Medeival fashion

Royal Fashion
Clothing
Almost all of royal clothing was made of silks, or another expensive fabric. Both genders of royalty wore a surcoat, a tight, middle length, coat worn over other clothing. Many precious stones and metals such as silver, gold, and pearls adorned these and other articles of clothing. Most royalty imported expensive silk cloth, bleached linen, and dyed or patterned cloth for clothes.
Clothing: Queens
In the early medieval times, queens and other female nobles wore dresses that were simply shaped, with a long, wide gown decorated with embroidery. This style of dress was changed time and time again through the years. Later, sleeves were long and trailing, often dragging along the floor.
In the 1200’s, tight lacings were introduced. Tight lacings were worn either under or over a dress, and were tightened to create a long waisted appearance. These were modified to later make corsets, which were tightened so much, ladies often fainted from loss of circulation.
Clothing: Kings
Royal men always wore a shirt, belt, pants/socks, and a cloak, plus some expensive clothes and stones. Kings also wore many furs because they were one of the only people allowed to hunt.
Men wore tight clothes that became shorter over time. In the early middle ages, they were more like dresses than shirts, and by the end they were like nowadays shirts. Loose, belted clothing was very popular from 900-1000 AD. From the years 1000-1100 AD, men wore robes fastened around the waist, with long bands on the sleeves near the wrist. They also wore closed shoes. These shoes had long, pointed toes that sometimes curled. The longer the point of the shoe, the richer or more important he was. Around 1487, men started slitting their sleeves to show the white linen shirts underneath.
Makeup and Hairstyles
Hairstyles changed often throughout the middle ages, especially for women. In the beginning, they wore their hair long, and clearly in sight. Later, hair was worn tucked under a wimple, which completely covered their hair. In other times, they had two coiled buns, one on either side of the head. Long plaits were also very popular, along with hair parted in the middle and partially hidden by a bonnet. Men wore their hair either short or long, often with a beard.
The only real make up of the Middle Ages was perfume. This was made, and imported from different parts of Asia, with the scents of many types of exotic flowers. Women also wore a white, lead powder, which they sometimes brushed across their face.
Weird Facts and Rules About Medieval Fashion
There were some really weird things about royal fashion, and the rules they made about it! During the Middle Ages, men wore purses. This started so that they could keep their royal seals at hand for signing royal decrees. Women didn’t have purses until years later. At one point, the trains on noble dresses were so long, people had to fold them over their arm or have their ladies in waiting carry them! People thought the train was very elegant, but they came to be so long, ladies would trip on them. And that wasn’t elegant! By carrying them, women could still show off their wealth without tripping.
The rules about fashion were odd, too. Only royalty and those of noble blood were allowed to wear fashionable clothing. If anyone dared to break that rule, they would lose property and/or receive a large fine. Also, only the daughters or wives of royal or noble men were permitted to wear velvet, satin, or ermine. Royalty were the only people permitted to wear the colors purple or dark red. This was because these colored dyes were very expensive, and were usually associated with wealth and power. Lastly, lower class members were not allowed to wear decorative veils of any kind.

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