Costume: Fanciful, Historical, and Theatrical

Front matter

COSTUME

FANCIFUL, HISTORICAL, AND THEATRICAL

COQUELIN, AS CYRANO DE BERGERAC, FROM A WATER COLOUR DRAWING BY PERCY ANDERSON.

Chapter 1

CHAPTER I IN CLASSIC TIMES

Fashion, even under exalted patronage, had scant chance to distinguish herself in the bad old days of the Romans. She, who now must be obeyed, was forced then to take a back seat enwrapped in the toga, and all who would have preached or practised the doctrine of diversified dress remained mute, inglorious modistes. It is not on record that any great personage invented any particular garment, or was accorded the honour of standing godmother to a favoured style. Such privileges as those of Queen Alexandra, who, at the indiscretion of any draper, may be sponsor to a ruffle or a petticoat, or of Queen Victoria Eugénie, whose name has been snatched to honour a face-cream, were not in vogue. This seems a pity when one comes to consider the alliterative allurement of such a title as the "Boadicean blouse," and to remember that the "Poppæan pomade," which might have been justified in the observance, was deliberately committed in the breach.

There was sorry opportunity for any who would have liked to stamp individuality on their costume. Style was a cut-and-dried affair, and save in the elaboration or simplicity of adornment variety was practically without the pale. There was but subtle distinction between the form of the tunic and the stola, yet perchance in the deftness of the adjustment of the drapery of the toga and the exact position of the girdle, taste could play some part. But the world of costume was a dull table-land exalted to a scene of battle only when the stringent laws relating to extravagances were liberally disregarded. It seems to have been a custom throughout the ages for some historian, ruler, or priest to interfere with the existing facts of fashion. One can find traces of such want of sympathy even in the eighteenth century. The Roman laws were arbitrary, and Numa actually forbade any woman to have more than half an ounce of gold on her robes, while he also prohibited the garment of many colours. It is pleasing, however, to realise that his strictures were not taken very seriously.

The one sartorial fact with which my youthful mind was burdened was that the earliest Britons stained their tattooed bodies with woad. Chroniclers are not in accord as to the precise shade of this blue dye, proving that the habits of chroniclers change but little, since fashion-writers of to-day may be accused of like conduct; and as woad is more correctly described as an undress uniform than as an article of clothing, I will not now discuss the question of its exact colour, but note contentedly that all authorities agree that the Britons clad themselves in skins decorated with beads and flowers, which, in conjunction with their painted and punctured persons, lent them a ferocious aspect, quite attractive.

Much as Boadicea detested the Romans, she preferred their graceful garments to those worn by her own countrywomen, and when she led her troops into battle, she was attired in all the glory of a multi-coloured tunic, and her hair fell unbound over her neck and shoulders. Wily Boadicea, her unbound hair proved the woman in the warrior, who would win her triumph as best she could, though history is careful not to attribute to her any but the most legitimate methods!

In those days the Roman women made a rule of wearing a toga, which, hanging from the neck or the head, fell over the shoulders and touched the ground at the back. The toga was either white or yellow for persons of rank, when the border was purple, but the lower orders had the toga dyed, and in times of mourning chose it in black. Within doors the toga was discarded altogether in favour of the simple tunic, which was worn with or without the girdle, and made either of woollen material or cotton or thin gauze. Towards the latter part of the Empire the tunic was lengthened, and bore sleeves adorned with buttons according to Hellenic fashion; indeed, the sleeve seemed then, as now, to indicate style, for the earlier types reached only to the elbow, and gradually they extended to the wrist, and finally to the ground.

When the stola became popular it was always white, bearing long sleeves ornamented with a wide border, and over it fell a mantle with a hood round the shoulders. White was the favourite colour for a long time, and even in those days the Gauls inspired the fashions. They taught the Britons to spin and weave and dye, and purple and scarlet herb dyes were employed with considerable success, though the chief colouring matter was woad. The Roman women allowed their taste in colour to run riot, and purple, scarlet, green, yellow, hyacinth, and blue were all in favour, as well as chequered materials.

The foot-gear at this period was of two kinds, either reaching to the middle of the leg and covering the whole foot, or only protecting the sole of the foot and being secured by leather-thongs. Women's shoes were but little less costly than those worn by the men, and were gay with ornament of gold set with pearls and other precious stones.

Jewellery was a great feature; ear-rings, bracelets, armlets, torques and necklaces, and rings of gold, silver, and baser metals, were often set with precious stones, or engraved with the portrait of some dear friend or the representation of some historical event. Such rings, being used for sealing letters and documents, would usually be bequeathed by a Roman on his death-bed to his nearest friend. Ear-rings were a very favourite form of adornment, and three or four would dangle picturesquely from each ear, but only women and boys wore them. The wearing of rings, however, was

general. Iron, copper, and ivory played their part in the making of the bracelets, and in the long pins for the hair, which were decorated with massive heads mostly significant, including such odd designs as a fish bearing in its mouth two precious stones, and a hanging basket with a greedy bird pecking at its floral contents. The serpent found

IN ANCIENT GREECE.

his way to favour as an armlet and again as a diadem. The Greeks, indeed, were fond of adorning their garments with beasts and birds, which they embroidered or wove in gold and silver and coloured threads.

The Greek female dress consisted of the pallium, a cloak-like garment very long and ample, worn plain, or bearing a fringed border, and under this was a chlamys, bearing close kinship in form to the Roman toga, and fastened to the shoulder by a brooch. The Grecian women cut their hair close to their heads, and the married were distinguished from the unmarried by a parting in front, but no Grecian woman ever went without a veil, covering the face. The head-dress and ribbons of matrons differed from those of the virgins, and there was a change in the shape of the tunic before and after marriage. Ribbons in the hair were preferred as decorations by the modest women, while the courtesans covered their heads with a mitre, and carried oval hand-mirrors, which distinguished them, as it were significantly, from their more virtuous sisters, who made use of fans of leaves or feathers.

The art of beauty, it seems, was studied with much interest. The use of cosmetics was greatly favoured. White lead was employed to whiten the skin, and vermilion to produce the rosy bloom of youth; and we have most of us been impressed by the fact that Nero's wife discovered a pomade for the preservation of her complexion—no doubt her urgent needs led to this heroic effort! Much time and attention were bestowed on the hair, and the use of false tresses was very general, slaves being employed to curl the hair, while experts supervised the process. The structures were adorned with pearls and other precious stones, crowns of gold and flowers, ribbons and fillets,

while the embroidered net, known as the caul, also had a full share of patronage. The Roman women would paint their hair a gorgeous yellow.

Men and women alike wore the cothurnus, which reached to the knee, where it was fastened, purple being the favourite colour for this. It could not have been possible to obtain a great variety in a costume, and, save in the decoration of the tunic, which was ornamented with spots or scrolls, and in the arrangement of the girdle, of two varying widths, the one placed above the other so that the folds of the gown could pouch between, every one must have appeared very like his brother and his sister.

One of the divergences in the fashion of the tunic worn by the women and that worn by the men

was in the former always reaching to the feet and covering the arms.

The actual shape of the garments varied but little, and between the tunic and the stola there would have been some difficulty in seeing any difference, but the stola was worn over the tunic, and it came as low as the ankles, and was fastened round the body by a girdle, broad folds being above the breast:

A ROMAN LADY.

the essential distinction between the two in cut being that the stola always possessed an instita or flounce.

It is a curious fact, and one worthy of note, that the dress of the boys was marked by a change after the age of seventeen. Then they laid aside the purple-bordered toga in favour of the toga purely white, white being, presumably, the insignia of liberty. Boys wore, too, about their necks a hollow ball or boss, the higher classes having this in gold, and the poorer citizens in leather. This boss was also adopted as an ornament for belts or girdles, but in the very ancient days the Roman men had no other clothing than the toga, and it was thought effeminate to appear abroad carelessly girdled.

The Romans in later days wore a chiton, a short woollen shirt without sleeves, and they also bestowed patronage upon long linen garments bearing sleeves, while above the toga they adopted a sort of coat, open in front and fastened with clasps and buckles, this sharing favour with the greatcoat or surtout, which bore a hood and was chiefly used for journeys or by the soldiers. The military robe proper of the Romans was a woollen garment called a sagum, and the men at first wore neither stockings nor breeches, but enwrapped their legs and thighs with pieces of cloth. Later they tried socks of goat's hair and shoes of un-wrought leather.

The shoes of the senators flaunted a gold crest on the top, and black was the most general colour, though scarlet and red were also in use.

Gloves too were amongst the possibilities of this early moment, and it is set down that some of these were cut with fingers, and that others were of the pattern of a mitten.

In grief the Romans allowed their hair to grow, even as the Jews did, and the first growth of the beard in youth was consecrated to some god. The hair was treated altogether with much respect, valued and considered with care. Every lady of distinction possessed her own hair-dresser, curling irons were in demand, and a popular shape of head-dressing was copied from the helmet.

For the rest, let my illustrations speak. The coloured specimen represents the classic Greek garb under its simplest aspect, made in white home-spun bordered with yellow, and falling in folds somewhat disguiseful to the figure, and quite simple to achieve. The Roman lady having flattered the Grecian sleeve to the point of imitation, proudly bears her toga traced with purple and crowned with jewels. The two head-dresses are characteristic, and amongst things easy to understand.

Taking the so-called classic period altogether, it must be admitted that among the ancient Greeks and Romans were born the best principles of the art of dress—an appreciation of outline and a sense of grace in drapery.

Chapter 2

CHAPTER II IN EARLY MEDIÆVAL TIMES

From the days of the early Britons to the twelfth century is a long jump, but in many countries the growth of new fashions was so slow that to attempt to describe it would mean much wearying repetition and an unnecessary extension of these pages.

For example, the dress worn by the men and women of Italy during the twelfth century was very similar to the old Roman styles, while in Southern Italy the Norman dress found favour as well as the Byzantine. In Sicily Arab costume predominated, and in Northern Italy the German and the Norman fashions shared popularity. Italian women, who all aspired to express their exalted birth by their dress, wore in the house a tunic or stola drawn up under a belt to show the feet, fitting closely to the figure and bearing long or short sleeves, as fancy dictated, and over this a palla, developed into a rectangular piece of cloth, passed under the right armpit with the ends knotted on the left shoulder.

Until the close of the tenth century, costume in England bore more resemblance to that worn in ancient Rome than to any chosen by the Danes. Though the Normans were greatly influenced by

the Saracenic and Byzantine fashions prevailing in Southern Europe, an English lady of the twelfth century could scarcely have been distinguished by her attire from a lady of the Lower Empire, or even a modern maid of Athens; and no doubt a contemporary wit of flippant habit would have excused her simplicity by declaring that the study of costume was Greek to her.

The prevailing note in dress in the twelfth century was costliness. The king set the fashion of rich apparel, and his example was followed by both clergy and people, though the former exercised their didactic privileges by inveighing against the most popular eccentricities. The women's dress at this period showed a strong tendency to exaggerated length, and the veils and kerchiefs were so long that the fair wearers were forced to knot them to avoid treading on them, while the skirts lay in great folds on the ground. Much significance might be attached to that precious old MS. where the illuminator depicts the devil in a woman's surcoat with a sleeve and skirts tied up in knots! Robes were laced up in front, and the cuffs of the sleeves embroidered or fur-trimmed, and over the long robe or tunic appeared a shorter garment resembling the sur côte which was chequered and spotted, presumably to represent embroidery, and finished with an indented border termed "dagged," in a fashion condemned by Henry II. Norman ladies wore their hair plaited, the braids often incased in silk or bound round with ribbon and finished off with three curls; but towards the end of the twelfth century the hair was frequently held in a network of gold set with stones.

The clergy had much to say on the subject of the long beards which reappeared during the reign of Henry I.; and that one, more forcible than elegant in his denunciations, who described the men of his time as "filthy goats," has for the solecism gone down to posterity with the priest who, preaching such a moving sermon on the subject that king and courtiers wept, took advantage of the impression he had made, drew out a large pair of scissors that he had concealed in his sleeve, and cropped the entire assemblage.

During the latter half of the twelfth century a change for the better came over the spirit of dress, which was now marked by a greater reticence. The extravagant cuff disappeared, and sleeves were

IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.

worn tight and fastened at the wrist. An effigy of Queen Berengaria, in the Abbey of l'Espan, shows

the queen with flowing locks partly covered by a kerchief, surmounted by a gold crown; her robe is held together at the neck by a large circular brooch set with precious stones, her mantle hanging almost to her feet behind,

while a small aumônière is pendent from a beautiful girdle. For just so much detail and no more would I pin my faith to a monumental sculptor as a fashion historian. Green was the favourite colour of the robe in the reign of John, and there is a king's warrant for two green robes for the queen, each to consist of two ells of cloth, while there exists a register showing that a green robe lined with condal cost sixty shillings; so common, in fact, was the wearing of the green that Longchamp, the arrogant Bishop of Ely, when he was forced to fly the kingdom to escape John's rage, disguised himself in a woman's green tunic and Norman mantle and hood of the same colour.

It was the harvest-time for the embroiderers, or at least it ought to have been, but it is not on record that their services were rewarded with any magnificent generosity. Embroidery was rampant: all state garments were traced with gold, and vivid colours would adorn robes and mantles alike, a favourite design being a series of circles.

The pelisse now came into existence; in form it was a close-fitting dress, a prototype of the garment which bears the same title to-day. Fur was a modish trimming, and nine bars of fur are mentioned as a trimming of some special grey pelisse which King John bestowed upon Isabella of Angoulême. Obviously the sealskin paletot and the sable cape were not amongst the possibilities of that hour, or His Majesty would not have been let off so cheaply.

But to the enthusiastic chronicler of fashion there was one fact of King John's reign which was pre-eminently worthy and admirable. This was the introduction of the wimple, of all attributes to feminine beauty surely the most becoming ever conceived or accomplished! It was made either in silk or linen, a covering for the neck, chin, and forehead at once disguiseful and provocative, coquettish and demure. At times the wimple was little more than an elaborated veil or kerchief, but in its most alluring form it was a separate article worn under the veil, as in a nun's dress of to-day, which, in fact, in all but colour, bears a striking resemblance to the thirteenth-century dress. Indeed Chaucer distinguishes the two when he says—

Wering a vaile insted of wimple, As nonnes don in ther abbey.

The wimple was wrapped round the head and chin, and ladies of wealth bound it on the forehead by a golden or jewelled fillet, while their poorer sisters used plain silk. Silken wimples were forbidden to the nuns, who were then as now devoted to white linen. It is not unlikely that the wimple originated with the fashion of wearing the coverchief about the neck, and it was towards the end of the twelfth century that the coverchief underwent transformation, growing smaller and being tied under the chin like a modern cap or bonnet.

Boots and shoes formed an important portion of dress in the twelfth century, and here again the interfering cleric played his favourite rôle of denunciator. The monks, who

were denied their wear, abused with vigour the peak-toed boots and shoes, which indeed reached a point exquisitely ridiculous when a courtier could choose to stuff the points of his shoes with tow, so that they might curl up like ram's horns. Dispassionately, I recognise as much wit as wisdom in the notion.

Women wore short boots as well as shoes, but the dresses were so long that only the tips of the toes could be seen, and they were content to embroider these in gold with fanciful or circular devices.

Gloves, jewelled at the back, were chosen by the richer classes, and coarsely-made warm gloves without fingers received a mild patronage from the poor. But women wore gloves very rarely; they were not amongst the trifles which attracted feminine attention, though there was much general love for variety, and a vast amount of money, care, and thought was bestowed on personal adornment.

In the early part of the thirteenth century many beautiful fabrics put in an appearance. Velvet, and silk interwoven with gold, and cloth with many

DAGGED COSTUME IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.

colours were fashionable, while it became a very popular practice to ornament hems of garments by cutting them into indented tabs or leaves, a fashion to which I have referred previously as "dagged," the contemporary expression. How pretty the dagged costume may be is easily realised by glancing at the picture on page 16, which shows it entirely made in cloth, crowned by a white linen turban with a band of linen under the chin.

The turban adorned many a fair and dark head, the Spanish women wearing it exclusively, drawing their inspiration for this, and for their trailing robes and funnel-shaped sleeves, from the Arab fashions.

Frenchwomen asserted themselves as pioneers with the closely-fitting garment that allowed the lines of the figure to be seen, a legitimate ancestress to our princess gown. Sleeves established their right to exist in more than one form, some being wide at the top, others narrow, close-fitting, and fastened at the wrists, and others again narrow at the top and to the middle of the forearm, where they widened and fell almost to the ground.

The cuirass dress was often slightly open at the neck in order to show the under-garment, and a long girdle embroidered in gold was passed round I the waist, crossed behind and brought round again I to the front a little lower down, where it was tied so that the ends fell loosely. In the twelfth century this style of gown was frequently draped on the hips and worn without the embroidered bodice I or the girdle, and a favoured long robe was open from top to bottom and fastened with buttons. Mantles were semicircular in cut and held in divers ways, and their borders were adorned with

rectangular metal plaques, each pierced with five holes, a double cord being passed through these holes and fastened behind.

An affection for jewels, rings and collars of pearls, diadems and clasps, was common to all the nobles of all the nations, while caps, wimples, and veils crowned the fair with grace, and permitted some diversity of expression.

In the twelfth century the English historian declares that in France fashion danced the gayest tunes and was uproarious in her demand for extravagance, and, if French chroniclers are to be believed, moderation marked the footsteps of the native mondaine, whose shoes were comparatively low

and bore small points. But I doubt not that, then as now, each woman was a profit to her own country, and did her duty to commerce by practising prodigality with unswerving enthusiasm.

Chapter 3

CHAPTER III IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

A comprative simplicity marked the raiment of the thirteenth century, when the elaborate detail yielded place to ample folds of drapery, capacious mantles, and flowing trains. It was a simplicity, however, which cannot conscientiously be congratulated upon its economical habits, for the fabrics employed were of the richest and most sumptuous, and the breadth of the garments was prodigious. The dress which is so proudly worn by the Queen in the illustration on page 20, is characteristically splendid, and a glance at it shows that it was fashioned of a thick brocade traced in diamond design, and cut square in the neck and very long in the sleeves, where a few folds of white lawn appear becomingly above the wrists, the veil falling from neck to hem, and the enfolding gorget being fastened tightly under the chin. Pre-eminently typical was another dress honoured by this Eleanor of Provence—a most unpopular lady, by the way, even though her taste in costume might have made for some measure of success, at least amongst her feminine subjects. She chose "a gown of gold brocade, sleeves reaching to the wrists, while over this she wore a mantle

HENRY III.'S QUEEN.

bordered with gold and bearing a collar of ermine. The mantle was held up by a brooch of gold set with jewels, the head crowned with a Gothic design of floriated trefoils above a jewelled band."

The following description, commendably brief, which I have read of a dress worn by the wife of Edward I. will bring home the fashion of the day to the understanding of the least initiated:—"A long gown with loose sleeves; held at the breast by a narrow band is a long mantle, folds of this covering the feet; ornaments none." But then no doubt the amiable lady suffered from a popular leaning in favour of conjugal obedience, and it is well known that King Edward himself strenuously upheld all simple garb, though it must be admitted that his descendants showed but small respect for his prejudices when they buried him in "a dalmatic of red silk damask, a crimson satin mantle fastened on the shoulders by a gilt fibula decorated with precious stones; a stola of white tissue ornamented with gilt quatrefolds and knots crossed on the breast, and jewelled gloves upon his august hands. The lower part of his body was wrapped in a piece of cloth of gold."

Some severity also marked costume in France at this time, when there was a suggestion of the ecclesiastical in the high guimpe without which no dress was complete. This was a fancy inaugurated by the second wife of Philip III. for the special benefit of her long throat and flat chest; and worn in company with a pointed head-dress and a flowing veil, a closely-fitting long robe of brocade, and an embroidered mantle, the general effect must have been entirely dignified and impressive. Simplicity, however, did not reign here long, and Louis IX. of France appears to have been quite lenient towards extravagance, and to have had a nice taste of his own, judging from the picture which represents him wearing a velvet cap, a tunic open at the neck, and a robe of brown embroidered with red flowers, and possessing long sleeves trimmed with fur. Fur was amongst his weaknesses evidently, for a deep cape of fur covers his shoulders in another picture, where he is wearing a fur-trimmed robe and has indulged himself with red stockings and black shoes. This was the King who urged his courtiers to dress themselves well and neatly, so that their wives would love them the more, and their people esteem them higher.

Philip the Fair, or Unfair, of France decreed that "No damoiselle, if she be not châtelaine or dame owning 2000 levies yearly, shall have more than one pair of gowns per year; and if she be, she shall have two pairs and no more"—an edict which was, of course, defied fearlessly. Sumptuary laws come somehow to be disregarded, proving the

IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

courage of women in defence of their idol—fashion.

Very curious is a coiffure which obtained in the reign of Philip the Bold, consisting of a covering like a plate in outline worn upon the head, with a veil falling over the cheeks and pendent at the back. Far more attractive must have been the head-dress of peacock's feathers which obtained about that time, when prodigality began to assert itself defiantly in magnificent jewels and gowns of condal emblazoned with rubies and sapphires; and when silken hose, gold and silver embroidery, and furred trimmings were amongst the attainable and the attained.

Lavishness ruled in Italy in the thirteenth century, when women wore long full gowns of silk velvet brocade, and tissues of gold and silver, and woollen materials dyed violet or scarlet. They had very large sleeves, their hands often being more than half covered with these, which touched the ground; and ornaments of pearls and borders of gold edged with pearls were chapters in the story of magnificence, little hoods adorned with gold and pearls and embroidery speaking the final word of splendour. The Italian matron wore a long mantle touching the ground, and open in the front, fastened with buttons or clasps enriched with pearls, and lined with silk and decked with gold, and when the hood was dispensed with, the hair was covered with a light transparent veil of silk.

The kirtle worn in England in the reign of Edward I. was in form plain to the point of severity, but over it on occasions there flowed a robe with a long train, the ladies of rank choosing the kirtle in as rich material as the robe, which they removed as a mark of respect when attending on illustrious guests.

The kirtle was a garment originally common to both sexes, and is best described as a smock frock, although the term at different times has been permitted to signify a cloak, a gown, a waistcoat, and even a petticoat, and in the fifteenth century it was disgraced into a habit of penance. Most frequently the kirtle was laced closely to the body and hung straight downwards to the hem.

In the latter years of this century was introduced the surkuane which, according to a famous writer, was of Languedocian origin. He describes it as being a bodice cut down the front and displaying in the intervals left by the lacings, very wide apart, a transparent tissue of the chemise elaborately pleated and embroidered in gold and silver. The existence of this has, however, been disputed by no less an authority than Planche, who has failed to discover any trace of a thirteenth -century dress fulfilling such conditions. Yet it was at this time that an edict was passed prohibiting the cottes lacés and chemises brodées and had there been no such fashion of bodice, there would have been no temptation for such luxuries, and no occasion for legislation to check the indulgence. The embroidered shift was forbidden to all save brides, who were permitted it on their wedding day and for the twelve succeeding months. Surely to have set such limit on the wear of dainty lingerie encouraged that reprehensible being the slatternly wife, whose charms do not outlive her trousseau. The costume of the bridegroom is not specialised, but man under less ecstatic circumstances seems to have been distinguished by a large cloak with full sleeves and a hood, a white linen coif tied under his chin, while a fantastic sort of close cap formed headgear common alike to France, Germany, and England, the origin being doubtful. Beneath the long cloak men wore a long gown reaching to the feet, and fastened at the waist, and as an alternative to this they could choose a tunic to the knee, with wide sleeves to the elbow, the fitting sleeves of the under-tunic terminating at the wrists and fastening with a closely-set row of buttons, or, it the buttons were omitted, sewn tightly round.