The Middle Ages Fashion
(400-1500)
Background
The Black Death (Black Plague) was going on during this time. It was the most threating epidemic of the European Middle Ages. It also weakend the feudal system and church of Europe, which reduced the economic and political power.
The First Crusade (1096-1099A.D) took place during the Middle Ages. This was when the religious people went on pilgrimages to visit sacred Biblical sites. Eventually, crusaders take the city of Jerusalem.
Spinning Wheel
Although the spinning wheel wasn't invented in the Middle Ages, it had a dramatic increase in use. This invintion made clothing alot easier to be made and made the process go a little faster. This affected the fashion industry because it opened up new opprotunities to create new clothes.
Styles From the Middle Ages
Men
Typically wore braise and undergarments similar to underpants and a t-shirt.
Women
Wore an under tynic covered by a cape or mantle; married women covered their hair with a veil.
Children
Same as adults. Depends on gender. Footwear consisted of soft leather "turn-shoes" was warm with hose sewn from fabric.
Important Events
The start of the Renaissance influenced fashion because that was when women wore big dresses and men wore differnt types of hats. The Renaissance had a very distinct type of clothing.
Different rulers set the fashion for everyone during this time period, throughout the Western European empires. Methods such as slashing and puffing and stuffing sleeves and shoulders to enlarge the figure became widly popular. Even womens clothing featured more fur and larger sleeves.