Medieval Dress

By Sarah Becker and Elizabeth White

Upper Class: Women

• Clothes were often layered with tunics, overtunics, and cloaks

• Women would wear kirtles, or tunics that went to the ankles, and over their shirts

• The elaborate gowns worn by queens were made by attaching tubes of fabric at the shoulders.

• Wimples, which are cloth headdresses, covered the head and neck

• False Hair was used in order to make braids longer

Kirtle Wimple

Upper Class: Men

• Because of the short tunics, men wore hose in order to be modest

• A gipon, which is shaped closely to the body, has no collar, a round neckline, buttons or lacing down the front, and ends above the knees, replaced the tunic in the later years.

• A pourpoint was worn as an outer garment that tight fitted in the chest and waist.

• Later, a collar that reached to the ears was added to the pourpoint called a carcaille

• Wide balloon-shaped or sack-shaped sleeves were also very popular

Gipon Pourpoint

Lower Class

• The style of clothing worn was greatly influenced on the person’s status

• The lower class wore fabric of broadcloth and wool instead of the velvet and satin worn by the upper class

• Most of the clothing worn by both men and women were simple tunics and dresses that were loose fitting in order to allow room to grow in

• Fashion of the lower class rarely changed since most clothes were handed down through the family

Children: Girls

• Children of wealthier families were often dressed like adults

• Like women, girls wore a kirtle as underwear• A cote-hardie, which is tight fitting, has a low

neckline, and long sleeves with attachments called tippets or streamers.

• Coifs and veils were worn as hats• Hair was similar to boys and sometimes was

curled above the ears

Cote-hardie

Children: Boys

• Boys wore loose fitted pants with belts• Like men, boys wore gipons with three-

quarter length sleeves and hose• Cloaks and thigh length capes with hoods

were worn as outer wear• Shoes had ankle straps with a cut out design

on the top of the shoe and were pointed• Gloves and swords were worn as accessories