[Figure 8.]—Dress of a French woman (back view) showing the manner in which the bodice was laced and the hood fell at the back. The skirt is raised, revealing the farthingale petticoat with the roll at its hem which contained cane stiffening (verdugo). From Omnium gentium habitus . . . , 1563 ed. (Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum, London.)
The next development in the history of the fashion plate is found in the costume books by Cesare Vecellio, published in Venice in 1590 and 1598.[20] Vecellio, a
member of the same family as Titian, showed the costume of the different ranks of society in the various Italian cities and states, in the other countries of Europe, and indeed in the known world; he also depicted a number of antique and old-fashioned dresses. Unfortunately, the illustrations (fig. 9) by Christoph Krieger, whose name was Italianized as Guerra, are not as good as Vico’s, and Krieger died before the series was complete. But Vecellio took great pains to secure accurate and up-to-date information about fashions, and he received letters and drawings from his friends in various cities of Italy. Master Erasmo Falte of Parma sent him particulars of the
dress of the Duchess of Parma, together with a sketch by a good local painter, which Vecellio describes and adds:[21*]
Sotto costumano il verducato, overo faldiglia, qual tien con arte la sottana larga à modo di campana, che torna molto commodo al caminare, ò danzare: & hora si costumano per tutta l’Italia questa sopra detta faldiglia.
Figure 9.—Dress of a Noblewoman of Mantua. From Vecellio, De gli habiti antichi e moderni, 1590. (Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum, London.)
Thus, the bell-shaped farthingale ([fig. 8]) had by 1590 become the general wear of the upper classes in Italy, as it was already in Spain, France, and England.
Of even greater interest is the evidence of Vecellio’s relations with a fashion house in Venice. In his general account of the housedresses of the noble ladies of his time, he mentions the rich modern materials and especially silk brocades of four and even of six colors, admirably woven:[22*]