MALE COSTUMES.
James I.
Little change was made in the early part of this reign from the costumes worn at the end of Elizabeth’s reign. The peascod doublet, the conical-crowned hat, and the large trunk hose, also called “bombasted breeches,” slashed, quilted, stuffed, and laced, were worn as before. (Fig. 10.) The cowardly despotism of James led him to guard his person, at all times awkward and ungainly, with quilted and padded clothing in order that it might be dagger-proof. The “great round abominable breech,” as the satirists termed it, now tapered to the knee, and was slashed all over and covered with lace and embroidery, as shown in Fig. 10, which represents his Majesty, in 1614. Corsets were also worn at this time to give the required shape to the upper part of the body.
The hat of the period, a truncated cone, will also be noticed, with a feather at the side and turned-up brim. It was frequently ornamented with precious stones. With regard to the bombasted breeches, an amusing tale is told of a man who was being prosecuted at this time for having his breeches stuffed with prohibited articles, but he was acquitted because he proved to the satisfaction of his judges that his stuffing “consisted merely of a pair of sheets, two tablecloths, ten napkins, four shirts, a brush, a glass, a comb, and a night-cap.”
The ruff was sometimes exchanged for a wide, stiff collar, standing out horizontally and squarely, and starched and wired as usual, but plain instead of pleated, and it was sometimes edged, like the ruff, with lace. These collars were called “bands,” and were usually stiffened with yellow starch.
A slight alteration in costume was made in James’s reign. Short jackets or doublets were worn, and the trunk hose, instead of being slashed and laced, were covered with broad, loose strips, richly embroidered or adorned with buttons, displaying the silk or velvet trunk in the narrow intervals between the strips (see Plate 50, Fig. 1, which shows Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I.).
The clothes of the nobles were very gorgeous, being made of silk and velvet, and ornamented with lace, gold and gems. It was said that George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, a favourite of James I., had a white velvet suit, decorated with diamonds valued at fourteen thousand pounds. Silk, worsted, and thread stockings were now almost universally worn.
In a comedy written in 1607, a gentleman’s wardrobe is thus enumerated: “A cloak lined with rich taffeta, a white satin suit, the jerkin covered with gold lace, a chain of pearl, a gilt rapier in an embroidered hanger, pearl-coloured silk stockings, and a pair of massive gilt spurs.”
Pure white costumes of silk, velvet, or cloth were very fashionable at this time.
Jewels were sometimes worn in the ears of gentlemen, and they also had a custom of allowing a long lock of hair, called a “love-lock,” to hang over upon the breast (Fig. 2).
The costume of a yeoman of the period consisted of a narrow-brimmed hat with flat crown, a doublet with large wings and short skirts, a girdle about his waist, trunk breeches, with hose drawn up to the thigh and gartered below the knees.
Charles I. and the Commonwealth.
It is said that the male costumes in this reign were “the most elegant and picturesque ever worn in England.” The characteristic costume worn by Charles in his portrait by Vandyke is often spoken of as the Vandyke costume and was introduced about the middle of his reign. In the earlier part, the fashions of his father, James I., were continued. The change from the “bombasted” or stuffed breeches to the elegant costume of this reign is ascribed to the refined tastes of Charles and his Queen, and also to the fact that the size of the stuffed breeches made it impossible for gentlemen to find seating accommodation at masques, etc., when each spectator took up the place of three persons in a rational attire.
At the commencement of the Civil War, the Royalist party or Cavaliers, and the Republican party or Roundheads, were as opposite in their costumes as they were diverse in their opinions.
“The Cavalier’s costume consisted of a doublet of rich materials, silk, satin, or velvet, with large, loose sleeves, slashed up the front, the collar covered with a falling band of the richest point lace. A short cloak was worn carelessly over one shoulder. Long breeches, fringed or pointed, met the broad tops of the boots, which were trimmed with lace or lawn. A broad-leaved Flemish beaver-hat with a rich hat-band and plume of feathers, was set on one side of the head, and a Spanish rapier hung from a magnificent baldrick or sword belt, worn sash-wise over the right shoulder.”
In the troubled times of this reign, the silk or velvet doublet was often exchanged for a richly-laced buff (leather) coat. A broad sash or satin scarf was tied round the waist in a large bow.
The beard was worn very peaked, with small, upturned moustache, and the hair was long in the neck, and sometimes powdered.
The extravagant costume worn by some is shown in Fig. 2, which depicts an exquisite of 1646. Among the most noticeable features in this costume are the “love-locks,” tied with ribbon, on either side of the head (which were a special abomination to the Puritans), the patches on the face, and the shirt protruding from the partly-open vest, the short breeches “ornamented with many dozens of points at the knees, and, above them, on either side, two great bunches of ribbon, of several colours.”
The tops of his boots are very large, fringed with lace, and turned down almost to the heels.
Very different from this figure was that of the Roundhead, with close-cropped hair, clothes of extreme simplicity, severe cut, and sober colours, as shown in Fig. 4.
It will be gathered from the foregoing remarks that the dress of the various classes of the community presented a considerable mixture.
When Cromwell was in power, the general tendency was towards plainness of attire.
Charles II.
When Charles II. ascended the throne, at the Restoration, great extravagance and folly were shown by his courtiers in their costume, after the stern rule of the Puritans, and many new fashions were introduced from France, where Charles had resided for so long a time. This was “the natural reaction after twenty years of uncertainty, gloom, and fanatical oppression. The doublet was made very short, open in front, without any waistcoat, showing a rich shirt, which bulged out in front over the waistband of the loose breeches, the latter, as well as the large, full sleeves, being ornamented with ribbons and points or laces.”
Beneath the knee hung long, drooping lace ruffles, and a falling collar of the richest lace enveloped the neck. A high-crowned hat, with a broad brim and a plume of feathers, still preserved its cavalier character. A short cloak, edged deep with gold lace was usually worn or carried over the arm. But the practice of copying French fashions gave rise to the monstrous “periwig,” a corruption of “perruque” or “peruke.” (Fig. 3.)
The periwig had, however, been worn in England for many years, but did not become fashionable until this reign.
With its introduction, there came a change in the form of the hat. “Down went the crown, and up went the brim at the sides,” and a kind of ruche of feathers replaced the waving plume of the Cavalier. This was, in fact, the first step towards the cocked hat of the 18th century.
A garment called the “petticoat breeches” was introduced into England in 1658. These are well illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 (from a drawing about 1658). The doublet, or jacket, which, in the early part of the reign, barely reached to the waist, was now lengthened, reaching the middle of the thighs, with sleeves to the elbows, terminated by rows and bunches of ribbon, from under which bulged forth the sleeves of the shirt, ruffed, and adorned also profusely with ribbons. When buttons and button holes were added down the front, it became a coat.
Neckcloths or cravats, of Brussels and Flanders lace, came into use towards the close of the reign, being tied in a knot, with the ends hanging down (Fig. 5).
The sober citizen of London was dressed in black coarse woollen, breeches, a broad skirted doublet, a girdle about the middle, and a short black coat. A broad-brimmed hat, with a great twisted hat-band, with a rose at the end of it, completed his costume, and the natural hair was worn uncovered by a wig.
James II. and William III.
There were few novelties in civil costumes during these reigns. The petticoat breeches were exchanged for those tied beneath the knee. The periwig became more monstrous, and it was the fashion for the beau to comb his wig in public just as a modern gallant would twirl his moustache.
Gentlemen appeared in little, low hats, with a bow at the side; and long coats and waistcoats were worn, with rows of buttons down the front, breeches, moderately wide, reaching to the knee, close stockings, and high-heeled shoes, with roses or buckles (Fig. 15).
The full-bottomed wig was worn by the learned professions. The broad brims of the hats were frequently turned up on two sides, and were ornamented with feathers or ribbons. “To turn up the brim or flap of the hat was to ‘cock’ it; the mode following the custom of the Duke of Monmouth was called ‘the Monmouth’ cock.”
The broad, falling bands around the neck were replaced by small Geneva bands, similar to those now worn by barristers.
PLATE 47.
(Fig. 1): Costume of a gentleman of the time of Charles I., from a contemporary print. (Fig. 2): An exquisite of 1646, from a rare broadside, entitled “The Picture of an English Antick,” with all details of the costume exaggerated, patches on the face, and two love-locks tied with bows of ribbon. (Fig. 3): Head of George, Earl of Albemarle, showing the voluminous periwig of the time of James II. (Fig. 4): A Roundhead, from a print of 1649, showing the plainness and simplicity of costume adopted by the Puritans. (Fig. 5): Neckcloth which succeeded the ruff and band, and was generally worn by the courtiers during the reign of Charles II., by whom it was introduced from France. (Figs. 6, 7 and 8): “Petticoat breeches,” three types, as worn in 1656, 1658, and 1659, from Holmes’s “Contemporary Notebook on Costume,” preserved in the British Museum. (Fig. 9): Head of Sir Thomas Meautys, secretary to Sir Francis Bacon, showing a waved love-lock reaching to the elbow. (Fig. 10): King James I. in hunting costume, from “A Jewell for Gentrie,” published in 1614. He is shown wearing the stuffed or “bombasted” breeches. (Fig. 11): Costume of a Cavalier in the early part of Charles II.’s reign, from Ogilvie’s “Book of the Coronation.” (Fig. 12): A shoe (introduced from France), worn by the courtiers of Charles II., from a contemporary work, 1670. (Fig. 13): A boot with wide tops, worn in 1646, from a print of the time. (Fig. 14): A Jack-boot of the time of William III., such as was worn by the Cavalry of the time, from Meyrick’s “Arms and Armour.” (Fig. 15): Winter costume of a gentleman of the time of William III.