Fashion During the Elizabethan Era Essay

This article’s purpose is to express the danger of breaking the law in England. Most of the punishments of our time are deemed cruel and unusual. The death penalty can no longer be enacted in cases of theft or highway robbery. The following paragraphs will describe the various instruments of punishment (torture) of the period.

Elizabethan women dressed reasonably different than we do today. Women often wore many layers. The first layer would

Like their female counterparts, lower-class men dressed more plainly than the social elite and typically wore simple garments such as pants, shirts, vests, boots, and hats (“Elizabethan fashion”). Women’s Clothing There were many types of clothing women wore, but the most widely worn piece of clothing among Elizabethan women was the kirtle. Women at all levels of society wore the kirtle, a long fitted dress of simple

The Elizabethan era, named for Queen Elizabeth who reigned from 1558-1603, was a very relaxed time in England because no wars or conflicts were happening at the time (Davis 231). Many people believe that all people lived wonderful lives in the Elizabethan era, yet most people were poor and lived hard lives. “Undeniably the span of life is shorter in the sixteenth century than it will be in subsequent ages” (Davis 162). Important parts of life in London during the Elizabethan era were social classes, living conditions, recreation, education, and gender inequality.

The fashion of royal women in the Elizabethan era was not only a fashion statement, but it was required by the law. These laws, called the Sumptuary Laws, were known by all of the people of England. The Sumptuary Laws, also know as Statutes of Apparel, say which type of clothes and the color of the clothing they could wear. For example, only members of the royal family were permitted to wear clothes trimmed with ermine and the color purple or gold. These laws were set in place during June of 1574.

Upper class women favored many petticoats covered in “rich” colors like orange, red, green, black and yellow. The upper class also wore fine linens such as silk, satin and lace, this made sure that the lower class people knew to show them respect. Lower class people wore ordinary, simple clothing that showed that they had a lower social position and they wore a lot of blue because it was cheaper than other colors and it was associated with servants. The basic rule all classes went by was, if people wore nice clothes then people treated them well and if they did not then people most likely would not even talk to them. The lower class started stealing small amounts of lace or silk to add to their own clothes; however, the upper class was starting to get upset with all the poor people wearing nicer clothes. Finally by the 18th century, everyone was allowed to wear nicer clothes; yet the upper class still wanted to differentiate themselves from the lesser people, they wanted to show that they were better than them. They decided to adopt a more conservative fashion that was less colorful and

Throughout history, fashion has been the biggest indicator of social and economic status. While the sumptuary laws of the Elizabethan era that determined the color and style people of different ranks were allowed to wear ended around 200 years prior to the time the novel was written, society has always imparted a strict set of rules for its given era on propriety. There’s always an emphasis on dress no matter what age, the rules just fluctuate from era to era. Therefore, given societies set rules that it upheld, it was frowned upon for someone of a different

The social classes of the Elizabethan era were divided into three broad categories and subdivided into smaller specified groups. The broader categories became known as estates (“Elizabethan Era”). There was the first, second and third estate. The first estate consisted of clergy (“Social Order” 58). Although they were all Roman Catholic clergy these people were broken up into smaller sections. The smaller sections divided the ordained from the unordained (Social Status and Community”). The Ordained were known as seculars an example of someone who would fall under this division was the pope. The second estate, was of the nobility. The nobility included anyone who worked for or was a part of the royal family. Besides the church this estate held all the judicial and political power (“Social Order” 60). They were many subdivisions in this estate the main one was the monarch. It was composed of, kings, queens, dukes, counts, and different ranks of knights (Ferraro 44). The third and final estate was for the poor. Granted, not all

In the Medieval Period (1000-1500), what you wore largely depended on what class you were in the feudal system and what your status was. The rich could afford the latest styles and dyes shipped from abroad, while the poor may only own one or two items of clothing.

The people who lived during the Elizabethan Era were not allowed to wear whatever they like or desired. Their Fashion choices had to be followed by a strict law! The English people chose to establish social classes by the colors they wore and this had an affect on costumes used in theatre. Queen Elizabeth I followed the sumptuary laws, which was only certain classes were consent to wear specific fabric and colors. Therefore in plays the actors could only wear certain colors for their costumes that displayed what role and class their character was in. The clothes worn during this era was a result of Queen Elizabeth’s sumptuary laws, which had an affect on costumes used in plays, and each color a person wore had a significant meaning.

Clothing of the Elizabethan Era As Sylvester Stallone once said, “Clothing is the first step to building a character.” In the time period known as the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603), fashion meant a great deal to the people and was a way of showing off one's fortune. The strict laws, that stated what people were permitted to wear, distinguished the wealthy from the poor.

People use to wear clothes that we would see in plays, wearing costumes practically. Kind of like the hunger games with less technology ha-ha. People wore colors that based off of their royalty or as we call it "classes" purples, reds, and golds were for the higher royalty and lower classes could not wear those colors. Men liked to wear clothes that made them look bigger because the bigger you were meant that you could afford to eat a lot of food "royalty." Now we like to wear clothes that make us look more skinny, black does that. Jeans and t-shirts are worn daily and we only wear fancy clothes for occasions, well for the most of us. We don't were costumes as regular clothes, that's only for plays or if your acting. We can wear any colors we want and it won't tell us if we have any kind of royalty.

The Elizabethan Era is often referred to as the Golden Age of England (A Changing View...). The Elizabethan Era, named after Queen Elizabeth I, was a time of change and discovery (Elizabethan Superstitions). Elizabeth ruled in a time of religious turmoil; both the Catholics and Protestants fought to be the official religion of England. (Elizabethan World View). Many people throughout England struggled to find the “correct” religion (Elizabethan World View). Religion was changing and so did science. During the late 1500’s science began to evolve; new ideas, concepts, and beliefs were starting to emerge (A Changing View). Magic was considered to be very similar to science in this era. The belief in magical creatures served as the roots for

There was a very clear line in between the wealthy and the poor. Peasants during the era wore layers of belted tunics, cloaks, hats, and boots or clogs for warmth. These types of clothing would never be seen on the wealthier class of people. Many fashion trends from the renaissance time period carried on from time period to time period and are very prevalent still today.

As a result of these social classes, different ranks had designated attire that was regulated by Parliament (“Elizabethan Era”). Sumptuary laws regulated how extravagantly people of the various classes could dress (“Daily Life”). The wealthier classes indulged in meat while the lower classes ate eggs, bread, and dairy (“Daily Life”). None of the classes drank water due to impurity (“Daily Life”). Instead, they drank wine, flat beer, or weak ale (“Daily Life”). In the lower class, families were seen as working units (“Daily Life”). The son usually took after the father’s career (“Daily Life”). Wealthier families had enough money to pay servants to do work for them (“Daily Life”). These servants lived with the family (“Daily Life”).