OVERVIEW
Womenswear
Wikipedia describes 1590 women’s fashion:
“Contrasting fabrics, slashes, embroidery, applied trims, and other forms of surface ornamentation remained prominent. The wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders had reached its peak in the 1530s, and by mid-century a tall, narrow line with a V-shaped waist was back in fashion. Sleeves and women’s skirts then began to widen again, with emphasis at the shoulder that would continue into the next century. The characteristic garment of the period was the ruff, which began as a modest ruffle attached to the neckband of a shirt or smock and grew into a separate garment of fine linen, trimmed with lace, cutwork or embroidery, and shaped into crisp, precise folds with starch and heated irons.”
Fig. 1 - Anonymous. Double portrait of Sir John Harington (1560-1612), of Kelston, and Mary, Lady Harington (c. 1571-1634), 1593. Oil on panel, transferred onto board; 94 x 77.8 cm (30 5/8 x 37 in). Private Collection. Source: Christie's
Fig. 2 - Anonymous. Maria Christina, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Transylvania, ca. 1592. Oil on canvas; 110 × 91 cm (43.3 × 35.8 in). Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum. Source: Pinterest
Fig. 3 - Robert Peake the Elder (English, 1551-1619). Catherine Carey, Countess of Nottingham, 1597. Oil on canvas. London: The Weiss Gallery. Source: Pinterest
Fig. 4 - Marcus Gheeraerts the younger (Flemish, 1561/1562–1635/1636). Dorothy, Lady Dormer, 1596. Oil on canvas. Private Collection. Source: Pinterest
Menswear
“Men’s fashionable clothing consisted of a linen shirt with collar or ruff and matching wrist ruffs, which were laundered with starch to be kept stiff and bright. Over the shirt men wore a doublet with long sleeves sewn or laced in place. Doublets were stiff, heavy garments, and were often reinforced with boning. Optionally, a jerkin, usually sleeveless and often made of leather, was worn over the doublet. During this time the doublet and jerkin became increasingly more colorful and highly decorated. Waistlines dipped V-shape in front, and were padded to hold their shape. Around 1570, this padding was exaggerated into a peascod belly.”
Fig. 1 - Gortzius Geldorp (Flemish, 1553-1618). Family Portrait, 1598. Oil on canvas. Private Collection. Source: Pinterest
Fig. 2 - Marcus Gheeraerts the younger (Flemish, 1561/1562–1635/1636). Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, ca. 1597. Oil on canvas; 218 x 127.2 cm (85 7/8 x 50 in). London: National Portrait Gallery, 4985. Purchased, 1974. On long-term loan to Montacute House, Somerset. Source: Pinterest
Fig. 3 - Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640). Portrait of a Man, Possibly an Architect or Geographer, 1597. Oil on copper; 21.6 x 14.6 cm (8 1/2 x 5 3/4 in). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982.60.24. The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982. Source: The Met
CHILDREN’S WEAR
[To come… ]
Fig. 1 - Annibale Carracci (Italian, 1560–1609). Two Children Teasing a Cat, 1587–88. Oil on canvas; 66 x 88.9 cm (26 x 35 in). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.142. Purchase, Gwynne Andrews Fund, and Bequests of Collis P. Huntington and Ogden Mills, by exchange, 1994. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fig. 2 - Isaac Oliver (French, 1558-1617). An Unknown Girl, aged four, 1590. Watercolour on vellum stuck onto a playing card and set in an ivory frame; depth: 6 mm, diameter: 64 mm cm (depth: .24 in, diameter: 2.5 in). London: Victoria and Albert Museum, P.145-1910. Source: Victoria & Albert
Fig. 3 - Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (Flemish, 1561–1636). Anne, Lady Pope with her children, 1596. Oil on canvas; 2036 mm x 1217 mm cm (80 1/4 in x 47 7/8 in). Washington, D.C: National Portrait Gallery, NPG L231. Lent by a private collection, courtesy of Nevill Keating Pictures, 2003. Source: National Portrait Gallery
References:
- “1550-1600 in Western European Fashion” Wikipedia. Accessed September 14, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1550%E2%80%931600_in_Western_European_fashion
Historical Context
Wikipedia: 1590-1599
Rulers:
- England: Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
- France
- King Henry IV (1589-1610)
- Spain
- King Philip II (1556-1598)
- King Philip III (1598-1621)
Religious Divisions in Europe after the Reformation, 1590. Source: The Norton Anthology of English Literature
Events:
Timeline Entries
Primary/Period Sources
Resources for Fashion History Research
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Digitized Primary/Period Sources
Secondary Sources
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