All Renaissance Fair lovers know the fun and excitement of attending a Renaissance-themed fair or festival. The decadent food, the unique music, and the old traditions bring joy and gaiety to everyone who experiences them. One of the best and well-known parts of the Renaissance era, however, is the clothing.
The best way to make Renaissance clothing is by purchasing your own fabric and leather, a needle and thread, corset buttoning clasps, and sewing patterns. After dying your materials with tea or coffee, you will be ready to stitch together your own custom Renaissance clothing.
Renaissance clothing came after the end of the Medieval Period, a dark period of devastation and plague. With the end of the Medieval Period came a new era of elegance and extravagance in fashion, with new clothing techniques adopted by both the wealthy and the poor. Read on to learn about how you can make your own Renaissance clothing in the traditional style of the era.
What is Renaissance Era Fashion?
Renaissance clothing, encompassing an entire era of clothing from the 14th through 17th centuries, included the:
- Baroque Era
- Beginning of the Georgian Era
- Elizabethan Era
Renaissance-era fashion is a style of clothing that arose after the Medieval Period in England. From 1450 to 1600, the popular clothing included:
- Long and loose skirts
- Adorned and bejeweled hair
- Tight-fitting, sleeveless jackets
- Stockings for both men and women
The Look of the Elizabethan Era
The Renaissance continued in England with the infamous Elizabethan Era from 1558-1603 and is considered a subcategory of Renaissance fashion under Queen Elizabeth I’s rule. The popular clothing of the Elizabethan Age included:
- Elaborate apparel
- Hoop skirts
- Low-cut and tight corsets
- Tape and satin ribbon
- Wide, ruffled collars for men and women
The fashion became much more extravagant for even the lowest class of English citizens. This reflected the times’ theatre, art, literature, and drama became popular favorite luxuries and pastimes.
From 1604 to 1682 marked the exit of true Renaissance-era of fashion.
The Way the Baroque Era Broke the Trends
The Baroque Era, actually beginning in Italy under the reign of Louis XIV, otherwise known as the Sun King, brought a much more bare quality to the current Renaissance fashions. Baroque Era fashion stepped further away from the Renaissance by including:
- Higher necklines
- Higher waists
- Loose-fitting gowns
- Loose-fitting jackets
- Minimal embroidery and embellishments
- Wide-brimmed hats
What the Women Wore
During the Renaissance Era, women’s clothing was incredibly distinct. From movies and history books to Halloween costumes and Renaissance Fair replications, women’s fashion from this time is one of the most replicated in the modern-day.
Women ages thirteen and older wore specific clothing that was dictated as both appropriate and fashionable. This clothing included:
- Gowns: Long Velvet, Cotton, Satin, and Silk gowns adorned with jewels and ribbons. These gowns were floor-length in order to cover the ankles for modesty but short enough to show off the shoes.
- Tight Fitting Bodice: Bodices were tight-fitting and hugged the waist. They sat under the corset in order to help tighten the midsection of the person who wore it.
- French Bonnet: A French Bonnet was a very popular type of headpiece during the Renaissance Era. It covered the top of the head and sometimes wrapped around the chin to be secured with a satin bow.
- Full Ankle-Length Skirt: Similar to the gowns, these skirts were made of satin, velvet, or cotton, depending on the wealth of the wearer. The skirts were often paired with embroidered and ruffled long-sleeved blouses and extended down to the floor, modestly covering the ankles.
- Exposed French-cut Neckline: This exposed style of neckline that created cleavage for the wearer was made popular during the Elizabethan Age of the Renaissance by Queen Elizabeth I. It involved cinching the waist as small as possible while wearing a very low cut corset which opened up at the chest.
- Loose Corset for the Lower Class: While the upper class wore decadent jewels, beautiful corsets, and tight-fitting waistcoats, the lower class tended to wear slightly looser clothing. Looser corsets made it easier for women in low-income families to do their work, which included:
- Caring for children
- Cleaning
- Cooking
- Polishing
- Sweeping
- Shifts: These were long shirt-dresses often made of loose, light cotton fabric. Shifts were worn similarly to blouses. They went under gowns and skirts as a protective layer of undergarment and were occasionally worn as nightdresses for sleeping.
- Knee-High Stockings: Knee-high stockings were held up with thin strings or with satin. They rose to either just above or just below the knee depending on the type of stocking and were usually sewn from soft, thick cotton.
- Warm Petticoats: Petticoats were very popular during the Renaissance era. They layered the skirts to make them look larger, causing the appearance of a smaller waist. Also, they created warmth for the wearer during the winter. Internal petticoats were made from cotton, while external petticoats were made of wool. The top layer was often made of velvet.
Renaissance Era Fashion for Men
Men had their own particular style of dress during the Renaissance-era that was just as distinct as the women’s clothing. While often sporting higher-cut necklines than women did, men’s clothing tended to be more revealing and tight fitting for the lower body. A fashionable men’s outfit included:
- Codpiece: A covering attached to the front of a man’s pants covered the pants’ front area. It was connected with a lace-up string.
- Collarless, Cuffless Shirt: A new style for men during the Renaissance was to remove the collars of their shirts and cut off their cuffs. This controversial style sometimes exposed the arms and made more room in the sleeves of tight jackets.
- Doublet: A doublet, or a tightly fitted jacket, was worn by men both casually and for festive parties. The doublet was often hip or waist length.
- Hose Leggings: Men wore tight hose as a fashion statement to showcase their calves and lower legs.
- Jerkin: A jerkin, or a sleeveless tailored vest, was worn over shirts and blouses. It was typically made of leather.
- Lace Collars and Cuffs: In lieu of collars and shirt cuffs, decorative lace collars and detached cuffs became the fashion trend for men of stature and royalty.
- Loose Blouse for the Lower Class: Men of the lower class would wear looser-fitting blouses rather than fancy tailored jackets so that they could farm and work more easily.
- Puffy Upper-Hose Trousers: Upper-hose trousers became the popular men’s pant to wear over hose leggings. Puffy and often white-colored, they laced up rather than zipped or buttoned.
Children’s Clothes During the Renaissance
During the Renaissance-era, children’s clothing was the most different from how it looks today. Rather than wearing cute and comfortable clothing that is easily washable, infants and young children wore baby dresses and non-stretch formal garments. These included:
- Breeches at age seven: At age seven, boys were put into small pants or breeches, and girls began wearing skirts, dresses, and small petticoats.
- Dresses during infancy: Until the age of seven, babies and young children wore dresses made of light cotton. These dresses had sleeves and were floor-length, often covered with buttons and lace adornments.
- Fancy hats at playtime: Children were allowed to wear bonnets and fancy velvet hats during playtime with their parents in the garden. Throughout the rest of the day, they remained with their nannies indoors.
- Mimicking adult fashion: Children’s Renaissance clothing was very similar to adult clothing. The main difference was the sizing and the absence of the codpiece from young boys’ trousers.
How to Make Original Renaissance Clothing by Hand
Renaissance clothing, while available to purchase at some online specialty retailers or antique vintage ateliers, can be extremely expensive. Rather than purchasing a Renaissance outfit for your next themed event, consider making your own.
When you decide that you want to make your very own Renaissance clothing, the most rewarding way to do it is by hand. Below are some tips and tricks to make sure your handmade Renaissance clothes come out perfectly.
The Best Fabric to Use
Since purchasing original antique Elizabethan-age fabric is not an option for clothes-making nowadays, it is important to choose the modern fabrics closest to their Renaissance descendants.
Any of the following fabrics and combinations can work for both men’s and women’s clothing:
- Cotton
- Silk Damask
- Silk Taffeta
- Velvet
- Wool Flannel
While any cotton and velvet can work, it is best to choose untreated organic cotton and crushed velvet if possible.
Colors of the Renaissance
When making your Renaissance clothing by hand, the colors you choose must reflect your garment’s authenticity. Both the color of your thread and your fabric are imperative to remaining true to Renaissance fashion. Appropriate colors for royalty and high nobility during the time period include:
- Black
- Crimson
- Gold
- Indigo Blue
- Pure White
- Purple
- Silver
- Violet
Peasants and lower class people, as well as servants, tended to wear:
- Gray
- Beige
- Off White
Depending on the status that you want your Renaissance clothing to portray, choosing a certain color will associate your garb with your place in a typical Renaissance class structure.
Finding Your Perfect Pattern
When preparing to hand-sew your own Renaissance clothes, a good pattern is imperative. While it is possible to make your own with a permanent black marker and some specific drawing paper, it is easier to purchase or download an existing pattern. This will ensure that your pattern has already been tested and is proven to produce accurate Renaissance Era clothing styles.
What You Need
- A hook and eye
- A leather purse and two leather belts
- An iron and ironing board
- Boiling water
- Extra strength undyed sewing thread
- Fifteen feet of undyed organic cotton or hemp fabric
- Half-inch thick elastic
- Optional zippers
- Patterns
- Pencil
- Rope
- Scissors
- Sewing pins and a sewing needle
- Teabags or coffee grounds
A Few Simple Steps
Follow these simple steps according to your pattern directions to begin hand-making your Renaissance clothing.
Step 1: Wash your machine washable fabric in a washing machine, and your hand-wash fabric by hand.
Step 2: If you have chosen to hand-dye your clothes, boil a large pot of water and color it with either dark tea leaves or coffee grounds.
Step 3: Soak your fabric in the dye water, again, if you have chosen to hand-dye your clothes.
Step 4: Lay the fabric to dry.
Step 5: Once the fabric is dry, lay out your pattern, and stencil it across the fabric you have chosen to use.
Step 6: Cut your pieces and create a pile of them on one part of your work station.
Step 7: Begin to sew according to your pattern, starting with the largest pieces.
Step 8: Hem and create edging for all your garments once all small pieces are sewn.
Step 9: Snip off any loose threads.
Step 10: Embellish with embroidery, iron-on lace, jewels, and more.
Step 11: Accessorize with hair ribbons, bonnets, or cuffs.
Step 12: Wear with layers, leather belts, and leather boots.
Upcycling Modern Clothes into Renaissance Clothing
Renaissance clothing is both rewarding and difficult to hand-make. If upcycling existing modern clothing from a thrift store, garage sale, or your own closet sounds easier to you, you’re right. Re-using old clothes is a great way to turn unwanted clothes into unique Renaissance clothing.
What You Need
- A floor-length skirt to embellish
- A leather purse to cut into leather strips
- A pair of leather or suede boots to wear with your outfit
- A pair of sharp scissors
- An extra-large button-up shirt to cut
- An extra-large polo shirt to cut
- An organic cotton or hemp jacket to cut the sleeves off of
- Boiling water to soak the fabric and dye in
- Four feet of cotton fabric to make a ruffle, cuff, or partial puff sleeve
- One or two additional floor-length skirts to wear as petticoats
- Rope to secure trousers, shoes, or corsets
- Teabags or coffee grounds to dye the fabric
- Two leather belts to cinch your jacket with
Shoes of the Renaissance
During the Renaissance, shoes were most often made of leather stripped from livestock such as cows, sheep, and sometimes even pigs. The leather, aged and treated by the village’s leather smith or cobbler, took over a month to prepare and stitch by hand. Leather shoes were worn by both the rich and the poor, though the wealthy also adorned their leather shoes with satin ribbons and bows. This was often done to show their status at court and to exemplify their wealth to others.
The characteristics of Renaissance footwear included:
- Laces and satin for the wealthy
- Leather
- Longer, pointer toes for the high-status court members
- Low cut on the foot
- Minimal bindings
- Slip-on
- Thick soles made of wood
While all wore leather shoes, not everyone could special order their own shoes from the shoe cobbler. The working class sometimes purchased second-hand shoes that they wore for upwards of 10 years, and some very poor families even had their children go without shoes.
Turning Old Clothes into Renaissance Clothes
Follow these simple steps to begin transforming your old and unwanted clothes into Renaissance clothing.
Step 1: Wash your machine-washable clothing in a washing machine, and your hand-wash items by hand.
Step 2: Try on your clothes and cut off the sleeves of your men’s shirt at the point where the shoulders meet the arms.
Step 3: Remove any contemporary buttons or zippers from your items.
Step 4: Cut the collar and the cuffs off of your shirt, ripping the seams for later use.
Step 5: Layer your skirts and put them on with your cut blouse tucked into them.
Step 6: Layer your second blouse over the cut blouse with a tight vest on top.
Step 7: Take off the clothes and embellish them with embroidery, jewels, or lace. This can be done with hand stitching, a sewing machine, or iron-on patches.
Step 8: Wear with layers, leather belts, and leather boots.
Patterns Make it Easier to Create your Renaissance Costume
Butterick B4571 Women’s Medieval Dress Renaissance Fair Costume Sewing Pattern, Sizes 14-20
Men’s Italian Renaissance Garments, C. 1420-1500 PatternMcCall’s P243 Sewing Pattern, Misses’ Renaissance Costumes, Size C (10-12-14)6888 Burda Mens English Renaissance Costume Sewing Pattern Sizes 36-50
How the People of the Renaissance Made Clothing
Contrary to how we obtain most of our clothing nowadays, people during the Renaissance used to make their own clothing by hand. Rather than going out to shops and stores to purchase pre-made clothing, women would have their husbands purchase spools of yarn and yards of undyed fabric or luxurious velvet to create their own dresses, shirts, pants, and even jackets.
This fabric and thread would then be hand-dyed using natural colors, tea, coffee, and boiling water.
Fashionable and high-class women occasionally have sewing circles where they embroidered their own special patterns into dresses, bonnets, skirts, and children’s clothing. The images they embroidered would include:
- Bees
- Birds
- Butterflies
- Family crests
- Flowers
- Horses
- Royal markings
- Woodland animals
Fabric Sourcing in the Renaissance Era
During the Renaissance Era, fabric was shipped by boat from Italy and France to England. It was not easily available, so fabric orders would be made months ahead of time by the wealthy nobility.
Dress shop keepers would also make fabric orders for less decadent fabrics that the public would later purchase. The fabrics that were ordered would include:
- Burlap
- Cotton
- Silk Damask
- Silk Taffeta
- Velvet
- Wool Flannel
How Was Renaissance Clothing Sized and Why?
During the Renaissance, it was important for the women to be dressed rather modestly and for the men to be dressed in fewer layers than the women. Women’s clothes tended to be oversized with long sleeves and long skirts, as well as petticoats and hoop skirts.
This hid their arms, legs, and ankles from sight. It also created the illusion of large hips and buttocks, which was a positive sign for childbearing in the Renaissance Age.
In contrast, women’s corsets were made to oppose the extra-large clothing by pulling tight to cinch their waists to unnaturally small sizes. This made the chest area look larger, which was also the desired look that signified better mothering potential to the other nobility.
For men, clothing was sized much differently than it is today. Tight socks, stockings, tights, and trousers outlined a man’s legs’ curves to show off his muscles. Blouses were long enough to cover the hips but short enough that they did not obscure the thighs. Men wore codpieces that were a few sizes too large as well as long, draping sleeves.
The jackets and vests were tight to draw attention to the shoulders and legs. This was said to create the illusion of being taller and more muscular, which made them out to be more successful and desirable leaders.
Sumptuary Statutes and Renaissance Clothing
Sumptuary Statutes were laws and rules that regulated what people were allowed to do. These laws included regulation on:
- How people were allowed to dress
- How they were to spend their money
- What colors people were allowed to wear
- What luxuries were deemed appropriate
- What people could buy
This affected Renaissance clothing trends because, based on moral grounds, it meant that peasants, royalty, and nobility all had to dress in specific ways. In order to save money and limit extravagance, these rules were put into place with different severity based on class structure.
Low-income families were required to designate themselves as less fortunate with the unembellished and bland colors they wore, while those more fortunate were forced to wear velvet and silk to inform others of their status at court. The highest royalty wore the most beautiful and expensive garments, often in deep red or purple hues, all due to the Elizabethan queen’s desires.
The Beauty of Renaissance Clothing
Renaissance clothing is both intriguing and unique. It has a rich history that spans throughout centuries, with ties to infamous queens and leaders such as Queen Elizabeth I and the King of Spain.
This period reflected some of the most distinct clothing trends of all time, including:
- Handmade leather shoes
- Huge petticoats
- Long dresses
- Low-cut corsets
- Men in tights
- Velvet coats
- Vests
Making your own Renaissance clothing, however, does not have to be restricted to royalty. With enough dedication, anyone can make their own beautiful Renaissance garments to wear at home, at the fair, or for a costume party.
Whether you make your Renaissance clothing as accurately as possible by hand or choose to upcycle some old worn-out clothing into amazing Renaissance pieces, carefully following a few simple steps can ensure your success.
Sources
http://www.renaissancetailor.com/demos_farthingale.htm
https://bellatory.com/clothing/How-to-Put-Together-a-Renaissance-Outfit
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/overview.html