Figure 1.--This fresco depicts a historical scene, St. Augustine leaving Rome for Milan. Not the Roman skyline in the background. The fresco was painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1463, the year Pope Pius II began building the new St. Peters. Note although this is a historical scene that the characters are depicted in contemporary clothes. Thus we have a wonderful illustration of how Italian men and youths dressed in the mid 15th century.

The Renaisance began in Italy and thus the increasingly accurate depictions and the painting of secular scenes appears earlier in Italy than any where else in Europe. Although generally classified by most scholars as the last century of the medieval era, the 14th century is generally seen as the beginning of the Renaissance and the beginning of a modern state of mind. "Renaissance" means "rebirth" in French and describes the cultural and economic changes that occurred in Europe beginning in the 14th century. The precise time is difficlt to set and of course varied accross Europe. The Renaissance began at Firenze around 1300 and gradually spread north. Even so, the indicators that constitute the Renaissance did not reach other areas of Europe 1-2 centuries. It was during the Renaissance that Europe emerged from the Feudal System of the Middle Ages. The stagnant Medieval economy began to expand. The Renaissance was not just a period of economic growth. It was an age of intense cultural ferment. Enormous changes began in artistic, social, scientific, and political endevours. Perhaps of greatest importance was that Europeans began to develop a radically different self image as they moved from a God-centered to a more humanistic outlook. Mmen wore large, fitted waistcoats underneath pleated overcoats called giornea. They had wide, puffy mutton sleeves. We see a lot of luxurious brocade. Men wore headwar, incliding caps berets-likr garments. Men often wore an overcoat-like garment -- the cioppa. It had a lininbg done in different color than the actual garment fabric. This has been described as, a defining feature of Italian Renaissance fashion. Men wore hose looking like tights which had the affect of emphasized their legs and lower bodies. Both genders wore outer clothes with detachable sleeves. Sashed sleeves done in different designs were a fashionabl style. Wealthy people a variety of fashionable sleeves to go with overcoats and dresses. The Renaissance brought with it an increasing interest in fashion. Styles changed very slowly suring the medieval era. We see faster changes with the Renaissance an important ocietal views toward clothing and appearance. Men moved awat from the shapeles medevil styles ro more fitted clothes that showed off their body shape. And merchants behan to take advantage of the growing market. They created accessories designed to compliment the new look and garmens, incllding hats, hairnets, bags, and gloves. Mirrors for three millennia were polished metal surfances. Venice necame a center of quality glass wear. Glass mirrors with a tin-mercury amalgam became one of their products (16th century). They were veryry expensive, but the much improved image further inreased interest in an individul'd self-image and fashion. It was not only persoanl mirroes, mirrors became used in interor design.

The 14th Century

Renasiance clothing had many similarities, but there definite differences over time. Italy was the first country to adopt many of the destinctive styles. It took time for the Renaissance to move north and east. This was impeded by the expansion of the Ottoman Turks who entered the Balkans. The Mongols invaded the lands of Kievan Rus (13th century), Moscow was an unimportant trading outpost in the north. Although The Mongols burned down and pillaged Mosco, they were less active than in he south. The remore forsted north was nmore of a barrier. But the morthern location and the Mongols abd the Khantes that replved then were a barrier to the Rrenaissance. Muscovy began to lead the Rus resistabce to the Khanatesm but also resisted the Renasissance. . The Muslim Middle East tended to be more hospitable to learning and cultural advanced than Christian --Europe. This begam ro change with the Renaissance.

The 15th Century

The Ottomans finally cinquered Constantinole and (1452) and moved further untio the Balkans. The fresco here depicts a historical scene, St. Augustine leaving Rome for Milan (figurec1). Note the Roman skyline in the background. The fresco was painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1463, the year Pope Pius II began building the new St. Peters. Note although this is a historical scene that the characters are depicted in contemporary clothes. Thus we have a wonderful illustration of how Italian men and youths dressed in the mid 15th century. Notice that the older men are wearing dress-like rones, but cut shorter robes than in earlier decades. Here we see the youth wearing a kilt/skirt rather than trunk hose. Younger men hemlines in the 15th century ended above the knee to show off two-tone hose. As the period advanced, men’s hemlines ascended higher and higher up stockinged legs. We see a wide range of colors amongthevwell to do who could afford fashionable clothing. Courtiers wear red, blue, gold, pink, or green belted tunics. We note red circle-brimmed caps.

The 16th Century

Renaissance clothing by the 16th century they had become wide spread across Euope ar lest Wesrern Europe. (Much of southeastern Europw as contrimmed by the Ottoman sor Muslim Knates. The far eastern area were contrlled bt the Russians which were unaffected by the Renaissance. Dress-like robes contunued to be worn by older men. Theses robes have not entirely dissapeared, we still see them see un academic robes. Many prestigious universities have their origins during this poeriod. There ere no dedicated childrens clothes, excepor for very young children. From a very early age, children comntinued to be dressed like minature adults. Headwear was the garment that varied the most over time. We see mostly soft headwear, styles similar to what we see in Tudor England. The primary top garments were a shirt and doublet The primary bottom garments were the trunk hose annd hose. This major Renaissance combinaton was linnen shirt, doublet, trunk-hose/breeches, and hose appeared with the Renaisance . The basic combination of hose for the lower legs and breeches for the waist and upper legs (13th centuries), but stylin, cut, and colors varied overtiime. A major change in thev 16th century was in the color. The bright colors seen in the 14th-15th centuries were less common. We see more muted colors. This was the Spanish influenve in which blacl was fashionable. (Black was an extremly diffucult dye to profuce and thus costlky dye.) The shirt was normally done in linnen. Linnen could be produced in Europe. Cotton at the time was a luxury fabric. The other principal top garment was the doublet (jupe, jupon, gipon, paltok, gambeson, and pourpoint). This was a close-fitting outer garment done with and without sleeves. Sometimes doublet skirts, usually short lengths not extending much below the waistline. The doublet was done many forms, basically as a vest or jacket. The doublet might be slasjed and padded and commonly matched with the trunk-hose. Trunk-hose (upper-stocks) were the baggy and usually slashed and padded short breeches worn over the leg hose. They were essentially bag-like short pants that billow out from the waist--one fashion historian calls them pumpkin breeches. Another fashioin expert licken them to wearing two baloons. They varried in lngth ovr time. Many were verty short, emdong at the upper thigh. Other might extend tos the knee. They first appeared (mid-16th century and continued to be fashionable (early 17th bcentury). They would evolve into pantalooms and knee breeches. The Dutch would call them knickerbockers. The hose were made from a loosely woven fabric. They were cut on the bias (diagonally). They were made to fit snugly so as to show off the shape and mussles of the legs. This was in sharp contrast to womem whose leggs were hidden behind dresses which fell to he floor.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: May 14, 2004
Last updated: 12:06 PM 4/26/2021