| The Elizabethan Period, which extended from roughly | | | | women wore simpler garments made from plain wool |
| 1560 to 1600, saw a wide variety in women's clothing. | | | | and linen fabrics. However, the introduction of imported |
| Elizabethan dresses reflected each woman's social | | | | fabric dyes allowed even poorer women to have |
| and economic status as well as her individual taste. | | | | clothing in almost every color of the rainbow. |
| Despite this wide variety, there are certain dress | | | | Like wealthy women, working women dresses with |
| designs and details that we associate with Elizabethan | | | | tight bodices. The bodice was shorter, stopping at the |
| dresses. Some of these common elements of | | | | waist to allow more movement and laced up the front |
| Elizabethan women's clothing include a stiff pleated | | | | rather than the back. In place of a farthingale, working |
| collar known as a ruff and dresses with long tight | | | | women wore several petticoats to give their skirts |
| bodices, bell-shaped skirts and full sleeves. | | | | fullness. Depictions of working women in Elizabethan |
| Elizabethan dresses worn by wealthy women and | | | | dresses show white aprons worn over their skirts. |
| members of royalty were characterized by an | | | | Wealthy women either went bare headed or wore |
| elongated bodice flattened in front by a bone or | | | | hats with brims that were similar in shape to a man's |
| wooden insert and laced tightly up the back. Sleeves | | | | hat of the time. These hats were decorated with |
| were attached separately to the bodice and were | | | | feathers, ribbons and rosettes. Working women wore |
| often made of a different fabric. The skirt had a bell | | | | head wraps or scarves to cover their heads. Both |
| shape that was created by a farthingale, an underskirt | | | | wealthy women and working class women wore |
| with hoops sewn to it made of willow reeds or rope. In | | | | stockings that were held up at the knee with garters. |
| the later part of the Elizabethan age, women began to | | | | The difference between the classes was in the |
| wear padding on their hips to make their skirts stand | | | | stocking material - fine silk and cotton for wealthy |
| out further. This padding, or hip roll, was like a round | | | | women and course wool or linen for the less wealthy. |
| pillow that was tied around the waist. | | | | Elizabethan fashion at its most extreme often |
| The fabric used for Elizabethan dresses reflected the | | | | approached the ridiculous and was satirized even in its |
| wealth of the owner. Brocade and embroidered | | | | own time. When Elizabethan dresses are the model |
| fabrics decorated with jewels, ribbons and lace were | | | | for modern costumes, they can be created using |
| worn by members of royalty and wealthy women. | | | | softer fabrics and simpler styling. The result can be a |
| Ruffs were made from starched linen and decorated | | | | look that is both romantic and regal. |
| with gold and silver thread and jewels. Less wealthy | | | | |