Styles of the 1500's
Men of the 1500's wore many layers of outer garments, and their clothing was heavily padded. They put on linen shirts under tight-fitting upper garments called doublets. Over the doublet, they wore a jacket called a jerkin, which had a skirt that hung to between the waist and the knee. A knee-length gown with large sleeves came over the jerkin. Men also wore short, puffed breeches called upper stocks that were sewn to tight stockings called netherstocks.
Women's clothing was cut and sewn to fit tightly above the waist. During the first half of the 1500's, women wore dresses with low, square necklines and with skirts that propped out stiffly over petticoats. Many skirts were split in front to show elaborate underskirts. Both men's and women's garments were often slashed so that the fabric of garments worn underneath could be pulled through in small puffs.
The stiff and formal fashions of the Spanish court influenced styles throughout Europe during the late 1500's. Men wore stockings and either padded breeches called trunkhose or slimmer knee breeches. Padding in the doublet developed into the peasecod belly fashion, which had a pointed bulge over the abdomen. The wide skirts of women's dresses were supported by a device called a farthingale. One type of farthingale was an underskirt with a rigid frame made of whalebone, wire, or wood. The frame made the skirt stand out stiffly away from the body. Another kind of farthingale was a long, thick pillow that women tied around the waist under a dress. Both men and women wore fancy starched collars called ruffs.
Excerpt adapted from the "Clothing" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999