Essay Database

Medieval clothing history traditionally begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476. The transition from classical to the medieval clothing was more gradual. The Byzantine Empire continued for another thousand years, with both sexes of the upper classes wearing the tunic as the basic garment. In the West, the invasions from the north brought trousers, fitted tunics, and hoods, but it was almost three centuries before any recorded Western style evolved from …

…the evolution of European costume. For women, early in the Renaissance period there appeared a long, rigid, almost cone-shaped corset reaching well below the waist to a V in front. The breasts were forced upward above the corset until fashions changed with the French Revolution in 1789. Although the basic garments remained much the same as they had been in the Middle Ages, the relatively natural look was replaced with elaborate shapes, lacing, padding, and rigidity.