Early English Costume

1: Women's Fashion from the Time of William the Conqueror
What did the clothing of a medieval English woman look like? Here's one author's presentation of typical clothing of noblewomen in early England, after the time of William the First.

2: Women's Clothing in the Time of William the Conqueror
"Nothing could be plainer or more homely than the dress of a Norman lady...."

3: Women's Clothing in the Time of William the Second
"That the lady did not lace herself overtight is proved by the many informations we have of her household duties..."

4: Women's Clothing in the Time of Henry the First
"After a hundred years or more of headcloths and hidden hair suddenly appears a head of hair...."

5: Girls' Clothing in the Time of Henry the First
"It is only in quite recent years that there have been quite distinct dresses for children, fashions indeed which began with the ideas of the improvement in hygiene...."

6: Women's Clothing in the Time of Stephen
"The homes of the English from being bare and rude began to know the delights of embroidery and weaving. The workroom of the ladies was the most civilized part of the castle, and the effect of the Norman invasion of foreign fashions was beginning to be felt...."

7: Women's Clothing in the Time of Henry the Second
"About this time came the fashion of the chin-band, and again the glory of the hair was hidden under the wimple...."

8: Women's Fashion in the Time of Richard I
"The ladies of Richard I.'s time did not wear Oriental clothes, but they had a flavour of Orientalism pervading their dress--rather masculine Orientalism than feminine...."

9: Women's Clothing in the Time of John
"In this reign there were thirty English towns which had carried on a trade in dyed cloths for fifty years...."

10: Woman's Costume in the Time of Henry the Third
"Now the lady must needs begin to repair the ravages of time and touch the cheek that no longer knows the bloom of youth with rouge...."