Month: Last updated Jun 23, 2019 | Published on Jun 23, 2019

1530-1539

Men’s fashion of the 1530s was dominated by the broad-shouldered silhouettes made iconic by King Henry VIII. Women’s fashion showed greater regional variation, with Italian women establishing trends that would soon spread to the rest of Europe in the second half of the century.

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1520-1529

In 1520-1529, men and women both began to wear shirts with high standing collars ending in a frill at the neck and cuff, which would later evolve into the ruff. Dark colors continued to grow in popularity, as did everything oversize, among them: codpieces, gown sleeves, and elaborate headdresses.

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1510-1519

The second decade of the 16th century featured broad-shouldered silhouettes for men and women, paired with immense sleeves (except for women in Germany, who retained narrow sleeves). Slashing, pinking, paning and other decorative fabric treatments like blackwork embroidery were increasingly common.

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1500-1509

Fashion in the first decade of the sixteenth century largely continued the trends of the 1490s, but with a growing Italian influence on men’s and womenswear producing a broader silhouette, as well as an increasing presence of slashing on men’s garments.

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1950-1959

Fashion in the 1950s saw a clear gender divide. While men and boy’s fashion moved towards a more casual day-to-day style, women and girl’s fashion prioritized elegance, formality, and perfectly matched accessories. Couture womenswear saw rapid change with new designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy disrupting the overtly feminine silhouette popularized by Christian Dior while novel prints and colors marked a playfulness in fashion for both men and women.

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