1600–1650 in fashion

Fashion in the period 1600–1650 in Western European clothing is characterized by the disappearance of the ruff in favour of broad lace or linen collars. Waistlines rose through the period for both men and women. Other notable fashions included full, slashed sleeves and tall or broad hats with brims. For men, hose disappeared in favour of breeches. The artist Rubens with his first wife c. 1610. Her long, rounded stomacher and jacket-like bodice are characteristic Dutch fashions The silhouette, which was essentially close to the body with tight sleeves and a low, pointed waist to around 1615, gradually softened and broadened. Sleeves became very full, and in the 1620s and 1630s were often paned or slashed to show the voluminous sleeves of the shirt or chemise beneath. Waistlines rose. Spanish fashions remained very conservative. The ruff lingered longest in Spain and Holland, but disappeared first for men and later for women in France and England. The social tensions leading to the English Civil War were reflected in English fashion, with the elaborate French styles popular at the courts of James I and his son Charles I contrasting with the sober styles in sadd or somber colours favoured by Puritans and exported to the early settlements of New England (see below). In the early decades of the century, a trend among poets and artists to adopt a fashionable pose of melancholia is reflected in fashion, where the characteristic touches are dark colours, open collars, unbuttoned robes or doublets, and a generally disheveled appearance, accompanied in portraits by world-weary poses and sad expressions. Fabric and patterns Scrolling floral embroidery decorates this Engl

shwoman's dress, petticoat, and linen jacket, accented with yellow-tinted reticella collar, cuffs, and headdress, c. 1614–18. Figured silks with elaborate pomegranate or artichoke patterns are still seen in this period, especially in Spain, but a lighter style of scrolling floral motifs, woven or embroidered, was popular, especially in England. The great flowering of needlelace occurred in this period. Geometric reticella deriving from cutwork was elaborated into true needlelace or punto in aria (called in England "point lace"), which also reflected the popular scrolling floral designs.[1][2][3] In England, embroidered linen silk jackets fastened with ribbon ties were fashionable for both men and women from c. 1600–1620, as was reticella tinted with yellow starch. Overgowns with split sleeves (often trimmed with horizontal rows of braid) were worn by both men and women. From the 1620s, surface ornament fell out of fashion in favour of solid-colour satins, and functional ribbon bows or points became elaborate masses of rosettes and looped trim. [edit]Portraiture and fantasy In England from the 1630s, under the influence of literature and especially court masques, Anthony van Dyck and his followers created a fashion for having one's portrait painted in exotic, historical or pastoral dress, or in simplified contemporary fashion with various scarves, cloaks, mantles, and jewels added to evoke a classic or romantic mood, and also to prevent the portrait appearing dated within a few years. These paintings are the progenitors of the fashion of the later 17th century for having one's portrait painted in undress, and do not necessarily reflect clothing as it was actually worn.