Simple Renaissance Faire Costumes

Renaissance Clothing for Men and Women

Renaissance Fair season is coming up and it is time to start thinking about that perfect Renaissance Faire costume. Finding a costume can be as complex or simple as you desire. Of course, if you want a historically accurate Renaissance costume, then your search will be more complex as you delve through history to discover the subtleties of Renaissance clothing. On the other hand, if you just want to “look the part” without too much research, expense, or attention to accuracy, then finding a costume will be relatively simple. Putting together a simple costume is as easy as visiting the second hand store, finding an online costume store, or buying and making a pattern from McCalls (for example).

Renaissance Costumes for Men
For a shirt, wear a basic tunic falling to mid-thigh. Tunics slit and/or laced up beneath the throat provide extra style. Sleeves may be puffy, like that pictured, elbow length, or non-existent. Material can be cotton or linen, or another natural looking fabric. Although bright colors were worn during the Renaissance, your simplest choice will be the solid, subdued versions of cream, olive, brown, blue, burgundy, grey, black, or red. Wear a brown or black belt loosely around the hips over the tunic.

Some people are quite pleased to leave their costuming efforts with a tunic and just wear a pair of jeans for pants. This would indeed be simple. If, however, you are looking for a more complete costume, then wear basic, baggy pants made of cotton or linen. The pants can have an elastic (non-existent during the Renaissance period) or drawstring waist. Again, use solid, subdued colors like black or brown.


Wear solid, brown or black colored shoes. Accessorize by attaching a drinking mug or money pouch onto your belt. Though hats were common articles of Renaissance clothing, one is not required for the basic Renaissance costume. Overall, the basic Renaissance costume for men is pretty comfortable.

Renaissance Costumes for Women
A simple costume for women traditionally begins with a white chemise or smock usually mid-thigh or mid-calf length with billowing sleeves to the wrist or elbow. However, given the realities of a hot fair day, some people choose to wear a simple, white tank top. It is optional, although common, to see a chemise with an elastic or drawstring neckline drawn down off the shoulders and resting right above the bicep. Material can be linen, cotton, or another natural looking fabric.

At this point, there is a wide variety of choices concerning skirt and bodice combinations. The simplest is to wear a full-length skirt with attached sleeveless bodice over the chemise. The bodice laces up the front, side, or back through eyelets and is similar to a vest. It can be as low cut as desired. A square neckline is common. Material can be cotton, linen, or any natural looking fabric. Like with men’s clothing the simplest color choices are solid versions of olive, brown, blue, burgundy, black, or red. For additional styling, wear two full-length skirts of different colors with the top skirt tucked up on one side to show the underskirt. Another option is for the full-length skirt to have a slit down the front to show the chemise underneath. In this case, be sure to wear a full-length chemise. The bodice and skirt colors can be different if desired.

Solid colored shoes are good, although with the full-length skirt, they probably will not show much.

So there you have it, two simple Renaissance faire costumes. They are not necessary authentic, but they are close enough for fitting in and looking the part. In addition, they are fairly comfortable and with a creative visit to the second hand store, not too expensive to assemble. Thank you for reading this post about simple Renaissance Faire costumes!

Tips for Renaissance Clothing Research

Finding out what historically accurate Renaissance clothing looks like can be a bit difficult. There are thousands of resources available on the internet and no doubt thousands of books on the subject as well. Knowing which of these resources are accurate can be difficult. This post includes some things I have learned while trying to find information about clothing worn during the Renaissance period.

#1: Primary sources are always most important. These sources are first hand accounts by the people actually living during the period. Look at artwork, sculptures, and effigies created during the Renaissance period to see what people of the time were wearing. (1) Even original writings may refer to clothing, if you can decipher them. Keep in mind that artists may have added fantasy elements to the costumes their subjects were wearing. Thus, not all artwork will show historically accurate Renaissance clothing as it was being worn at the time. Keep in mind that the color of the clothing in artwork may not accurately reflect the actual color of the clothing worn. For example, Amy Butler Greenfield notes in her book, A Perfect Red, “Peasants sometimes appear brightly dressed in medieval and Renaissance works of art, such as the duc de Berry’s lavish Très Riches Heures. This is less a reflection of peasant wardrobes than of the fact that wealthy patrons could afford precious pigments and expected their artists to use them.”(pg 9)

So how does a person know whether an artist’s renderings are accurate? By looking at other paintings during that time period it is possible to see the trends in clothing worn. So if a particular style is depicted multiple times by different artists, then it seems more likely that it is accurate. Keep in mind information about colors, status, and social traditions.

Also, some knowledge of a particular artist is useful. Knowing the country and city where the artist worked and grew up may provide information about the elements and style of clothing in a geographic region. For example, say you want to know what men wore in the early 1500s in Florence, Italy. Then look at pictures painted by artists working in Florence, Italy in the early 1500s. In addition, knowing whether the artist frequently indulged in fantastical imaginings and depictions will indicate the trustworthiness of the clothing depicted.

Now the question arises of where to find and view these primary sources. The library is always a good place to start. Search in art history books and magazines, books about museum collections, and books about the Renaissance. They usually feature pictures of artwork completed during the Renaissance and thus show Renaissance clothing. Period artwork can also be viewed on the internet. Search for Renaissance art, English Renaissance art, or whatever area strikes your fancy. Searching for websites about Renaissance clothing will also result in references to period artwork.

#2: I’ve also found secondary sources interpreting the primary sources to be very useful. The reason is that once I started looking at the primary sources, I still didn’t really know what I was seeing. Are the people depicted upper class or lower class? How are their clothes put together? Is it a summer or winter fashion? Is it everyday clothing or party clothing? Interpretations are always useful. For example, in 1510 Vittore Carpaccio painted a picture called Two Venetian Ladies on Terrace. When I first looked at this picture I thought the sleeves were made of puffy white fabric sewn to the darker patterned upper fabric. It wasn’t until a week later when I actually saw a present-day renaissance costume showing the sleeves (http://www.festiveattyre.com/gallery/ghirlandaio/index.html) did I realize that the puffy white fabric is the separate underclothing or chemise and that the darker patterned sleeves were tied over the chemise. Suddenly, references about detachable sleeves that I had vaguely comprehended earlier in other secondary sources made perfect sense. What gives me confidence about the costume’s accuracy at festiveattyre.com is how the Renaissance paintings from which the dress is designed are shown as well. A good secondary source will refer back to the primary source from which assumptions are drawn.

Evaluating the accuracy of secondary sources can be interesting. One method of evaluation is to review the opinions of other people about a source, while presuming in a hopeful manner that they know what they are talking about. For example, many books on the subject of Renaissance clothing have been reviewed by consumers at amazon.com. I would be inclined to trust most of the information in a book with twenty opinions giving the book a top rating over a book with three mediocre opinion ratings. Also, popular books that are referred to by multiple costuming sources as accurate increases my perceived value of the historical accuracy of those particular books.

The websites for re-enactment organizations, like that of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (www.sca.org), contain links to pages about Renaissance clothing and other historical costumes. A source referred to by the SCA gives me greater confidence in the accuracy of the information. As with all research, viewing a large variety of sources will improve the researcher’s ability to evaluate information accuracy.

Secondary sources are pretty easy to find. Again, go to the library and look for Renaissance clothing, historical clothing, and historical costumes. Run an internet search on the same key words. If you are looking for a particular type of clothing, then run a search on that topic specifically.

That’s all for now and as always – thank you for visiting my blog about Renaissance clothing.

Notes:

(1) In this case an effigy is the sculpted likeness of a person placed on the top of his or her grave.

Sources:

Amy Butler Greenfield A Perfect Red (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005).

Renaissance Clothing Defined

Recently, I became interested in Renaissance clothing. However, I suffered some confusion about what exactly makes an article of clothing “Renaissance.” For example, the Renaissance Fair (or Faire) that I was familiar with seemed centered around England. Yet, the Renaissance was from Italy, so what country does the clothing come from? Also, if I wanted to look up pictures of the clothing, or purchase clothing, then what time period should I research? This brief post includes general information I have found about these matters.

From what I have learned so far, when people talk about Renaissance clothing they are generally referring to the clothing worn by Europeans during the Renaissance Period. The Renaissance Period took place from roughly the mid-1300s through the 1500s, depending on the country. In England, the Renaissance lasted until around the mid-1600s. This historical period, which started in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, was characterized by a “humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature, and learning.”[1] Perhaps, however, it is inaccurate to refer to the Renaissance as a “period.” In the words of historian Will Durant, “The Renaissance was not a period in time but a mode of life and thought moving from Italy through Europe with the course of commerce, war, and ideas.”[2] Renaissance clothes certainly fit into the definition of the Renaissance as “a mode of life and thought.”

During the Renaissance, clothing was much more than a physical covering for the body. It was also symbolic. Clothing was used to establish social status and reinforce the hierarchy of upper class royalty and nobles over lower class commoners. Upper class nobility were able to afford the latest fashions and most expensive materials. The lower classes mimicked upper class styles. In Germany, when lower class styles became too similar to upper class styles, laws were passed to limit the types of clothes lower classes were allowed to wear.[3]

Obviously, a wide range of clothing styles can be classified as belonging to the Renaissance. The time period covered is several centuries long. Styles varied from country to country. Italy, Germany, France, and England all had their regional differences. Plus, styles, material, and color varied according to the social status of the wearer.

Today, people dress in Renaissance clothing for a variety of reason. Perhaps it is Halloween or a costume party. Another common activity is visiting one of the Renaissance Faires which take place during the summer months. Although visitors to faires can wear anything they please, faire workers wear clothing that is “typical of the late Elizabethan period.”[4] This period occurred in the later part of the Renaissance during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign in England, 1558 – 1603.

Various Renaissance reenactment groups and activities also provide ample opportunity for modern people to dress up in Renaissance clothes. It is a good idea to check with the requirements of these groups because what constitutes suitable clothing may vary. For example, the Society of Creative Anachronism, Inc. prefers participants “wear an attempt at pre-17th century clothing.”[5] According to this definition, clothing prior to the Renaissance would be acceptable as well.

In conclusion, the term “Renaissance clothing” refers to clothes in a wide range of styles, colors, and materials as worn across Europe from the mid-1300s through the 1500s.

---

[1] Answers Corporation. 2008. Renaissance. [Online Database]: (http://www.answers.com/topic/renaissance). [24 November 2008].

[2] Will Durant. The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization V). (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953), 69.

[3] DenverFabrics.com. Renaissance Costumes – Fabric. [Online article]: (http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/renaissance/renaissance-costumes.htm). [24 November 2008].

[4] JMV. 1999. Renaissance Faire Overview. [Online article]: (http://www.renfaire.com/General/faire.html). [24 November 2008].

[5] Society for Creative Anachronism. Events. [Online FAQs]: (http://www.sca.org/docs/pdf/scafaq.pdf ). [24 November 2008].

Welcome to the Renaissance Clothing Blog

Welcome to the Renaissance clothing blog. This site provides ideas for Renaissance clothing and costumes. More posts to follow. In the meantime, thank you for visiting!