ECCENTRICITIES OF MASCULINE COSTUME.
"The fashion wears out more apparel than the man."
--_Much Ado about Nothing._
"Through tattered clothes small vices do appear,
Robes and furred gowns hide all."--_King Lear._
[Illustration: BRITON CLAD IN SKINS.]
[Illustration: BRITON AT THE TIME OF THE ROMAN INVASION.]
"Vanity, thy name is woman," "As vain as a woman," and similar epithets,
are hurled at our defenceless heads by our teachers and masters; yet how
few of them pause for a moment to consider whether they are altogether
free from this human weakness or exempt from that love of dress which
they so strongly condemn in others. It does not require a deep study of
the history of costume to reveal some curious anomalies in this respect,
and the sketches chosen for the purpose of illustrating this chapter
will only give a faint idea of what has been considered appropriate and
becoming to the manly form at different epochs. In Pelautier's "Histoire
des Celtes," we learn that "the toilet of the ancient inhabitants of
Britain, somewhat resembled that of the North American Indian of the
present day, and consisted of a series of elaborate paintings over the
whole surface of the body, which were no doubt originally intended to
protect the skin, from the inclemencies of the weather, but were
afterwards used as a mode of embellishment and a means of distinguishing
the different classes, for it was reserved to freemen, and strictly
forbidden to slaves. The lower classes confined themselves to small
designs drawn at a considerable distance from each other; but the nobles
had the privilege of ornamenting their persons with large figures,
chiefly of animals, subsequently transferred to their shields, after
they adopted a less scanty costume, and this may be looked upon as the
origin of family arms." The Picts, who inhabited the north of Britain,
were remarkable for their pictorial decorations, hence their name,
derived from an ancient word, _picti_, which signifies painted. Our
remote ancestors also added to their other charms (which were doubtless
irresistible to the belles of that period), by deepening the tone of
their naturally ruddy locks, by washing them in water boiled with lime.
Their clothing was of skins of animals killed in the chase, and they
were armed with implements of bone and flint. The Tyrian traders taught
them how to construct various weapons of war from a composition of
copper and tin, and their flat wicker shields were superseded by those
of metal ornamented with concentric circles. After the Roman Conquest of
Britain, the skin garments were laid aside for dyed tunics and close
trousers. Over the tunic was worn a sagum, or short cloak, so named by
the Romans from _saic_, a word of Celtic origin, which signified a skin
or hide. When the head was covered it was with a cap, from the British
_cab_, a hut, which, from its circular shape, it somewhat resembled, for
the dwelling-places were composed of wattles firmly fixed in the ground
and fastened together at the top. A curious remnant of this fashion is
the horn-like cap of rushes still made by Welsh children. The hair was
usually long and flowing. Men of rank shaved the chin and allowed the
moustache to grow to an extraordinary length.
[Illustration: CANUTE.]
The Saxons and Danes are spoken of as wearers of "scarlet, purple, and
fine linen," and the latter combed their hair once a day, bathed once a
week, and frequently changed their clothing. By these means they found
favour in the eyes of the women, and delighted the wives and daughters
of the nobility. In a curious MS., written in the reign of King Canute,
the monarch is represented in a tunic and mantle embellished with cords
and tassels. The tops of his stockings are embroidered, but he wears
simple leather shoes. A vestment presented by Canute to Croyland Abbey
was of silk, embroidered with golden eagles, and the rich pall which he
ordered to be laid over the tomb of Edmund Ironside, was "embroidered
with the likeness of golden apples and ornamented with pearls." From
this, we see that the needle played an important part in the
ornamentation of clothing, and to it we also owe the splendid Bayeux
tapestry, worked by Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror. This
priceless curiosity is not only remarkable as a magnificent piece of
workmanship, but affords a good idea of the dress of that period--the
11th century. A tunic reaching to the ankle, leg bandages and shoes, a
flowing mantle and flat cap, were the chief characteristics of the civil
dress of this and succeeding reigns. The Normans, however, were
clean-shaven.
[Illustration: WILLIAM THE NORMAN, FROM BAYEUX TAPESTRY.]
[Illustration: GENTLEMAN OF THE 14TH CENTURY.]
[Illustration: PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED IN THE REIGN OF RICHARD II.]
[Illustration: A CAPUCHON OR HOOD, TIME OF EDWARD II.]
During the Middle Ages extravagance prevailed in both male and female
costume. Handsome furs were in great request, and several times
sumptuary laws were passed. Men wore eight indispensable articles of
dress, the shirt, breeches, stockings, shoes, coat, surcoat or
cotehardie, mantle, and head dress. The coat or under-dress corresponded
with the tunic of the ancients, and was entirely hidden, with the
exception of the sleeves, by the surcoat. There were two kinds of
mantles, one open in the front, the two sides connected by a strap
resting on the chest, the other was open on the right side and had one
end thrown over the left shoulder. Head coverings were of various
descriptions; but many adopted hoods with long points, which were used
to attach them to the belt when not in use. The assembling of Parliament
in the reign of Richard II. gives the lay, spiritual, and legal peers in
their usual costumes, and is reproduced from Planche's "History of
British Costume." The Bishops are in cowls near the throne, the judges
in coifs and furred robes, the Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland
stand in front. The Duke of Hereford, in high cap, is to the left of the
throne, and Exeter, Salisbury, and other peers are seated opposite the
judges. During the reign of Richard II., which lasted over twenty years
(1377 to 1399), there were many curious fashions in masculine attire.
The peaked shoes, chained to the knee, were not more ridiculous than the
deep, wide sleeves commonly called pokeys, which were shaped like a
bagpipe and were worn by all classes. Many writers refer to them as the
devil's receptacles, as whatever could be stolen was hidden away in
their folds. Some were wide and reached to the feet, others to the knee,
and they were full of slits. Hose were often of different colours.
Parti-coloured suits were also in favour, and these were frequently
scalloped at the edges and embroidered with mottoes and other devices.
Chaucer, who wrote the "Canterbury Tales" towards the end of Richard's
reign, describes in the most graphic manner the apparel of his
contemporaries. "The haberdasher, carpenter, weaver, dyer, and tapestry
worker, all wealthy burghers of the City of London, were clothed in a
livery, and the handles of their knives, pouches, and girdles were
ornamented with silver. The clergy were not to be distinguished from the
laity, and rode on horseback, glittering with gold, in gowns of scarlet
and green, fine with cut work. Their mitres embellished with pearls like
the head of a queen, and staffs of precious metals set with jewels."
Even the parish clerk is said to be "spruce and foppish in his dress."
The author of an anonymous work called the "Eulogium," of this date,
says:--"The commoners were besotted in excess of apparel. Some in wide
surcoats reaching to their loins, some in a garment reaching to their
heels, closed before and sticking out at the sides, so that at the back
they make men seem like women, and this they call by the ridiculous name
_gowne_. Their hoods are little, and tied under the chins. Their
lirri-pipes (tippets) pass round the neck, and hanging down before,
reach to the heels."
Towards the end of the 14th century men began to wear short clothes made
to fit the body so closely that it often required the assistance of two
people to remove them, and it is from this period we can distinctly
trace the difference between ancient and modern dress; in fact, our
present fashions--masculine and feminine--resemble to a certain extent
those worn during mediaeval times. Then, as now, men wore overcoats with
tight sleeves, felt hats also with feathers, worn over a skull cap, and
slung behind the back, and closely-fitting shoes and boots.
The Tudor monarchs paid considerable attention to the adornment of their
persons, and were responsible for stringent legal enactments calculated
to encourage home manufacturers. Felt hat-making--one of our oldest
industries--was introduced into this country from Spain and Holland. A
great impetus was given to this branch of trade by a law passed in 1571
which enjoined "every person above the age of seven years to wear on
Sundays or holidays a cap of wool, knit made, thickened, and dressed in
England by some of the trade of cappers, under the forfeiture of three
farthings for every day's neglect." In 1603 the felt makers became a
Corporation with grants and many privileges. Throughout the Middle Ages
the upper classes frequently engaged in commerce. Bishops, abbots, and
nobles personally superintended the disposal of the produce of their
estates, and a considerable number of the younger sons of good families
were the leading traders of the 15th and 16th centuries.
[Illustration: COSTUME OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VII.]
The "frocke" frequently mentioned, and of which the modern frock coat is
the degenerate descendant, was a sort of jacket or jerkin made
occasionally with skirts, a style associated especially, with Holbein's
portraits of Henry VIII. and his contemporaries.
The uniform worn at the present day by the Yeomen of the Guard stationed
at the Tower of London, gives us the military costume of the Tudor
period. It is the oldest corps in her Majesty's service, and was
instituted by Henry VII. as the bodyguard of the sovereign. In the dress
of the Bluecoat Boys at Christ's Hospital we have that of the citizens
of London during the reign of Edward VI. and Mary, when blue coats were
habitually used by apprentices and serving men, yellow stockings also
were in common use. The badges on the jackets of firemen and watermen
date from this time; they were made of metal and placed on the sleeve,
in the 16th century, instead of being embroidered on the back or breast
of the garment as they had been previously. Retainers in the households
of the wealthy, were provided with surcoats and mantles twice a year, of
their patron's favourite colour, and this was called the _livree_, from
a French word signifying to distribute. Trade guilds and members of the
learned professions, also adopted a distinct style of costume. Lawyers,
who were originally priests, of course wore the tonsure; but when the
clergy ceased to interfere with secular affairs the lay lawyer continued
this sign of office, and also wore a coif. Their gowns were capacious
and lined with fur: and the Justices of the King's Bench were allowed
liveries by the King, of cloth and silk. Budge, or lambskin, and miniver
were provided for the trimming thereof, and the colour appears to have
varied in different reigns, but for a long time green prevailed.
[Illustration: COURTIER IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH.]
The courtiers of Elizabeth discarded the "frocke cote" for quilted and
stuffed doublets and trunk hose, slashed and ornamented in the most
quaint and extravagant manner. Below these were worn stockings
embroidered with birds, beasts, and other devices, "sewed up close
thereto as though they were all of one piece." Trunk hose were
appropriately named, as they were often filled with wool, bran, and
other materials. At last they became of such enormous size that it was
necessary to construct swings in the Houses of Parliament in place of
the ordinary fixed seats, for the accommodation of those wearing this
singular article of attire. Enormous ruffs of muslin and lace encircled
the necks of dandies of the Elizabethan era, and they appear to have had
waists which would excite the envy of the belles of the latter part of
the 19th century. In fact, the gallants of that day were even in advance
of the fair sex, in their love of fantastic costume; and as
Hollingshead, in _The Chronicle_, justly states in reference to the
fashions of the period: "Nothing was more constant in England than
inconstancy of attire."
[Illustration: EARL OF SURREY, TIME OF HENRY VIII.]
A few years since, behind some ancient panelling at Haddon Hall,
Derbyshire, was discovered a washing bill (with other things
appertaining to the 16th and 17th centuries) which gives us a good idea
of the various articles of dress then worn. Reference is made to the
_ruff_, which is too well known to need description; to _bandes_ made of
linen and cambric, from which those now used by the clergy took their
origin, and from which we derive the modern word bandbox. There were
three kinds--some that stood upright, others were allowed to lie flat
upon the shoulders, as shown in the drawings of Charles I. and II., and
those which were embroidered and trimmed with lace. The _shirt_ applied
to the under-garment of both sexes, and the half-shirt referred to the
stomacher over which the dress was laced. _Boot hose_ were made of a
variety of materials, and were occasionally called nether stocks;
_socks_ were sometimes put over them; and _tops_ were of Holland linen
or lace, and formed the lining of the full hanging boots of the
Cavaliers.
[Illustration: CHARLES I.]
During the Civil War the dress worn by the King's adherents, consisted
of a doublet of silk or satin with loose sleeves, slashed up the front;
the collar was generally of point lace, and a short cloak rested
carelessly on one shoulder. The hat was a broad-brimmed beaver with a
plume of feathers, and trunk hose gave way to breeches. The Roundheads
or Republican Party went to the opposite extreme. They cut their hair
close, avoided lace and jewels, had plain linen or cloth suits of a grey
or brown tint, with a hat somewhat resembling the modern chimney pot.
[Illustration: CHARLES II. AND HIS QUEEN (1662).]
[Illustration: WILLIAM III. (1694)]
[Illustration: GENTLEMAN AND LADY OF 18TH CENTURY.]
* * * * *
About this period we also hear of the waistcoat, which was cut high at
the neck, and was made with sleeves. Neckcloths and cravats of
Brussels and Flanders lace were tied in a knot under the chin, and had
square ends. Another peculiar feature of masculine costume towards the
end of the 17th century consisted of petticoat breeches with drooping
lace ruffles, such as adorn the nether limbs of Charles II. Patches and
perukes were also adopted, and the former fashion, a revival of an old
Roman custom, had political significance according to where they were
placed on the face, and were bitterly ridiculed by numerous satirical
writers. "I know many young gentlemen," says Middleton, in one of his
plays, "who wear longer hair than their mistresses." The beard was worn
in different ways, but the most usual shape was what Beaumont and
Fletcher, in their "Queen of Corinth," call the T beard, consisting of a
moustache and imperial:--
"His beard,
Which now he put i' the form of a T,
The Roman T; your T beard is the fashion,
And two-fold doth express the enamoured courtier."
Shakespeare also tells us, it was often dyed different colours.
[Illustration: WALKING DRESS, 1830.]
Everyone tried to rival his neighbour in the size of his peruke, till
they became so preposterous that Charles II. showed his disfavour by
writing a letter to the University of Cambridge forbidding the members
to wear periwigs, smoke tobacco, or read their sermons. History does not
relate what effect the King's censure had upon the head-gear of students
attending the colleges, but it is absolutely proved that they paid no
heed to his latter commands. It was the fashion for men to comb their
perukes in public, and curiously-chased combs of bone and
tortoise-shell, were carried in the pocket with the snuff-box, another
indispensable appendage of a fine gentleman.
In the 18th century the broad hat brims were turned up at the sides,
and, in the racy vernacular of the day, "each gallant cocked his hat
according to his fancy." Shoe buckles became general in the reign of
Queen Anne, and displaced the ribbon rosettes formerly worn. Planche
accurately describes the fashions of that day. "The square-cut coat was
stiffened with wires and buckram, and the long-flapped waistcoat with
pockets almost met the stockings. There were hanging cuffs with lace
ruffles, square-toed shoes with red heels, and hats laced with gold or
silver galloon."
At the beginning of the 19th century many important changes took place.
Excepting for Court dress, cloth was substituted for velvet and other
rich fabrics. The coat was open, displaying an elaborate shirt-front,
stock and flowered waistcoat; and the skirt, though full, fell in
natural folds. Trousers were very tight, and held in place by a strap
beneath the foot, and hats displayed narrow curved brims.
We have only to cast our eyes down the vista of ages to find that
British costume has been suited to the needs, habits, and customs of the
people, and periods at which it was worn. Skins of animals were
appropriate to the hardy cave dwellers who inhabited this country at an
early period in the world's history. The simple dress of the
Anglo-Saxons fulfilled the requirements of a primitive race; and the
furs and rich fabrics brought home by the Crusaders were adapted to the
higher state of civilization which prevailed in the Middle Ages. In the
16th century the Renaissance (of art and culture) was specially noted
for richness of attire. During the 18th century a mixture of styles
which had found favour with previous generations was the most marked
feature in the costume of that period, and this equally applies to the
two first decades of the present one. Masculine attire at the present
day, though simple and practical, has few points of beauty to recommend
it. Briefly, it resolves itself into a series of woollen cylinders which
changeth not from generation to generation.