Shakesperean Clothing Essay example - 764 Words

Have you ever looked at a picture of your parents when they were your age? Or maybe your grandparents from way back when? Well, judging by how much we laugh at their goofy clothes and ridiculous shoes, not to mention the hilarious hairstyles, styles have changed a lot. We?ve gone from high waists to low waists, baggy shirts to shirts that could fit your little sister, from bellbottoms to skin-tight jeans, and from voluminous hair to straight and silky locks. Yes, style can change a lot in a few decades and if you think thats a lot of change, try going back a few centuries, to the times of Shakespeare! Back then, the women wore a lot more clothes than we do, that?s for sure! The style included a chemise, stockings (hose), a corset or†¦show more content†¦The men these days wouldn?t be caught dead in those!), a codpiece, and a corset (who knew men had those). For over-clothes, they wore a doublet, with separate sleeves, breeches, a belt, ruff, cloak, shoes, and a hat. This age was also known as the peacock age, because sometimes the men were more elaborately dressed than the women! Make-up and hairstyles have also changed from then till now. Then, make-up was pale, and extremely white. Women wore hats and carried parasols to escape from the light, to stay as white as possible. Those with darker, tanned skin were generally workers, so it was important for the upper class to distinguish themselves from the peasants. Men also used this white paste to identify themselves from the peasants. Who knew that Queen Elizabeth set the standards for make-up in those days? Her case of smallpox, which left some blemishes, was easily covered by the heavy white make-up. This explains the absurdly pale skin in her many portraits. Cheeks and lips were ideally red. Kohl was used to darken the eyelashes. Light hair was also considered beautiful. Hair styles were also very elaborate. Can you imagine sitting in a chair for 4 days with 20 hairdressers? Well, many women spent al most that much time, because their hair was almost never styled. In those days, people very rarely took baths, meaning their hair would last for a long time. This may seem absolutely disgusting to us, but it was perfectly normal