Fashion Blogs

The dress of the two sexes during the 10th century did not change much either. The elegant appearance of the women garments recalls that of the Greek and Roman women. Their dresses were at times so tight as to display all the elegance of their form, whilst at others they were made so high as to completely cover the neck (cottes-hardies). The cotte hardie, which has at all times been part of the dress of the French women, and which was frequently worn by men, was a long tunic reaching to the heels, fastened in at the waist and closed at the wrists. Queens, princesses, and ladies of the nobility wore in addition a long cloak lined with ermine, or a tunic with or without sleeves. Often, their dress consisted of two tunics, and of a veil, which was thrown over the head and fell down before and behind, thus entirely surrounding the neck.

Overall, no important change was made in the Medieval fashion before the end of the 11th century. The ordinary dress made of thick cloths and of coarse woolen stuffs was very strong and durable, and not easily spoiled. And it was usual for clothes, especially those worn on festive occasions and at ceremonials, to be handed down as heirlooms from father to son, to the third or fourth generation.

The Normans, who came from Scandinavia towards the end of the 10h century, A.D. 970, with their short clothes and coats of mail, at first adopted the dress of the French. In the following century, having found the Saxons and Britons in England clad in the garb of their ancestors, slightly modified by the Roman style, they began to make great changes in their manner of dressing. They more and more discarded the Roman fashions, and assumed a fashion similar to that in France in the same period.