Tudor Clothing Fashion: What Your Clothes Said About You

Tudor Clothing Fashion: What Your Clothes Said About You

Today I want to take a look at Tudor clothing fashion, because in Tudor England what you wore said a lot about who you were. Clothing showed people how wealthy you were, your rank, occupation, and even your loyalty to the crown. The Tudors considered appearance and status to be important and fashion became a way of showing this.

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Catherine of Aragon

Artist: Lucas Horenbout

At the start of the Tudor period, when Henry VII became king in 1485 after the Wars of the Roses, clothing was very much in the medieval styles. Wealthy men often wore fitted tunics, gowns or robe-like outer garments that were worn over their clothing along with hose, which were a little like stockings, and cloaks. 

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Anne Boleyn posthumous

Women wore long dresses with fitted bodices and full skirts. Their dresses were usually tightened with laces that pulled the fabric close to the body to create the fashionable stiff shape. I imagine they could still feel restrictive, but they would have generally been more comfortable than the tightly laced Victorian era corsets. The laces were usually threaded through eyelets at the front, back, or sometimes the sides of the bodice, unlike many Victorian era corsets, which were typically tightly laced at the back. Tudor bodices were aimed to create a flatter, more rigid silhouette rather than pulling the waist into an exaggerated hourglass shape the Victorian strove for. 

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Anne of ClevesImage info:

Anne of Cleves

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger

Date: 1539

Collection: Louvre Museum

They used rich fabrics like velvet, silk, satin, and damask, which were all highly valued. These fabrics were expensive, so wearing them made sure that people immediately knew your status.

During the reign of Henry VIII, fashion became even more elaborate. Henry loved to show off and display his wealth and opulence. The court, who were continuously wanting to impress, followed suit. The king set the fashion and gave the power and status. Men’s clothing became broader and more padded, with wide shoulders that created a powerful image. One of the most famous and unusual fashion items of the period was the codpiece. It was originally a practical fabric covering worn over the groin where the hose joined, but it gradually became larger, more decorative, and impossible to ignore. Some were padded or embroidered, turning what was a practical garment into a bold display of masculinity and confidence. 

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Henry VIII

Date: 1540–1547

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger

Collection: Walker Art Gallery

Bright colours were especially important in Tudor fashion, but colour was also connected to your rank. The rich could afford to buy vivid dyes like deep crimson, rich purple, scarlet, and bright blue. Some colours were even restricted by the law under the Tudor sumptuary laws, especially during Henry VIII’s reign. The laws controlled who could wear which luxurious fabrics, fur, gold embroidery, pearls, and even certain colours. The royal family and highest nobles could wear the richest and most expensive colours like purple, crimson, scarlet, and of course gold, which would instantly show people that you had wealth and power. Wealthy merchants and the gentry could wear rich blues, greens, and deep black. This meant ordinary people could not dress like nobles, even if they somehow could afford it. Poorer people usually wore practical muted colours such as brown, russet, grey, faded green, or undyed wool which were far less expensive.

These laws were not just for show. We know this because Tudor rulers kept reissuing them in official proclamations. Surviving records also show that some people were fined or warned for wearing luxury items they were not allowed to wear, especially wealthy merchants trying to dress like nobles.

 

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Pattens

The Arnolfini Portrait

Date: 1434

Collection: National Gallery

Women’s fashion gradually changed significantly throughout the era. Gowns started to become heavier and a lot more structured, with stiffened bodices and wider skirts. The skirts were supported by layers underneath them. Wealthy women often wore decorative sleeves, jewellery, and embroidered fabrics. Later in the Tudor period, especially under Elizabeth I, the ruff became one of the most recognisable fashion trends. A ruff was a pleated collar worn around the neck, sometimes small and neat, sometimes enormous and dramatic. These were starched into elaborate shapes. Wearing a large ruff must have been very uncomfortable, especially when eating or turning your head, but fashion and status were far more important than comfort.

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Lady playing a lute in a yellow kirtle

Collection: National Gallery of Art

Head coverings were extremely common for both men and women. Respectable Tudor women didn’t really go outside with uncovered hair. Covered hair was seen as modest and respectable. Surviving portraits and written records often show women wearing hoods, caps, or veils. They wore French hoods, gable hoods, coifs, caps, or linen coverings. Head fashions changed over the Tudor period. Catherine of Aragon was known for the traditional English gable hood, which covered most of the hair. Anne Boleyn helped to make the softer French hood fashionable, showing more of the hairline. Anne of Cleves wore more conservative German fashions, with structured headwear and high-necked gowns, and some historians have wondered whether her less familiar style may have added to Henry VIII’s disappointment, as it was so different from what women were wearing at English court. Headwear continued to change throughout the Tudor period. Mary I often wore more modest and traditional styles, with hoods, caps, and veils covering much of her hair, most likely influenced by her mother Catherine of Aragon. Unlike many of the earlier Tudor women, Elizabeth I often left a lot of her hair visible. She decorated it with pearls, jewels, and ornate headpieces.

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Elizabeth I

Artist: Nicholas Hilliard

Collection: Walker Art Gallery

Men wore flat caps, felt hats, or bonnets. A person’s headwear could instantly reveal their social position and fashion awareness. Henry VIII seemed to favour wide flat bonnets that were decorated with feathers, jewels, or gold badges.

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Mary I

Artist: Antonis Mor

Collection: Museo del Prado

Tudor women usually wore flat leather shoes with rounded or square toes. Wealthier women could afford more decorative styles, and some wore raised overshoes called pattens to protect their shoes and skirts from the muddy streets.

Of course, most Tudors were not wealthy courtiers. Peasants and labourers wore much simpler clothing usually made from wool, linen, or rough homespun cloth. Men most often wore plain tunics, breeches, hose, and practical leather shoes. Women wore simple kirtles, a fitted dress with a bodice and long skirt. This could be worn on its own by poorer women or under an outer gown by wealthier women. They also wore aprons, wool skirts, and linen caps or kerchiefs. Their colours were far more muted. For poorer families, clothing needed to be durable and practical above everything else. They were more likely to worry about keeping warm and comfortable than the latest court fashions.

Do you think Tudor fashion looked elegant and impressive, or does it look far too uncomfortable?

Lise de Baissac: The Brave SOE Agent Who Fought in World War Two

Lise de Baissac: The Brave SOE Agent Who Fought in World War Two

Today I want to tell you about an extraordinary woman. Her name was Lise de Baissac, and she became one of the first female agents of Britain’s secret wartime organisation, the Special Operations Executive, known as the SOE.

Lise de Baissac was born on the 11^th of May 1905 in Curepipe, in what was then British Mauritius. She came from a wealthy family and later moved to Paris with them in 1919. Like many upper-class women of the time, she was not expected to work. But Lise was a strong-minded and independent woman, and she was determined to make her own choices.

When Germany invaded France during the war, she refused to accept occupation. Lise managed to escape from France with her younger brother Claude. They had a long and dangerous journey to Britain. They travelled through Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar before they finally got to Britain in 1941. It must have been a very scary time because they didn’t know whether they would survive or even if they would ever see home again.

 

Lise spoke English and French fluently and so she was a perfect for the SOE. She joined in 1942 and went through intense training, where she stood out for being calm under pressure.

In September 1942, alongside Andrée Borrel, she became one of the first female SOE agents to parachute into occupied France. Imagine the fear she must have had jumping into enemy territory. Knowing the risks of capture.

She was charged with organising resistance groups. She arranging weapons drops, carried messages, and helped to build secret networks. She worked largely alone in Poitiers where she used the cover story of being a poor widow from Paris. She even lived near Gestapo headquarters and sometimes even spoke with German officers who had no idea who she really was.

Lise usually rode a bike, pretending to be an amateur archaeologist while secretly scouting out landing zones and drop sites for Allied supplies. During one mission she helped to receive and hide weapons for the French Resistance. In 1943, as more arrests were happening and the risks grew, she returned briefly to England.

She went back to France in 1944, just before D-Day. This time her job was even more dangerous. She cycled long distances carrying messages, gathering intelligence, and helping resistance fighters to sabotage German movements. On the evening of the 5^th of June 1944, Lise heard the BBC coded phrase  “Blessent mon cœur d’une langueur monotone,” a secret message to the French Resistance that told them the Allied invasion of France was imminent. She cycled over 300 kilometres in just three days to warn her network.

Her intelligence and bravery helped slow German reinforcements after D-Day, giving the Allies support during a crucial moment in the war. After the liberation, she helped to search for missing SOE agents.

After the war, Lise worked for the BBC and married her childhood sweetheart. She died in Marseille on the 29^th of March 2004 at the age of 98.

 

Do you think you could have done what Lise did?

 

I want to say the I have only touched on a small part of Lise de Baissac’s remarkable story here.

No supermarkets. No Amazon. No fridges. So how did Victorians shop?

No supermarkets. No Amazon. No fridges. So how did Victorians shop?

 

Shopping in Victorian England was very different from today. Where you were able to shop depended on your class and your income.

Rich women were able to visit fashionable areas like Burlington Arcade or Regent Street in London. They were able to buy luxury goods like silk dresses, gloves, perfumes, jewellery, fine hats, and even imported foods. Department stores like Harrods and Whiteley’s had started to become more popular.  They offered a much larger variety of goods. Harrods became known for being able to selling almost anything. If you had enough money, they could reportedly get it for you, even exotic animals. Department stores completely changed shopping. Large window displays showed goods for sale and encouraged window-shopping.

For the middle classes, shopping was usually done in the growing high streets, filled with specialist shops. They could visit the butcher, baker, grocer, fishmonger, draper, milliner, and chemist all separately. Many goods were still weighed and measured by hand. Instead of grabbing items off the shelves, like we do today, customers usually asked the shopkeeper for what they wanted.

 

Not everyone went out shopping in Victorian England. Many sellers came to people’s doors. Milkmen, bakers, coal merchants, and pedlars regularly delivered or sold essentials like milk, bread, coal, and household goods. For some families this was a lot more convenient.

Poorer households or single people could sometimes buy small amounts of things like cheese or bread or even purchase items on credit, known as buying “on tick.” Although it could save a family from going hungry, it could also lead to debt, and being in debt in Victorian Britain was not something to be taken lightly.

Some poorer families even bought stale bread because it was cheaper than fresh bread and could still be used for meals like toast, puddings, or soups. There was also the well-known Victorian phrase “stale household bread.” For working-class families, shopping was much more about survival and budgeting. Many people lived day to day and bought small amounts of food because they had little or no storage and often no refrigeration. For the homeless, a penny could mean the difference between eating or having somewhere to sleep, with some paying just 1d for a place in a cheap lodging house.

Street markets were especially important. Costermongers (street sellers) sold fruit, vegetables, fish, pies, and other household goods. Markets were really noisy and crowded places. Costermongers were also known for using colourful slang, including back slang and rhyming slang, a coded language that helped them to communicate quickly and sometimes even secretly.

 

The Victorian Age started to see the rise of the consumer culture. The Industrial Revolution had made mass production much easier. As a result, many goods were cheaper and more available, making them more accessible to the lower classes, revolutionising shopping.

 

 

Do you think you would miss modern supermarkets and online delivery?

 

Vera Strodl Dowling: The Fearless Woman Who Flew for Britain in WW2

 

Vera Strodl Dowling: The Fearless Woman Who Flew for Britain in WW2

Vera Elsie Strodl Dowling was born on the 16^th of July 1918 in Braughing, Hertfordshire. Her parents were Danish, and after they struggled with financial difficulties, they were forced to leave England. They returned to Denmark in 1930. Vera became fascinated by flying after experiencing it for the first time at the age of eleven.

She was determined to become a pilot. So she returned to England in 1934 and lived in Hastings near the Sussex Aero Club. She worked as a waitress and a cleaner to pay for her flying lessons. Her hard work paid off when she earned her pilot’s licence in January 1937.

Vera then worked in aircraft manufacturing, where she gained technical knowledge as an inspector and then as a test pilot. The war was edging ever closer and she decided  to stay in Britain.

In 1941, Vera joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, she became the only Scandinavian woman to fly for the organisation during the Second World War. She ferried military aircraft between factories and airfields, including damaged planes that could be extremely dangerous to fly. It carried serious risks, and many ATA pilots lost their lives. During the war, she completed around 200 flights and flew roughly 1,500 hours.

After the war, Vera continued her career in aviation as a flying instructor in Britain, Sweden, and then in Canada. She remained active in flying for decades, eventually logging over 30,000 flying hours. In 2000, she was honoured by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame for her lifelong contribution to aviation. She died in Edmonton, Canada, in 2015 at the age of 96.

 

Do You Think You Could Survive Tudor Beauty Standards? They Were Brutal.

Do You Think You Could Survive Tudor Beauty Standards? They Were Brutal

Today I want to take a look at Tudor beauty standards and how people in Tudor England viewed physical appearance.

Beauty has always, and no doubt will always be influenced by society. In Tudor England things were no different. What people considered attractive during this period was often influenced by wealth, status, religion, fashion, and even politics. Looking beautiful was not just about vanity. For many people, their appearance could actually affect their marriage prospects, social standing, and even how others judged their character.

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The "Darnley Portrait" of Elizabeth I 

Date: 1575

In the early Tudor period, during the reign of King Henry VII beauty standards were still  influenced by the late medieval world. A fuller figure was seen as desirable, especially for women. Soft curves suggested they were in good health, fertile, and, importantly, they had access to plenty of food. Ordinary people struggled to eat well, so a fuller body showed wealth and security. Pale skin was also very highly prized. If your skin remained fair and untouched by the sun, it suggested you did not have to work outdoors in the fields.

For Tudor women, a smooth pale complexion quickly became one of the most desired features. Many women tried to protect their skin from the sun by wearing hats, hoods, or veils outdoors. Some even used homemade mixtures made from things like egg whites, rosewater or herbs to soften the skin. Beauty ideals often favoured the wealthy because they were easier for the wealthy to achieve.

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Elizabeth of York

Artist: After Meynnart Wewyck

Date: 1470-1498

Tudor court records suggest some ordinary people were criticised for dressing above their social rank. Tudor sumptuary laws under Henry VIII, restricted who could wear luxurious fabrics and decorations. Even poorer households sometimes owned ribbons, caps, combs, or mirrors. They most likely used simple homemade remedies. But for most poorer people, survival mattered far more than fashion.

During the reign of Henry VIII, fashion and beauty became almost synonymous with the royal court. Courtly appearance was hugely important. Clothing and fabrics became richer and more luxurious, and grooming was much more important. For women, an ideal face often included high cheekbones, a small mouth, rosy lips, and a high forehead. That high forehead became so fashionable that some women plucked or shaved back their hairlines to make their foreheads appear larger. It was seen as elegant and refined. Portraits of women like Elizabeth of York and later Elizabeth I show this fashionable high forehead, but portraits were often idealised. It may seem strange, but beauty trends evolve and often involved sacrifice.  Eyebrows were often thinned or plucked too, not so different from today.

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Elizabeth 1

Artist: Nicholas Hilliard

Date: 1573-1575

Walker Art Gallery

Hair colour was also important. Blonde or reddish-gold hair was hugely admired, partly because lighter hair was associated with being young and beautiful. Some women tried to lighten their hair using the sun or mixtures that contained really harsh ingredients like saffron or lye to help bleach it, sitting in the sun to strengthen the effect. Some historical recipes also used ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar. The process could dry out and damage the hair.

 

Men also had beauty expectations, although they were different. A handsome Tudor man was expected to look and be strong, broad-shouldered, and confident. Physical strength suggested power and authority. Well-groomed facial hair became fashionable during parts of the Tudor era, especially beards in the later years of Henry VIII’s reign. Rich clothing, broad shoulders created by padded garments, and a commanding posture all helped create an image of masculinity and status.

Beauty standards shifted once again during the reign of Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth had an enormous influence on fashion and beauty. After surviving Smallpox in 1562, she was left with facial scars. She started to wear heavy white face makeup. It is debated as to whether it was to cover them up or because pale faces were already popular. This created the famous pale face look that is now associated with the Elizabethan court. Many women copied her and a white face became fashionable. They often used a cosmetic called Venetian ceruse also known as “Spirits of Saturn", which was made with white lead and vinegar. It created the sought after smooth pale appearance, but it was so incredibly dangerous and slowly poisoned them.

Rosy cheeks were also considered attractive in Tudor England because they gave the impression of being young and healthy and they were bold against the pale complexion. Some women got this look by pinching or rubbing their cheeks but recipes and trade records show that wealthier women used pigments made from plant dyes. It is believed that some may have even used crushed insects such as cochineal to add extra colour.

Behind the elegance and fine dresses, the lengths women especially went to in order to meet these high beauty expectations make me think there must have been some insecurity, or at the very least a great deal of pressure. We cannot know exactly how Tudor women felt, but the popularity of cosmetics, harsh beauty treatments, and even dangerous products suggests that appearance mattered a lot. Many people were likely comparing themselves to ideals they could never reach, just as people often do today.

 

Do you think the pressure to look “perfect” was easier or harder in Tudor times than today?

 

Tomorrow I will be finding out more about Tudor fashion by looking into what they wore. 

Just Nuisance: The Royal Navy Dog Who Won Thousands of Hearts

Just Nuisance: The Royal Navy Dog Who Won Thousands of Hearts

Today I want to tell you about a Great Dane called Just Nuisance. He was the only dog ever officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.

Just Nuisance was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1937. As a puppy, he lived in Simon's Town, a naval town that was full of sailors and ships. He was a huge Great Dane, and stood nearly two metres tall on his back legs. He had a gentle and affectionate nature, and the sailors quickly became attached to him.

He loved following the men around town and often wandered onto naval ships, lying across gangplanks and blocking people’s way. This earned him the nickname “Nuisance,” though it was meant with affection.

Nuisance developed a habit of riding trains with sailors into Cape Town, often without a ticket. Railway officials eventually threatened action, and people were worried that he might be put down. The sailors did not want to lose him so the Navy made an extraordinary decision. In 1939, he was officially enlisted in the Royal Navy as Ordinary Seaman but was later promoted to Able Seaman Just Nuisance, which gave him free rail travel.

For the next few years, he became a mascot and morale booster, he lifted spirits wherever he went.

Just Nuisance was lovable but mischievous. His service record included him travelling without his pass, going AWOL, losing his collar, refusing to leave pubs, and getting into fights with other ship mascots. He even had all his bones removed for seven days after being caught sleeping in a petty officer’s bed.

 

 But by 1944, after an injury and worsening illness, his health sadly declined. On the 1^st of April 1944, he was put to sleep. He was buried with full military honours, including a gun salute and the playing of the Last Post.

Just Nuisance is remembered with affection.

Had you heard of Just Nuisance before, and do you think animals played an underrated role in boosting morale during wartime?

 

The Victorian Milliner: The Women Who Created Fashionable Hats and Bonnets

The Victorian Milliner: The Women Who Created Fashionable Hats and Bonnets

Today I want to continue our look into Victorian jobs. This time I want to take a look at the Victorian milliner.

A milliner was someone who designed, made, trimmed, and sold hats, bonnets, and other headwear, that were mainly for women. In Victorian Britain, hats often showed a person’s social status, wealth, and of course fashion sense.

The word milliner  originally referred to merchants who sold luxury goods that were imported from places like Milan. Gradually, it came to be more associated with hats and bonnets.

During the early Victorian period, bonnets had become very popular. They were elaborately decorated with ribbons, lace, silk flowers, feathers, and sometimes even beads or jewels. A milliner would start off with a basic bonnet or hat frame. They were  made from things like straw, buckram, or wire. They would then be carefully shaped and decorated with trims, all by hand. This needed amazing patience, skill, and a good eye for detail.

Many milliners were women and it was one of the more socially accepted jobs for Victorian women. There weren’t many jobs that were considered respectable for Victorian women. It was believed a woman’s proper place was in the home. Respectability was hugely important and was closely associated with being modest and “ladylike,” so jobs that involved physical labour or working with men were often frowned upon. Jobs like teaching, sewing, nursing, or domestic service were all seen as more suitable because they were more like traditional female roles. Poorer women though, often had to work in any role they could find, regardless of whether society approved.

 

Some milliners worked in small family businesses or even owned their own shops, but others were employed in city workshops. In large cities like London, fashion was huge. Wealthy customers expected the very latest fashions which could change quickly. Fashion magazines and high society strongly influenced what was en vogue. If a duchess or lady wore a particular style of hat the demand could rise overnight. Just like trends today, which can change like the wind and are often influenced by famous people. It seems that some things never change.

But behind the glamour was very hard work. Many milliners worked long hours, especially during busy seasons. Some of these young women started working as a milliner as an apprentice in their early teens. They learned how to sew, trim, shape, and about customer service. The working conditions were not great, they could be cramped with poor lighting.

There was also the pressure to keep demanding customers happy. Wealthy clients could be very particular, they wanted the finest materials, the most fashionable designs and they wanted high quality.

Later in the Victorian era into the Edwardian era larger hats became popular with increasingly dramatic decorations. Sadly, this growing demand for feathers also contributed to the hunting of birds for fashion.

 

You may have heard the phrase “mad as a hatter.” In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, some hat makers used mercury when making felt hats. Breathing in the fumes over time could make them ill. It could cause shaking, memory problems, mood changes, and strange behaviour. This is where the phrase “mad as a hatter” is believed to come from.

 

Do you think Victorian milliners were artists as much as they were tradeswomen?