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English Costume

by Calthrop Dion Clayton

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ENGLISH COSTUME

ENGLISH COSTUME
PAINTED & DESCRIBED
BY DION CLAYTON
CALTHROP · PUBLISHED
BY ADAM & CHARLES
BLACK · LONDON · MCMVII

Published in four volumes during 1906.

Published in one volume, April, 1907.

AGENTS

AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD. 70 BOND STREET, TORONTO INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD. MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY 309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA

A MAN OF THE TIME OF GEORGE IV. (1820-1830)

Here you see the coat which we now wear, slightly altered, in our evening dress. It came into fashion, with this form of top-boots, in 1799, and was called a Jean-de-Bry. Notice the commencement of the whisker fashion.

INTRODUCTION

The world, if we choose to see it so, is a complicated picture of people dressing and undressing. The history of the world is composed of the chat of a little band of tailors seated cross-legged on their boards; they gossip across the centuries, feeling, as they should, very busy and important. Someone made the coat of many colours for Joseph, another cut into material for Elijah’s mantle.

Baldwin, from his stall on the site of the great battle, has only to stretch his neck round to nod to the tailor who made the toga for Julius Cæsar; has only to lean forward to smile to Pasquino, the wittiest of tailors.

John Pepys, the tailor, gossips with his neighbour who cut that jackanapes coat with silver buttons so proudly worn by Samuel Pepys, his son. Mr. Schweitzer, who cut Beau Brummell’s coat, talks to Mr. Meyer, who shaped his pantaloons. Our world is full of the sound of scissors, the clipping of which, with the gossiping tongues, drown the grander voices of history.

As you will see, I have devoted myself entirely to civil costume—that is, the clothes a man or a woman would wear from choice, and not by reason of an appointment to some ecclesiastical post, or to a military calling, or to the Bar, or the Bench. Such clothes are but symbols of their trades and professions, and have been dealt with by persons who specialize in those professions.

I have taken the date of the Conquest as my starting-point, and from that date—a very simple period of clothes—I have followed the changes of the garments reign by reign, fold by fold, button by button, until we arrive quite smoothly at Beau Brummell, the inventor of modern clothes, the prophet of cleanliness.

I have taken considerable pains to trace the influence of one garment upon its successor, to reduce the wardrobe for each reign down to its simplest cuts and folds, so that the reader may follow quite easily the passage of the coat from its birth to its ripe age, and by this means may not only know the clothes of one time, but the reasons for those garments. To the best of my knowledge, such a thing has never been done before; most works on dress try to include the world from Adam to Charles Dickens, lump a century into a page, and dismiss the ancient Egyptians in a couple of colour plates.

So many young gentlemen have blown away their patrimony on feathers and tobacco that it is necessary for us to confine ourselves to certain gentlemen and ladies in our own country. A knowledge of history is essential to the study of mankind, and a knowledge of history is never perfect without a knowledge of the clothes with which to dress it.

A man, in a sense, belongs to his clothes; they are so much a part of him that, to take him seriously, one must know how he walked about, in what habit, with what air.

I am compelled to speak strongly of my own work because I believe in it, and I feel that the series of paintings in these volumes are really a valuable addition to English history. To be modest is often to be excessively vain, and, having made an exhaustive study of my subject from my own point of view, I do not feel called upon to hide my knowledge under a bushel. Of course, I do not suggest that the ordinary cultured man should acquire the same amount of knowledge as a painter, or a writer of historical subjects, or an actor, but he should understand the clothes of his own people, and be able to visualize any date in which he may be interested.

One half of the people who talk glibly of Beau Brummell have but half an idea when he lived, and no idea that, for example, he wore whiskers. Hamlet they can conjure up, but would have some difficulty in recognising Shakespeare, because most portraits of him are but head and shoulders. Napoleon has stamped himself on men’s minds very largely through the medium of a certain form of hat, a lock of hair, and a gray coat. In future years an orchid will be remembered as an emblem.

I have arranged, as far as it is possible, that each plate shall show the emblem or distinguishing mark of the reign it illustrates, so that the continuity of costume shall be remembered by the arresting notes.

As the fig-leaf identifies Adam, so may the chaperon twisted into a cockscomb mark Richard II. As the curled and scented hair of Alcibiades occurs to our mind, so shall Beau Nash manage his clouded cane. Elizabeth shall be helped to the memory by her Piccadilly ruff; square Henry VIII. by his broad-toed shoes and his little flat cap; Anne Boleyn by her black satin nightdress; James be called up as padded trucks; Maximilian as puffs and slashes; D’Orsay by the curve of his hat; Tennyson as a dingy brigand; Gladstone as a collar; and even more recent examples, as the Whistlerian lock and the Burns blue suit.

And what romantic incidents may we not hang upon our clothes-line! The cloak of Samuel Pepys (‘Dapper Dick,’ as he signed himself to a certain lady) sheltering four ladies from the rain; Sir Walter Raleigh spreading his cloak over the mud to protect the shoes of that great humorist Elizabeth (I never think of her apart from the saying, ‘Ginger for pluck’); Mary, Queen of Scots, ordering false attires of hair during her captivity—all these scenes clinched into reality by the knowledge of the dress proper to them.

And what are we doing to help modern history—the picture of our own times—that it may look beautiful in the ages to come? I cannot answer you that.

Some chapters of this work have appeared in the Connoisseur, and I have to thank the editor for his courtesy in allowing me to reproduce them.

I must also thank Mr. Pownall for his help in the

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early stages of my labours.

One thing more I must add: I do not wish this book to go forth and be received with that frigid politeness which usually welcomes a history to the shelves of the bookcase, there to remain unread. The book is intended to be read, and is not wrapped up in grandiose phrases and a great wind about nothing; I would wish to be thought more friendly than the antiquarian and more truthful than the historian, and so have endeavoured to show, in addition to the body of the clothes, some little of their soul.

DION CLAYTON CALTHROP.

PAGE William the First 1 William the Second 10 Henry the First 21 Stephen 29 Henry the Second 46 Richard the First 55 John 62 Henry the Third 67 Edward the First 81 Edward the Second 92 Edward the Third 102 Richard the Second 122 The End of the Fourteenth Century 141 Henry the Fourth 152 Henry the Fifth 161 Henry the Sixth 176 Edward the Fourth 198 Edward the Fifth 213 Richard the Third 213 Henry the Seventh 223 Henry the Eighth 247 Edward the Sixth 274 Mary 283 Elizabeth 291 James the First 325 Charles the First 341 The Cromwells 359 Charles the Second 365 James the Second 378 William and Mary 383 Queen Anne 395 George the First 406 George

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the Second 414 George the Third 432 George the Fourth 440

Illustrations in Colour

1. A Man of the Time of George IV. 1820-1830 Frontispiece FACING PAGE 2. A Man of the Time of William I. 1066-1087 2 3. A Woman of the Time of William I. ” 8 4. A Man of the Time of William II. 1087-1100 10 5. A Woman of the Time of William II. ” 16 6. A Man of the Time of Henry I. 1100-1135 22 7. A Child of the Time of Henry I. ” 24 8. A Woman of the Time of Henry I. ” 26 9. A Man of the Time of Stephen 1135-1154 30 10. A Woman of the Time of Stephen ” 38 11. A Man of the Time of Henry II. 1154-1189 46 12. A Woman of the Time of Henry II. ” 52 13. A Man of the Time of Richard I. 1189-1199 56 14. A Woman of the Time of Richard I. ” 60 15. A Man of the Time of John 1199-1216 62 16. A Woman of the Time of John ” 66 17. A Man of the Time of Henry III. 1216-1272 68 18. A Woman of the Time of Henry III. ” 74 19. A Peasant of Early England 78 20. A Man and Woman of the Time of Edward I. 1272-1307 88 21. A Man and Woman of the Time of Edward II. 1307-1327 96 22. A Man of the Time of Edward III. 1327-1377 112 23. A Woman of the Time of Edward III. ” 120 24. A Man of the Time of Richard II. 1377-1399 128 25. A Woman of the Time of Richard II. ”

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href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@33020@[email protected]#pl25" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">136 26. A Man and Woman of the Time of Henry IV. 1399-1413 152 27. A Man of the Time of Henry V. 1413-1422 164 28. A Woman of the Time of Henry V. ” 172 29. A Man of the Time of Henry VI. 1422-1461 180 30. A Woman of the Time of Henry VI. ” 192 31. A Man of the Time of Edward IV. 1461-1483 200 32. A Woman of the Time of Edward IV. ” 208 33. A Man of the Time of Richard III. 1483-1485 216 34. A Woman of the Time of Richard III. ” 220 35. A Man of the Time of Henry VII. 1485-1509 226 36. A Woman of the Time of Henry VII. ” 242 37. A Man of the Time of Henry VIII. 1509-1547 250 38. A Man of the Time of Henry VIII. ” 256 39. A Woman of the Time of Henry VIII. ” 258 40. A Woman of the Time of Henry VIII. ” 266 41. A Man and Woman of the Time of Edward VI. 1547-1553 278 42. A Man of the Time of Mary 1553-1558 286 43. A Woman of the Time of Mary ” 290 44. A Man of the Time of Elizabeth 1558-1603 298 45. A Woman of the Time of Elizabeth ” 306 46. A Woman of the Time of Elizabeth ” 314 47. A Man of the Time of James I. 1603-1625 330 48. A Woman of the Time of James I. ” 338 49. A Man of the Time of Charles I. 1625-1649 346 50. A Woman of the Time of Charles I. ” 354 51. A Cromwellian Man 1649-1660 360 52. A Woman of the Time of the Cromwells ” 362 53. A Woman of the Time of the Cromwells ”

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class="tdrb">364 54. A Man of the Time of Charles II. 1660-1685 366 55. A Man of the Time of Charles II. ” 368 56. A Woman of the Time of Charles II. ” 372 57. A Man of the Time of James II. 1685-1689 378 58. A Woman of the Time of James II. ” 380 59. A Man of the Time of William and Mary 1689-1702 384 60. A Woman of the Time of William and Mary ” 392 61. A Man of the Time of Queen Anne 1702-1714 396 62. A Woman of the Time of Queen Anne ” 400 63. A Man of the Time of George I. 1714-1727 408 64. A Woman of the Time of George I. ” 412 65. A Man of the Time of George II. 1727-1760 416 66. A Woman of the Time of George II. ” 424 67. A Man of the Time of George III. 1760-1820 432 68. A Woman of the Time of George III. ” 434 69. A Man of the Time of George III. 1760-1820 436 70. A Woman of the Time of George III. ” 438

Illustrations in Black and White

FACING PAGE A Series of Thirty-two Half-tone Reproductions of Engravings by Hollar 358 A Series of Sixty Half-tone Reproductions of Wash Drawings by the Dightons—Father and Son—and by the Author 440 Numerous Line Drawings by the Author throughout the Text.

WILLIAM THE FIRST

Reigned twenty-one years: 1066-1087.

Born 1027. Married, 1053, Matilda of Flanders.

THE MEN

Why France should always give the lead in the matter of dress is a nice point in sartorial morality—a morality which holds that it takes nine tailors to make a man and but one milliner to break him, a code, in fact, with which this book will often have to deal.

Sartorially, then, we commence with the 14th of October, 1066, upon which day, fatal to the fashions of the country, the flag of King Harold, sumptuously woven and embroidered in gold, bearing the figure of a man fighting, studded with precious stones, was captured.

William, of Norse blood and pirate traditions, landed in England, and brought with him bloodshed, devastation, new laws, new customs, and new fashions.

Principal among these last was the method of shaving the hair at the back of the head, which fashion speedily died out by reason of the parlous times and the haste of war, besides the utter absurdity of the idea. Fashion, however, has no sense of the ridiculous, and soon replaced the one folly by some other extravagance.

William I. found the Saxons very plainly dressed, and he did little to alter the masculine mode.

He found the Saxon ladies to be as excellent at embroidery as were their Norman sisters, and in such times the spindle side was content to sit patiently at home weaving while the men were abroad ravaging the country.

William was not of the stuff of dandies. No man could draw his

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bow; he helped with his own hands to clear the snowdrift on the march to Chester. Stark and fierce he was, loving the solitudes of the woods and the sight of hart and hind.

A MAN OF THE TIME OF WILLIAM I. (1066-1087)

Cloak buckled at the shoulder. Leather thongs crossed on his legs. Shoes of leather. Tunic fitting to his body like a jersey.

When some kind of order was restored in England, many of the Saxons who had fled the country and gone to Constantinople came back, bringing with them the Oriental idea of dress. The Jews came with Eastern merchandise into England, and brought rich-coloured stuffs, and as these spread through the country by slow degrees, there came a gradual change in colour and material, and finer stuffs replaced the old homespun garments.

The Jews were at this time very eminent as silk manufacturers and makers of purple cloth. The Britons had been very famous for their dyed woollen stuffs. Boadicea is said to have worn a tunic of chequered stuff, which was in all probability rather of the nature of Scotch plaids.

The tunics worn by the men of this time were, roughly speaking, of two kinds: those that fitted close to the body, and those that hung loose, being gathered into the waist by a band. The close-fitting tunic was in the form of a knitted jersey, with skirts reaching to the knee; it was open on either side to the hips, and fell from the hips in loose folds. The neck was slit open four or five inches, and had an edging of embroidery, and the sleeves were wide, and reached just below the elbows. These also had an edging of embroidery, or a band different in colour to the rest of the tunic.

The other form of tunic was made exactly in shape like the modern shirt, except that the neck opening was smaller. It was loose and easy, with wide sleeves to the elbow, and was gathered in at the waist by a band of stuff or leather.

The skirts of the tunics were cut square or V-shaped in front and behind. There were also tunics similar in shape to either of those mentioned, except that the skirts were very short, and were tucked into wide, short breeches which reached to the knee, or into the trousers which men wore.

Under this tunic was a plain shirt, loosely fitting, the sleeves tight and wrinkled over the wrist, the neck showing above the opening of the tunic. This shirt was generally white, and the opening at the neck was sometimes stitched with coloured or black wool.

Upon the legs they wore neat-fitting drawers of wool or cloth, dyed or of natural colour, or loose trousers of the same materials, sometimes worn loose, but more generally bound round just above the knee and at the ankle.

They wore woollen socks, and for footgear they wore shoes of skin and leather, and boots of soft leather shaped naturally to the foot and strapped or buckled across the instep. The tops of the boots were sometimes ornamented with coloured bands.

The cloak worn was semicircular in shape, with or without a small semicircle cut out at the neck. It was fastened over the right shoulder or in the centre by means of a large round or square brooch, or it was held in place by means of a metal ring or a stuff loop through which the cloak was pushed; or it was tied by two cords sewn on to the right side of the cloak, which cords took a bunch of the stuff into a knot and so held it, the ends of the cords having tags of metal or plain ornaments.

One may see the very same make and fashion of tunic as the Normans wore under their armour being worn to-day by the Dervishes in Lower Egypt—a coarse wool tunic, well padded, made in the form of tunic and short drawers in one piece, the wide sleeves reaching just below the elbow.

The hats and caps of these men were of the most simple form—plain round-topped skull-caps, flat caps close to the head without a brim, and a hat with a peak like the helmet.

Hoods, of course, were worn during the winter, made very close to the head, and they were also worn under the helmets.

Thus in such a guise may we picture the Norman lord at home, eating his meat with his fingers, his feet in loose skin shoes tied with thongs, his legs in loose trousers bound with crossed garters, his tunic open at the neck showing the white edge of his shirt, his face clean-shaven, and his hair neatly cropped.