16th Century Court Costumes

Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women's fashion across five centuries.Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over t... [Read More]

Description: This print originates from 'Gallerie der Costume' by Ludwig Schneider published by Winkelmann & Sohne in Berlin 1844. Artists and Engravers: This plate by unknown/to be determined.

Description: This original antique print originates from an unknown source, published in the Netherlands ca.1850.Artists and Engravers: Spanier, lithographer.

The corruption and grandeur of Renaissance Rome during young Martin Luther’s real-life visit form the backdrop to this tale of murder, war and papal politics. On arrival, Luther is nearly struck by the body of a naked, murdered cardinal thrust from a whorehouse window. Prime suspects behind this and other assassinations include “warrior” Pope Julius II and two future Medici popes, one of whom will become Luther’s future nemesis, Pope Leo X. Leonardo da Vinci and the infamous Niccolò... [Read More]

“A sumptuous historical novel anchored by its excellent depiction of Jane Seymour, Henry the VIII’s third queen . . . This is a must for all fans of Tudor fiction and history.”—Publishers Weekly                   Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for a cloistered life as a nun. But her large noble family has other plans, and as an adult, Jane is invited to the King’s court to serve as lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon. The devout Katherine shows k... [Read More]

Henry VIII used his wardrobe, and that of his family and household, as a way of expressing his wealth and magnificence. This book encompasses the first detailed study of male and female dress worn at the court of Henry VIII (1509-47) and covers the dress of the king and his immediate family, the royal household and the broader court circle. Henry VIII's wardrobe is set in context by a study of Henry VII's clothes, court and household. ~ ~ As none of Henry VIII's clothes survive, evidence is draw... [Read More]

From an iconic portrait of a young Elizabeth I to the many paintings of Charles I by Flemish master Anthony Van Dyck and the glamorous “Windsor Beauties” of the court of Charles II, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century portraiture has long been a source of great interest to costume historians. Given the scarcity of surviving garments, it also tells us most of what we know about Tudor and Stuart dress. We’re all familiar with the stockings, voluminous breeches, and elaborate lace ruffs, but d... [Read More]

Clothing occupies a complex and important position in relation to human experience. Not just utilitarian, dress gives form to a society's ideas about the sacred and secular, about exclusion and inclusion, about age, beauty, sexuality and status. In Dressing the Elite, the author explores the multiple meanings that garments held in early modern England.Clothing was used to promote health and physical well-being, and to manage and structure, life transitions. It helped individuals create social id... [Read More]