Attention was given, not only to the horned head-dress, which developed into two high points curled inward with pendent veils from the tops, but also to the turban, made after the fashion of those worn in the East. It had thick rolls of silk or velvet round the head, the hair being pulled up the centre and worn hanging down the back, a drapery assisting in the Oriental effect. The escoffion—for which, although it is said to have been introduced by England, there is no English word—is crescent-shaped like a turban; and a cap which received some patronage was heart-shaped, made of embroidered material decked with a trellis-work of braid ornamented with beads, the wide band in front being set with precious stones, which again took the form of a heart as they rested upon the forehead. The women of the middle classes wore cloth caps and bands of material twisted round the head, with wings on either side.
Early in the fifteenth century the scolloped sleeves were introduced, and the dresses were cut in one in front, and separated at the back with a sort of basque.
To France we owe the houppelande, worn alike by men and women, and seemingly obsessed by the virtue of comfort. It bears close kinship to the dressing-gown of to-day, and had at its best a battlemented border outlined by some contrasting stuff or trimming. It developed various extravagances of decorations and breadth, but you may see it well shown in its earliest form in the picture on this page.
THE HOUPPELANDE.
At the end of the fifteenth century the dresses, well supplied with large full sleeves, were invariably cut square at the neck, and bore stomachers jewelled or embroidered, and beneath these were buckles, or belts or rich girdles with long pendants, like the one illustrated, which is worn round the hips and fastened in front with three clasps and tassels. Side by side with this appears the pointed shoe of the period; made in red patterned with white, it has charms which are obtrusive if not convincing, though they served to inspire some preacher in France, more violent than holy, to denounce them as "an outrage against the Creator."
A GIRDLE.
The famous Agnes Sorel had considerable influence over the fashions of her day, and she practised exaggeration with audacity: her hennin was taller than any other, her skirts were longer, and her bodices lower; and she would band her forehead and encircle her throat with the most magnificent jewels.
