at mainly French and German texts from the 12th to the 15th centuries which deal with the subject of cross-dressers in the decidedly masculine domain of the knight. There are many tales of cross-dressing, particularly of women, but the concept of men dressing as women while jousting, and women dressing as knights, brings up several questions about the clothes, what it meant to be male and female, and how cross-dressing could be viewed on the tournament field.
From Flax to Linen: Experiments with flax at Ribe Viking Centre
The archaeological record shows that linen was an important part of Viking Age clothing. Linen cloth developed gradually from being virtually nonexistent in Scandinavia at the start of the first millennium AD…
The literary significance of clothing in the Icelandic family sagas
We do not often hear about what the character is wearing – and when we do it can be difficult to discern why clothes are being mentioned at this particular point and why only in relation to a certain character.
Making and breaking order via clothing
Following the events which disrupted social stability in fourteenth and fifteenth-century England, individuals from a variety of social contexts demonstrated a particular necessity to see order visibly displayed in society.
The Garments of Guy in the Bayeux Tapestry
In her paper, Gale R. Owen-Crocker looks at how the late 11th century frieze portrays Guy, Count of Ponthieu.
The Queen of Sicily’s Paris Shopping List, 1277
Sarah-Grace Heller examines a letter sent by Charles I of Anjou, King of Sicily to one of his agents in Paris, where he provides a detailed order of textiles and clothing that he needed to have purchased.