Clothing During The Renaissance

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. (Coco Chanel) When did clothing get this definition? When did clothing become so much more than one of the basic necessities in life? The answers lie within the time period of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance started in Italy at around 1300. Through the 1400s and 1500s Renaissance culture and ideas spread throughout much of Europe. Towns during the Renaissance thrived as well as the economy, for more people became merchants and craft workers. Let us not forget the fact that though the Renaissance was a time of positive growth for some, the majority of those living during this

Red was often worn by those of a high social status. The color red represented everything from power to medicine (specifically at Padua and Bologna universities). Judges often showed up at work clothed in red attire. In the Christian church red was a symbol of authority, the fire at pentecost, Christs blood which was shed for the people, Jesus’s crucifixion, and christian charity. Orange dyes were significantly cheaper than red dyes. Therefore, peasants and those who made up the middle class often wore shades of orange, even at times to intimidate members of the higher class who wore red. Jews were required to wear a yellow circle on their clothing to set them apart from others. Children often dressed in shades of green especially during the spring months such as may. Green was the color of love. Green was the color of joy. In England servants often wore blue hues. Purple which was once the color of royalty became a staple color of the Medici family. Brown signified modesty and was often worn by the religious. Beige was a common color among the poor. Like brown, gray was considered a color of poverty. Female slaves often wore the color

In both Venice and Florence Italy there were laws that prevented certain classes of society from dressing in certain garb. Sumptuary laws, laws that controlled who could wear what, were both unpopular and difficult to enforce among people. Sumptuary is short for the term sumptuousness which means excess in clothing. In 1510 the first parliament of Henry the VII met and passed the first sumptuary law. When Queen Elizabeth came to throne she built further onto her father’s laws. During Henry’s period of rule fabrics and colors had to be specific to each social class. Statues engraved with sumptuary laws were distributed throughout cities. Officers at court called aldermen monitored citizens compliance to the sumptuary laws and enforced sumptuary laws. Elizabeth had the clergy monitor their flock, masters monitor their servant and neighbors monitor each other. Though many punishments such as time in prison and fines were applied, one of the few effective punishments for disobeying laws on statues was public embarrassment. Punishments were not fair, for those of higher classes who disobeyed the rules did not receive punishments equally as harsh as those of the lower