Last week, we took a look at the bottom layers shared by all French women in the early 15th century, the skin layer of chemise and chausses, and the supportive or base layer of a cotte or tunic. This week, we'll begin to take a look at the third layer- the fashion layer. Source When it came to the skin and base layers, the class groups of women were not particularly distinguishable from each other, except that the loose tunic was nearly always worn only by women in the indentured class or by older women. For the third layer, however, the groups begin separating out from each other even more. Before we get into it, I want to mention that there can be a considerable amount of blurring between the social groups. They aren't hard and strict distinctions. A woman's social group at this time was as much about her community and local situation as it was about her money and title (or lack thereof). The point of this, therefore, is more about the distinctions between those on one end versus the other, rather than between adjacent groups. Indentured/Poor Source A woman at the bottom of society would have had fewer options for a third layer, but that doesn't mean it wasn't possible for her to have one. The gown may have been reserved for colder weather and/or special occasions. Or it could have been very outdated. Women in this group could have had access to hand-me-downs, or could have purchased second-hand clothing from peddlers or simply inherited clothing items. Some indentured women could have also had a gown (or at least the cloth for one) included in her contract every year. (See #3 and #20 in my list or References if you're interested in the interesting topic of clothing that changes hands in these manners.) Source The style of the third layer would have varied widely among these women, from cuts that were fashionable not that long ago, to garments that were never considered fashionable. It all depended on what she had access to, and what she did. For example, in the two images above, the turbaned scarf headdresses of the two women indicate a low rank, but both are in service to women of considerable rank. The woman just above wears an out-of-date but once-fashionable bell-sleeve gown. The other woman, at the loom, wears an obviously fitted gown (over her red cotte). In both cases, these women are not wildly out-of-fashion. Their situation accounts for that. Contrast that with the woman below. Source Here we see the same woman, a slave in the service of a wealthy family, in two instances from the same miniature. We can see that she's wearing a third layer on the left. On the right, with her arms out of the way, it's revealed that her third layer is a loose dress, rather than a highly fitted gown like the weaving woman's above. Townswomen This group encompasses a very large collection of women, from those in the employ of noble or royal households, all the way down to wives or daughters of laborers or tradesmen. Interestingly, however, their third layer options are pretty pointedly limited. The primary fashion layer for this group was a fitted gown. As I said last week, this layer and the cotte layer are nearly identical. In the case of the fitted gown, however, a lining (mostly appearing to be fur) is often observable, such as on the woman below. Source Another distinguishing feature of this group was that they were often shown with the sleeves of their fitted gowns pushed or rolled up (seen in the example below). It's not exclusive to this group, but it comes pretty close. Styling the fitted dress this way reveals the sleeve of the cotte layer. It's possible that the showing off of her layers was the illuminators way of showing that a depicted townswoman was above the indentured/poor group. Girdling is also very commonly seen among this group, and may have served a similar purpose. Source The only other third layer option I've been able to pin to the Townswoman group is a fitted gown with a short streamer sleeve. The woman in pink below sports this type of dress. Since this particular dress type appears further up as well, it's possible that women with short streamers on their sleeves in this group may be considered to be at the higher end for whatever reason. The streamer is a frivolous detail on a gown, and frivolity in dress is only possible for women who could afford it. It's also possible that these women actually belong with the next group up. Source Bourgeoisie The term "bourgeoisie" generally applies to wealthy women without title, but women with low-ranking titles possibly found themselves in this same style group, even if they would never have associated with bourgeois women. This is one of those areas where my grouping is highly generalized, and should be seen as a level, not a true label. Source The fitted gowns we just looked at (long sleeve and short streamer sleeve) are worn among this group as well. In fact, the basic long sleeve fitted dress continues as a style all the way up the classes. Among the bourgeoisie, however, style of dress plays a much bigger and more important role. Women in this group were highly concerned with their position. Comprising the "middle", they were keen to not be confused for the lower townswoman, but would also avoid appearing above their means, which would land them in trouble, possibly even in jail, depending on the sumptuary laws that applied to them. In the late 14th Century treatise, Le Menagier de Paris, the narrator tells his bourgeois wife: "...You will consider and pay attention to our status and our means, attiring yourself with respect to the estate of your family and mine, amongst whom you will mingle and dwell each day. Make sure that you dress decently without introducing new fashions and without too much or too little ostentation." I think the most interesting thing to note in that quote is the phrase "too little ostentation." Source To really take advantage of their ability to show their wealth through their manner of dress, bourgeois women adopted the horned veil as their headdress of choice. While open hoods are also acceptable for many of these women, and the horned veil was not exclusive to this group, it does make it a bit easier to spot the Bourgeoisie in illuminations, once you get a handle on their context. In addition to their distinctive headdress, a third option of dress for this group was a fitted dress with long streamer sleeves. These streamers come in two basic formats. The sleeve could be just a long panel attached at the shoulder and open all the way down, or a sleeve that opened at the elbow into the floor-length streamer. In either case, the streamer is often lined in what comes across most of the time as fur. Source When we move to the end of the time period I'm focusing on, to the 1432 Le Decameron, we can also find bourgeois women in a very specific houppelande. The full gown has a v-neck where the fur lining pokes out as a trim, and large, straight sleeves. This style is a step along the way to the Burgundian v-neck. In the 1430's, however, it's not considered highly fashionable. It is, however, a sign of the times to come and the greater blurring of social class because women in the middle can afford greater ostentation than at any time before. I'm going to break here until next week, when I'll finish up the third layer by looking at the nobility and royals.

This page should be read with the women’s costume page as I have not duplicated info that is on that page including supplier’s details. Jacob is wearing a linen coif and also a linen sh…

In answer to the first post about my new court outfit for BAM...here it is: navy blue cotton denim velveteen, red linen sleeve linings, red microfiber half-sleeves gold drapery tapestry fabric trim. The overall look was inspired in part by this. the deep-V back, which I am trying out here for the first time, and which I adore; and the long train, which I forgot to arrange nicely for this picture, lol. sleeve layers probably my favorite hair ever, for look and ease of wear (although it was done in a hurry for these pics and looks a bit slapdash). Two braids crossed over my forehead and tucked into my snood, topped by my circlet and then my silk veil (which is usally worn much farther forward than this; but I pulled it back so you could see the snood) Tada! I have GOT to start making sure someone photographs me at events. I swear. Maybe nobody likes me. ;0) I ended up using some "gold" and "crystal" (both plastic) buttons that I pulled off a pair of fancy half-sleeves, for this dress. As soon as I find something for this dress I like better (and can afford. Holy cow, buttons are expensive now that my discount place closed down!), these crystal buttons are going back onto the sleeves, because I like them better there. . .

Besieged by love? How many times have you read something like “her emotions were under siege” in a romance novel? I feel like this metaphor is common, and compelling, yet I’ve never really unpacke…

Dress pins are a must have for the person wearing veils and wimples and so. But they are surprisingly expensive for what they are. I do understand why but still, I am a student and sometimes it is …

I think that if I hadn't chosen late 15th/early 16th century Italy as the time and place for my SCA persona, I would have probably decided to be 14th century. There's something about 14th century cotehardies. They're quintessentially medieval. I've made what I call faux-hardies in the past - garments that look like cotehardies, but are basically built like a t-tunic, with no built in support. And I've made fitted cotehardies for other people. But I've never made a true, 14th century fitted cotehardie for myself, until now. And I see what all the fuss was about. They're kind of awesome. I'm going to include a few construction notes and pictures here. The under-cotehardie is a dark green, heavier weight linen. All the support for the dress is built into this layer. Because linen stretches slightly, and because all the support for this gown is built into a single layer cote, you must account for the stretch while fitting. Otherwise, you'll get partway through a day and find that the fabric has relaxed, and things are no longer as supportive as they were that morning... Not a good feeling. I started with my usual Gothic fitted dress pattern and cut out the four panels of the dress, two for the front, and two for the back. Pin together the bodice of the dress on the back and side seams, to the point where the gores start. Also at this point, sew a strip of fabric as facing to either side of the front opening, make your eyelets. Then put on the dress and lace it up. Wear it around the house for 15-20 minutes to allow the linen fibers to warm up from your body heat and stretch. Then remove any slack from the side seams and pin them further in. Unlace the dress, straighten up the pins and make sure the lines are straight and symmetrical, and repeat the process. Here is the dress in the middle of that process, with pins in the side seams. And here's what I ended up with. Along the edge of the fabric is where I originally though the seam line should be, and the pin line shows where the seam ended up. Then, continue with the rest of the dress. You need four gores. Here's a trick my friend Daisy showed me on the most efficient way to cut gores. Cut a strip of fabric the length your gores need to be and the width of your fabric. . Fold it in fourths like an accordion. Then cut this diagonally. You end up with three whole triangular gores, and two end pieces, which you can sew down the middle to make a gore. And here's the sleeve pattern I came up with. I think sleeves are my least favorite part of sewing these types of gowns. I'm so accustomed to detachable sleeves that I find it especially trying to have to match up the sleeve cap with the armsye. I put self-fabric buttons along the arm from the elbow to the wrist. They're fitted enough that I have to unbutton the last couple of buttons to get the sleeve over my hand. Also, because of the fit of the dress, when I put it on, I have to mostly lace it, then let the fibers warm up and stretch for a few minutes before I can lace it all the way closed. The blue overgown used the same pattern, but with a tiny bit more ease in the side seam, as this layer didn't have to be supportive. It buttons up the front, and the sleeves end just above the elbow. I also made detachable tippets - they fasten around my upper arm with a hook and eye. I usually hide the strap under the sleeve of the blue overgown. And I'm wearing the gown with a simple white linen barbette and veil. Pictures! Here I'm showing off my tippets... And here you can kind of see how the tippets attach under the short sleeve of the blue overgown. And I just had to share of picture of this lady from the Romance of Alexander. She and I share a similar color scheme.

Similar to the open front kirtle and placket theory, this theory looks at the style of dress which consists of a wide-front kirtle but instead of theorising a placket covers the chemise under the l…

This hood is a 14th Century woman’s hood, with a short buttoned cape, and a liripipe, like those depicted in various illuminations from the period. This is a pretty long article! I originally wrote…

Clothiers were the entrepreneurs at the heart of the cloth trade which became England’s leading industry in the late Middle Ages. No other industry created more employment or generated more wealth.

The pattern I decided on for this particular corset was for a pair of half boned stays from Norah Waugh’s Corsets and Crinolines. As this is my first pair of stays or 18th century corsets th…

Here's a lengthy post full of pictures of my new blue silk cotehardie worn over a gold silk kirtle. I started working on it about ten...

This gallery will include some Tudor-style stays, Elizabethan-style stays, Stuart-style stays, and Antoinette-style stays, spanning the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries (Please also note that I focuse…

“We had so much fun @Fashion_Museum in Bath yesterday. We loved trying on all the dresses and seeing the archives!”