A big welcome to the Anne Boleyn Files to historian and author Toni Mount!
Toni is sharing an article with us today as part of the blog tour for her latest book How to Survive in Tudor England. Over to Toni…
In writing my new book How to Survive in Tudor England I realised how tricky it was to be fashionable during the sixteenth century: hard work and expensive for women. So here’s a taster of what was required to get noticed at court.
There are four basic layers to women’s clothing. You begin with the chemise, also known as the smock or shift. This is a loose garment, around knee-length and without any shaping. It’s made of linen or, as the century progresses, cotton. The idea is that it soaks up perspiration and is changed and washed frequently, keeping your more elaborate and expensive over-garments from getting smelly.
Your second layer consists of a bodice or corset and a petticoat. The bodice is usually of tight-fitting linen and sleeveless. It may be stiffened with layers of buckram or with strips of whalebone to give support to the breasts and create the required profile. It is fastened by being laced together through eyelets: front lacing is easiest but, if you have servants to assist you, side or back-lacing gives a smoother appearance. The petticoat is a plain drawstring underskirt. In 1554, the wardrobe accounts of Queen Mary Tudor lists a new petticoat for her majesty of scarlet with a bodice of crimson taffeta.
The third layer is your kirtle and, depending on fashion, parts of this garment may be on show, so a more expensive cloth is used. It has long fitted sleeves and is shaped to the upper body. For Anne Boleyn’s coronation in June 1533, her kirtle is made of five yards of white satin lined with two and a half yards of red cloth, type unspecified.
Before we come to the fourth layer, the gown, you will also require knee-length stockings: woolly ones, if you’re poor; silk, if you can afford them. These are held up with garters, perhaps of ribbon – there’s no elastic – or grand ones with ‘buckles and pendants of gold’ like those worn by uncrowned Queen Jane Grey when imprisoned in the Tower of London. Even as prisoners, royals have to keep up appearances and she has a perfumed purse made of sable skin sent to her as well.
Now we come to the gown, also known as the surcoat. This is what everyone will see and it needs to impress, if you want to be noticed at court. Courtiers bankrupt themselves and their families, squandering their inheritances trying to outshine the likes of Robert Dudley who spends £563 in one wardrobe spree, buying seven doublets and two cloaks.
For her coronation in 1533, Anne Boleyn wore a gown ‘of right crimson satin lined with cloth of gold tissue’. I’m not sure what ‘right crimson’ is or maybe it’s a typo and should say ‘bright’. Whatever the case, crimson satin must look gorgeous set off with a gold lining which would be intended to show here and there.
![Tudor gown of the type worn by Anne Boleyn [c.1533]](https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Anne-Boleyn-type-gown.jpg)
The rich may wear cloth of gold or silver, damask, silk-velvet, tinselled satin, finest wool embroidered with gold, silver and silk thread and then trimmed or lined with imported furs, such as black sable, white arctic fox or spotted lynx. The making of a Tudor gown involves many hands, from dyers and weavers, haberdashers and cloth merchants, to tailors and seamstresses. Then the gown requires embellishment by embroiderers, goldsmiths and jewellers to add the finishing touches with brooches, pendants, earrings, ropes of pearls – Queen Elizabeth loved pearls as symbols of her virginity – and hair ornaments.
So that covers the basics but other items of apparel may be in fashion at various dates. The bum-roll or ‘rowle’ goes between the petticoat and the kirtle, tied around the waist to make the kirtle and gown flare out behind. But as the Tudor period progresses, this is replaced by the more significant farthingale. The Spanish farthingale is a conical hooped underskirt, fashionable at the court of Henry VIII and worn by all his queens. The French farthingale is barrel-shaped, fanning straight out at waist level, like the spokes of a cartwheel, and is popular at Elizabeth I’s court, if far less practical for everyday wear.
Then there are the partlet, stomacher and forepart – each required depending on the demands of the fashionable design of the gown. The partlet is like a delicate blouse with short sleeves, often of almost transparent cloth. In the reigns of both Henrys, ladies’ necklines are square and so wide that the shoulders are in danger of slipping down and revealing too much. The partlet is worn under the gown so the shoulders can be pinned to it and modesty is preserved.
The stomacher is a large triangle which is pinned or laced to the centre of the bodice of the kirtle and the forepart is an inverted triangle similarly fixed to the centre of the kirtle skirt. Both are often highly decorated with jewels and embroidery and are definitely meant to be seen when the gown is worn open at the front. I wonder how they originated? I’m tempted to think that someone had a length of gorgeous cloth that wasn’t quite enough to go around them, so the too little allowances in the bodice and skirt were in-filled with contrasting cloth and a new fashion created. Perhaps you can ask someone during your visit back in time.
Sleeves are another separate item. Although the kirtle has fitted sleeves, the gown may not, in which case you required ‘a pair of sleeves’. Remember the song ‘Greensleeves’, supposedly written by Henry VIII himself? Sleeves are the perfect gift for a lover to give his sweetheart and green is the colour of youth and loyalty. In the song, the abandoned lover is complaining about his dearest who has gone off with someone else, taking her new pair of green sleeves with her but such is life. Sleeves can be laced in place or simply pinned at the shoulder and may be slashed to show a contrasting lining or the sleeves of your kirtle. Since sleeves are detachable, the poor woman may remove hers when doing the washing or messy household tasks. The wealthy can mix-and-match sleeves and gowns to create a fresh look.
![From the right – George Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon [English hood], Anne Boleyn [French hood], Jane Seymour [English hood], Anne of Cleves [German style headdress], Katherine Howard [French hood] and Katherine Parr [a cap and hat]. Seated – Princess Elizabeth.
By kind permission of the Tudor Queens, taken at Penshurst Place, Kent [GRM 2021].](https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Tudor-Queens-scaled.jpg)
By kind permission of the Tudor Queens, taken at Penshurst Place, Kent [GRM 2021].
No lady’s outfit is complete without accessories and the most obvious is headwear of some kind. Queen Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII, and Queen Katherine of Aragon favour the English gable hood but the rounded French hood is also worn early in the Tudor period. Anne Boleyn favours the more becoming French hood but Jane Seymour reverts to the gable hood, perhaps to distinguish her profile from Anne’s. Anne of Cleves prefers the German fashion, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr the French – to judge by their portraits. Queen Mary wears a different style of hood with a square gable, rather than pointed. In her early portraits, Princess Elizabeth wears a French hood but by the time she becomes queen, hoods are no more, replaced by elaborate hair – or wigs – and jaunty little hats. The medieval and Catholic rule of respectable women always keeping their hair out of sight is gone – at least until the Puritans enforce such modesty in the 1650s, long after the Tudor period. So at Queen Elizabeth’s court you can, quite literally, let your hair down.
Another vital accessory for the wealthy is a pair of gloves. Not labourers’ hard-wearing stout leather gloves but the daintier the better. These aren’t to keep your hands warm, in fact you don’t need to wear them but carry them prominently so everyone can see how beautiful they are. Finest kid-skin, silk or satin, tight-fitting, bejewelled and embroidered, gloves are an ideal, flattering gift for anyone, even the queen, and especially if they’re perfumed! Scented fans and purses are very fashionable. Queen Elizabeth loves to carry a fan as it’s perfect for wafting away unpleasant smells.
Now for the hair-do. If you’re not a natural red-head like the queen, nor a fashionable blonde, a mixture of saffron, cumin seed and celandine ground together in oil will soon achieve the desired effect or you could resort to wearing other people’s hair as the queen does. Elizabeth has at least eighty human-hair wigs and hair pieces in her wardrobe. These are vital as her own hair becomes thin as she ages but they’re also convenient because she can leave her stylist to work on her elaborate coiffure for tonight’s feast and banquet while she gets on with more interesting things, like playing off her would-be suitors, one against the other.
The most obvious accessory of the later Elizabethan period is the ruff, worn by both men and women of all ages and classes. What begins as a modest frill gathered onto the standing collar or band of a shirt or shift gradually grows into an impractical and absurdly huge ruff, beloved by Queen Elizabeth, if her portraits are any guide. At first, the design and size of ruffs is limited because they lay limp around the neck but an enterprising Dutchwoman, Dinghen van den Plass, comes to London as a refugee in 1564 and brings with her the art of starching linen. Only with the advent of starch does the ruff become possible. Simple neck ruffles become finer, more intricate in construction and folding, as starch becomes a vital commodity for the wealthy. Usually made from wheat flour, during times of shortage after a poor harvest, starch production means less flour for making bread. The government tries to ban its production in England but, since they also slap a heavy tax on imported starch, the eventual answer is the less extravagant neckwear of the Stuart period.
Although Queen Elizabeth is always shown in her portraits wearing a ruff of virgin white, coloured ruffs are fashionable too, usually tinted pink or yellow. However, do not be tempted to wear a blue one as these are the badge of a prostitute. So that sums up what the Tudor woman of fashion should be wearing.
If you wish to read about many interesting characters, places, food and pastimes of the sixteenth century, my new book How to Survive in Tudor England is published on 30th October 2023.
Book blurb
Imagine you were transported back in time to Tudor England and had to start a new life there, without smart phones, internet or social media. When transport means walking or, if you’re lucky, horse-back, how will you know where you are or where to go? Where will you live and where will you work? What will you eat and what shall you wear? And who can you turn to if you fall ill or are mugged in the street, or God-forbid if you upset the king? In a period when execution by be-heading was the fate of thousands how can you keep your head in Tudor England?
All these questions and many more are answered in this new guide book for time-travellers: How to Survive in Tudor England. A handy self-help guide with tips and suggestions to make your visit to the 16th century much more fun, this lively and engaging book will help the reader deal with the new experiences they may encounter and the problems that might occur.
Enjoy interviews with the celebrities of the day, and learn some new words to set the mood for your time-travelling adventure. Have an exciting visit but be sure to keep this book to hand.
Toni Mount
Toni Mount researches, teaches and writes about history. She is the author of several popular historical non-fiction books and writes regularly for various history magazines. As well as her weekly classes, Toni has created online courses for www.MedievalCourses.com and is the author of the popular Sebastian Foxley series of medieval murder mysteries. She’s a member of the Richard III Society’s Research Committee, a costumed interpreter and speaks often to groups and societies on a range of historical subjects. Toni has a Masters Degree in Medieval Medicine, Diplomas in Literature, Creative Writing, European Humanities and a PGCE. She lives in Kent, England with her husband.
Very fascinating reading, there were some facts I was not aware of, like green being the colour of loyalty and blue the colour of a lady of the night, was not green also the co.our of witchcraft? Also sleeves were often made a present of, cuffs and sleeves were added on and so the fashionable ladies outfit was a mixture of many layers, something non historians and Tudor enthusiasts cannot be aware of, thinking initially that their outfits are just one outfit, I recall looking at portraits of 16thc personages years ago and being astonished by the flamboyant costumes they wore, they look ostentatious well over the top and highly impractical to, regarding the odd ruffs the Elizabethan’s wore, how on earth did they eat, maybe they were removed before they dined, and the stiff corsets made of buckram and the boned farthingales, that ladies of quality wore, and the children wore the same so they were just like mini adults, imagine having one’s bodies rammed into those coffin like suits of armour since young, of course they become accustomed to that mode of dress but imagine trying to dress like a 16th c lady after the inhibited fashions we wear today, and the men, with their doublet and hose their swinging cloaks, their ridiculously long beards, of course the court looked colourful and monarchs had to wear to impress, both Henry V111 and Elizabeth dressed like peacocks as they well knew they had to create an image, and the nobility were the same, it was a sign of your power and status however well you presented yourself, silk and satin were only worn by the very rich the nobility, and velvet especially the latter, were only worn by royalty, for the very poor wool and linen and cloth had to do, the yeoman and his family wore better but it was those of the higher end of society whose dress was the most interesting, Anne Boleyn had a beautiful black nightdress made from yards of satin her husband bought for her, and she possessed many gowns she’s also wore black, as it was a sign like velvet of her queenly status, both she and her predecessor were very fond of jewels and Anne favoured pearls something which her daughter wore often, maybe in tribute to her? The French hood was more becoming than the English gable style but she was known to wear it during the coinage of her medal and she also wore it sadly, at her execution, Jane Seymour banished the French hood when she became queen maybe wanting no reminder of her former mistress and yet Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr both wore it, it was more becoming as it showed some of the wearers hair so was quite risqué for the time, Anna from Cleves set no fashion trend with her rather ugly headress and her odd looking garb and she was gone before her first wedding anniversary, but she adopted the English mode of dress when she settled in her adopted country, it was not just the people who dressed resplendently to, but also their cherished pets, the kings livery was on his pack of greyhounds and horses and Anne Boleyn gave her tragic musician a gift of bridles for his horse, she ordered beautiful gowns and bonnets for her baby daughter, determined she should be dressed as her proper title of her fathers heir and princess befitted, there is a beautiful portrait of the Egerton sisters dressed all in matching outfits of pale green dated from the mid half of the 16th c, amazingly alike they could pass for twins but there are several years between them, some things do not change and silk and velvet are still costly materials today and require dry cleaning, silk I adore as it is cool in summer and warm in winter and when crumpled loses its creases, but as mentioned needs specialist cleaning and pressing, fantastic article Claire thanks to you and of course Toni, I particularly love the photo of Henry’s queens on the grounds of Penshurst with the little Elizabeth, a lovely touch!
On pondering about having the ability to travel back in time to the Tudor age I know I would find it a big shock, England would look like a foreign country with no high streets with Boots and McDonald’s, no pubs and cafes, no estate agents and Greggs, the noise of the traffic would be replaced by the shrieking of the street vendors, the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles and wagons and the tall brick gable buildings with winding alley ways, it would be fascinating but also I know I would feel afraid, as the article mentioned if you needed a cab where would you go, where would you seek help if you were attacked, the landscape would be so unfamiliar with dirt tracks and cows and oxen walking along, the emptying of the slop buckets would worry me and I think being a citizen in the era would mean having to duck and dive a lot, being wealthy meant you had your own means of transport but being poor meant vulnerability, if you were hit by a wagon or a galloping horse or cow maybe passers by would help, but I’m sure many a beggar was left to die in the streets, comforted only by their families if they had any, the dissolution was catastrophic for the poor as they were havens of refuge, and one could not phone and ring for an ambulance, medicine often killed more than healed for those who could afford it, but at least they had proper houses with soft beds and good food, and servants would find a doctor if needed, compare our age with the internet the phone the television cars trains and flight, then to experience life for one day in Tudor times would be a right eye opener, also if you were convicted of a crime it was up to you to prove your innocence, you were considered guilty before trial, and that I believe was one of the biggest injustices of the Tudor age, mortality was high and it was said if you survived babyhood and your teenage years there was a chance you would live longer, if you lived to your twenties you had a chance of making thirty, interestingly the Tudors had no concept of teenage years, it was a mere transition from childhood to adult hood, and they had no knowledge of the hormonal changes within the body as it went through puberty, children worked from very young and amongst the wealthy they were engaged and wed by sometimes twelve years old, marriage amongst the ruling families were slightly different, children could be engaged in their cradles for dynastic and political reasons, I read an article where strong women only those who were considered rather tall and big boned had the task of carrying the milk on their shoulders, supported by a beam of wood, each churn would hang supported by a chain must have been very painful, servants were chosen for their strength as work was often physical and long hours, the spit boy in the royal kitchens I feel sorry for, he had to turn the spit for hours and ended up pretty burnt as a result, also the hot air would have entered his lungs and many accidents must have occurred as a result, the thing I would find the most difficult would be having to trip about in a long dress, I’m so used to my leggings I would be forever stumbling, and end up covered in bruises and horses dung, I think if I had the choice, I would come back as a wealthy lady, the rich always have it easy, they say money cannot buy you happiness, but at least you can be miserable in comfort!