Renaissance Costumes • Period Costume • Renaissance Clothing
Renaissance Costumes - Fabric
Italian Renaissance Costume Fabric
- Italian textile production during the 14th century prospered through silk fabric production in city states, such as Florence and Lucca.
- Lucca was the first prominent textile city and imported large amounts of raw silk for processing.
- Raw silk was imported in bales called "fardels" that were covered by canvas and tied by one lengthwise cord and several crosswise cords. The fardel became the symbol or emblem of the Lucchese silk merchants.
- Influences on Lucchese design include Mongol silks with phoenix and dragon motifs, castles, eagles, hunters, gothic and architectural features.
- Lucca was also known for "Diasper Silk Fabric" which is silk fabric decorated with confronted birds alternating with pairs of beasts.
- Florence, called the City of Flowers, received its name from the floral motifs dominant in its fabrics.
European Renaissance Fashion Fabrics
- By 1490, Gothic dress in northern Europe had given way to the simpler styles of Renaissance Italy.
- Renaissance patterned fabric, usually velvets and brocades, were more popular than materials of a single color from about 1480 to 1510.
- From about 1550 to 1600 the Renaissance was dominated by Spanish fashions. The costumes worn during this period were influenced by geometric shapes. Dark silks and velvets were the most popular fabrics, they were effective backdrops for precious stones and jewelry.
- The hoopskirt, or farthingale, reached its maximum width around 1600, when it assumed a cartwheel or drum-shaped appearance. Combined with ballooned sleeves and expanded ruffs or circular lace collars, it made a woman appear formidable or even unapproachable. With puffed-out trunk hose, balloon sleeves, padded doublets, and the same large ruff collars, men achieved a similar appearance.
Beggars Receiving Alms by Fra Angelico
Renaissance Garments in the Church
- Aspects of fabrics in the Church implied sacredness in addition to the preciousness of the material.
- Garments worn by the clergy established their position within the Church's hierarchy.
- The garments the clergy wore also corresponded to the function they performed - deacon, priest, etc.
German Renaissance Ornamentation
- The German Renaissance costume was marked by the development of a unique method of ornamentation known as slashing. Two layers of cloth were placed one over the other. The outer was then slashed to reveal the contrasting inner one.
- Sumptuary laws were decreed that commoners should wear clothing of only one color. To get around this new unpopular law, both men and women began to slash their clothes.
- At first slashings consisted of small, intricate patterns, but from 1600 to about 1650, slashings were longer and vertical in shape. The open cut of the outer surfaces of garments (doublets, sleeves, hose) exposed the contrasting color of the linings beneath. The linings would then be pulled through the cuts and puffed out to further emphasize the contrast.
Boning - a question of structure.
Learn more and purchase steel boning on our site.
Threads Magazine has a helpful article on boning, including which kind to use for what garment.
Our Renaissance costume patterns selection is large and varied. We offer sewing patterns from all four majors, including Simplicity, but also many small sewing patterns lines such as Folkware.
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