Some time ago (a few yars now) I wrote a very basic introduction to Clothing in England in the Wars of the Roses period for 'The White Company (1450-1485)'.If people are interested I'll post parts of this (it'll lose the pics & patterns I'm afraid). I'd appreciate any comments.
However, remember, this is a Minimum Guideline NOT a definitive description. It is intended to introduce new members to the subject.
If you want to use any of this I would please ask you to ask in writing before doing so and accrediting it accordingly.
It was an investment in time and effort, and is still both my, and "The White Company (1450-1485)s'" property.
Anyway here goes
Overview
This document contains the Minimum Standard for clothing which all members must have achieved within one year of joining. It does not provide a complete or comprehensive list of the clothes, nor does it attempt to address particular issues of style or fashion. The details included are purely to achieve an acceptable minimum level. A full analysis of the clothing of the period is contained in the 'Clothing Guidelines' (which forms the basis for all decisions on clothing within the company).
All clothes worn must be made from period materials & in a style appropriate to the role of the wearer. All of the clothes worn should be consistent in quality & style & should be 'typical' of the period. Elaborate & fanciful excuses for atypical & inconsistent items are not acceptable. To help illustrate how the clothes were worn, & how they varied according to who the person was & what they did, a few stereotyped examples of suitable roles are included, they should not be treated as definitive guides. The examples are typical of the lower to middling classes, consequently certain fabrics & colours have been deliberately excluded as beyond the social level covered by this Standard (although passing reference may be made to them).
It is not acceptable to produce garments which compromise authenticity for personal preference or modern ideas of style or comfort. The accuracy of the clothing, matched to the status & role of the wearer, should be of paramount importance.
The Standard itself is divided into three main sections: the first looks at the materials from which the garments were made; the second, looks at the actual clothes (who wore them, what they were made from & how they were made); whilst the final section addresses the techniques required to make them.
Style & Fashion Overview
Social & economic pressures affect the clothing of every part of society. The need to balance practicality & expense with the vagaries of fashions had an impact on everyone, from the labouring classes to the highest court circles. However impacts were not consistent in either their manner or their scope. Each class, & social grouping within that class, reacting differently. Middle & lower classes clothes showed many interrelated influences but they are not simply poor representations of those of their social superiors, nor are they simply outdated versions of it. Each class had it's own individual style (although inevitably these distinctions blur at class boundaries) which, in a highly selective & stereotyped manner, are addressed in the examples illustrated later.
The Materials
Cloth
To understand the clothing it is first necessary to understand something of the materials from which they were made. The size, weight, texture & finish all affect how a garment is cut, how it can be used & what it will look like when finished. This is why it is essential to use the materials which are as correct as possible.
All of the cloth used must be either pure wool or linen of appropriate quality & finish. Silk, although available, should not be used as it is beyond the social & financial bounds of the clothes discussed here. It is understood that it is impossible to buy cloth which is completely authentic (correct fleece , hand spun & woven etc.) but get cloth as close to authentic as possible. When buying cloth you are strongly advised to take into consideration what it will be used for & whether the garment will be lined. Do not buy cheap, lightweight, cloth & try to use interlinings to simulate the correct weight; they are inaccurate, require more work, do not hang correctly & will usually prove a false economy.
Woollen cloth
The vast majority of textiles used to make clothing was made from wool, either as cloth (woollen or worsted) or felt. Cloth production was carried out on a massive scale with enormous variation in finish & quality, even for a given type of cloth. The main distinguishing features between the cloths were the weave (the number of threads & its complexity) & the degree of finishing. Finishing (by scouring, fulling, raising & shearing) could produce luxurious, soft, cloths with a raised nap giving a fluffy felted appearance which obscured the weave beneath. However many, particularly cheaper cloths, were left unfulled &/or unnapped.
There was a vast array of cloths available; often the name giving an indication of weave, finish, 'usual' colour, or a combination of some or all of these factors.
The following is a small sample of the cloths which were available:
Broadcloth: (1s 4d/yd+, usually 2s-4s/yd). The basis of English export trade, tabby woven, heavily fulled & napped giving it a felted surface, increasing its warmth & waterproofing. Typically dyed a single colour 'in the cloth' after weaving. Quality, & price, varied widely, e.g. 1 undyed cloth cost 1s 4d/yd whilst a fine crimson 'engrained' (kermes dyed) cloth was 13s 4d/yd. Most cost 2s-4s in standard colours; putting them out of reach of lower classes but just within an artisans, where it was used for gowns & hats. Many names used for different types, grades &/or colours of broadcloth e.g. Scarlet, the finest quality broadcloth dyed in the finest dye (kemes); Plunkett, a cheap blue/grey; Musterdevilles a good/mid quality grey & Blanket, a cheap undyed cloth.
Worsted: (1s-2s/yd) Generic term for a variable quality twill cloth with such It could be very fine & is mentioned as a doublet cloth by the Pastons. Say was a fine, lightweight worsted.
Kersey: (6d-2s/yd). A fairly heavy medium grade 'national' cloth with twill weave. Often mentioned as a hose cloth.
Russet: Cheap cloth, typically grey or brown. Often exported with raised but unshorn nap ('Cotoned')
Frieze: (6d-10d/yd). Coarse, often undyed, twill cloth used for linings & cheap clothing.
Kendal: (cost: 4d-6d/yd,). Coarse regional cloth, typically green.
Ray: Striped cloth using different coloured yarn in the weave. Often used as one side of parti-coloured liveries. Lost favour during century as finer broadcloths became more popular.
Linen cloths
Often bleached, tabby cloth of varying qualities. Widely used for undergarments (Breeches & Shirts for men, Smocks for women) & for lining garments. It appears to have been used only very rarely as the outer layer on other garments (like doublets) or dyed (linen does not take natural dyes particularly well). Typically made 1 Flemish ell (27") wide.
Canvas: (3d-4d/ell). Coarse heavy, often undyed, linen or hemp cloth, often undyed.
Buckram: (5d-6d/ell). Stiff fabric used to interline; e.g. doublets
Linen: (4d+/ell,). Standard, generic name for linen cloths of middling quality
Holland: (7d-12d/ell,). The finest plain linen.
Paris & Diaper: (1s-2s/ell,). Fine patterned linen cloths.
Other cloths/fabrics
Fustian: (6d/ell). Typically a mixed cloth with Linen warp & Cotton weft. Often heavy &/or brushed & shorn giving a felted surface. Usually white (bleached), also frequently dyed a cheap black. Used for 'Linen' armours & occasionally doublets, & even gowns, but banned for lowest levels by 1463 Sumptuary Law.
Cotton: Available as a raw fibre but not used for cloth except in mixed fabrics like Fustian. 'Coton' typically referred to a woollen cloth with a raised, but probably unshorn, nap e.g. 'Coton Russet'.
Narrow wares: Tablet woven & braided wool, silk &, probably, linen. Used for laces, points & belts & as finishing or reinforcing strip (facings) on garments, in place of a lining. Varied in width from simple braids to strips 2"-4" wide.
Felt, knitted wool & thrum (loose ends of wool added to cloths to create a 'shaggy' appearance), were all used for hats.
Goat Hair: Occasionally used for coarse cloths.
Straw Hats: worn by labourers (male & female) in summer. Simple domed crown & wide brim.
Leather
Cattle hide was oak tanned to produce 'red' (unfinished) & 'black' (finished) leather, used for shoes, purses gloves & belts. Other leathers were alum tawed to produce 'white' leather, used for purses, gloves & points. Best leather was Spanish or Cordovan (originally Goat but by C15th probably just used to denote fine leather). It was also coloured/dyed & decorated (typically with incised lines).
Colours & Dyes
The large scale industrial process of commercial dyeing meant that only relatively few (typically 3 or 4) dyes were practical, these being: Madder (red), Woad (blues & greys) & Weld & Dyer's Broom (yellow). Although other dyes were used (Brazilwood, Kermes etc.) these are beyond the scope of these standards as they were typically used for the finer cloths.
Although Woad & Madder could produce a wide range of shades (from pale to dark blue & pink to deep red respectively) darker shades were costly as they required both more dye & better quality cloth. Hence deep navy blues & bright crimsons or scarlets are beyond the scope of these standards. The yellow dyes seem to have been used primarily to blend with other dyes, though yellow cloth was not unknown & could give very bright results
By blending woad, weld & madder in differing quantities & with different mordants a wide range of colours could be obtained e.g. Lincoln Green (woad & weld), Tawny (madder & weld) & Murrey (madder & woad). Using the wool's natural colours or reusing dye baths was also used to create other colours like Plunkett (blue/grey), Musterdevilles (a grey using woad) or brown (woad & madder).
Black was an increasingly popular colour but typically more of a very dark green/brown (which faded rapidly & rotted fabric) made with Oak Galls mordanted with iron. Effectively reserved for headgear & Fustian by the lower & middling classes. Good, true, blacks were obtainable but were expensive as they required substantial quantities of dye.
Undyed woollen cloth was also widely used, especially at the lower end of social scale. It was referred to as 'blanket' or 'white', terms which could encompass a wide range of natural wool colours, from creams to grey & browns. Cheap linens were also left undyed & unbleached (bleaching could cost as much as dyeing).