14th Century Clothing

Notes on women's clothing in the first half of the 14th century, along with instructio ns for making a fitted dress of the era.

A three-quarter cloak based on the effigy of William of Hatfield.

A tutorial for making your own sideless surcoat.

A man's gown of the late 14th or early 15th century, with dagged angel-wing sleeves.

Woman' s cotehardie pattern for size 10, with some documentat ion included for a 15th century princess seam fitted dress. Updated on website to include additional sizes.

A comparativ e study of extant garments in
North-We stern Europe.

An overview of the basic garments and accessorie s for 14th century women, with a good look at patterns and constructi on techniques .

Compares women' s outfits and garments from different European countries in the fourteenth century.

A fur primer for 14th and 15th century European clothing. Train your eye to recognize fur when it is depicted as part of clothing and hats in late 14th and early 15th century manuscript s.

Diagrams and worked samples of various styles of dagges from art and archeologi cal examples.

Basic patterns for an easy T-tunic, a 13th century tunic, a wide-sleev ed gown, a laced gown, a kirtle, ladies' hose, an early hood, a hood with shoulder gores, a basic surcote, and two sideless surcoats.

A survey of men's clothing in northern Europe from the first half of the 14th century.

There are a variety of silhouettes in the body-hugging gowns worn by women in the fine art of the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Europe. Theories abound concerning the methods used to achieve the look of these gowns -- a look that more often than not hoisted the bust to attractive heights, or at the least, gave it the appearance of comfortable support. Most intriguing of all is that there is no provable evidence for the widespread use of a supportive undergarment. How did the gowns support the bust?

A medieval friary in the north-east of England is not, perhaps, the first place you'd look for evidence of high-fashi on civilian clothing from the 14th and 15th centuries. Hoods, gowns, girdles and some of England&#3 9;s earliest underpants were a surprise.

General informatio n and images relating to western European clothing of the mid-14th century.

For the medieval person, clothing and dress always had a special meaning. The symbolic aspects of a given garment, and not simply the utility functions such as protection , played a significan t role in medieval society. Costumes composed a part of courtly life as well, their special meaning having been defined and refined by members of the aristocrac y for their own use.

A method of cotehardie constructi on utilizing a body block, and based on a number of extant garments from the period.

How to use extant garments from Greenland and England as a basis for a lady's cotehardie.

The outstandin g feature of the 14th century pourpoint worn by Charles of Blois is the extraordin arily large armhole (grand aissiette) and sophistica ted cut of the sleeves. The unusual shaping and many gussets allow an astonishin g range of movement to the arms.

Dagging and dagged garments from the late Middle Ages, including dagged hoods, dagged sleeves, and dagged cloaks.

Line drawings of patterns for several garments, including women's surcoats and gardecorps illustrated in the Manesse Codex.

A translation of a 14th century French manuscript covering the preparation of a multitude of meats, birds and fish and the sauces to go with them.

Illustrations of women's heraldic surcoats, both sleeveless and sleeved.

Contains a rambling (but probably still useful) introduction to a paper which examines the way fitted gown layers are combined in the art of the 14thc and 15th centuries as well as a visual sampling of fitted gowns that have long buttoned sleeves and buttons down the center-front opening.

The use of bells to trim baldrics, belts, and other garments for 14th and 15th century outfits.

Catalogues Chaucer's names for different sorts of garments, accessories, and elements of armor, as he describes them in The Canterbury Tales.

A Herjolfsne s-style dress, with illustrati on of the layout and basic shape of the garment.

Patterns for Viking and medieval armor, clothing, and accessorie s.

Houpelande of Jan Zhorelecky made from velvet. Usually worn with belt and decorated with fur, 1396.

F or constructi on, see Prague style Houpelande

Once clothing became more fitted and could no longer be slipped over one's head, it became necessary to tightly close gowns and tunics. An overview of how and where to close clothing through the centuries, with practical advice of how to get it done. Includes, from extant examples and details from artwork: buttons (metal, bone, and cloth); eyelets; lacing rings; hook and eye; pins; and lacing patterns.

Selected illustrations from a 19th century book on historic fashions.

An overview of women's clothing in the early years of the 14th century.

Guild statutes provide precise indications for methods of fabrication of the objects of daily life in the Middle Ages. This webpage provides statutes from guilds for makers of aguilettes (points?), purses, armor, tallow candlesticks, hose, clothing, and writing-tables.

An overview of men's clothing in the early years of the 1th century.

Links to artwork demonstrating how women's clothing was modified for pregnancy in the 14th-16th centuries.