tupu
A tupu is a long pin used to secure a garment worn across the shoulders. It was typically worn by Andean women in South America.
Tag: 16th century
rebato
A large standing lace collar supported by wire, worn by both men and women in the late 16th and early 17th century.
1583/5 – Annibale Carracci, Portrait of a Woman Holding a Clock
This 16th-century portrait attributed to Annibale Carracci is valuable for its realistic depiction of a Black sitter, possibly a seamstress, who is dressed in a fine but sensible black day dress with touches of Italian luxury.
1592 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Elizabeth I (1533-1601), Queen of England
Queen Elizabeth I’s striking ensemble in The Ditchley Portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger embodied the height and extremity of 1590s court fashion.
bombast/bombasted
The padding used to structure clothing and create fashionable silhouettes in the 16th and 17th centuries.
1590-1599
1590s fashion exaggerated previous styles, with women’s farthingale skirts expanding and men’s hose shrinking further still.
1510 – Titian, Portrait of a Man with a Quilted Sleeve
Titian’s portrait of Gerolamo Barbarigo from the beginning of the 16th century captures the young Venetian looking his fashionable best, lavishly dressed for his decade.
1570-1579
Women in the 1570s believed more was more, loved intense decorative effects, and adopted some influences from menswear. Men’s dress was quite curvilinear, with a padded belly, small waist, and large bulbous melon hose at the thighs.
1560-1569
The stiff formality of 1560s womenswear, achieved through boning and high ruffs, was met by equally high collars on men, who also wore increasing pumpkin-sized melon hose and doublets with padding at the front belly.
1580-1589
1580s fashion featured a new, slender silhouette for men, and a contrasting, ever-expanding dimensionality for women. These fanciful styles signaled power, class, and currency.
1550-1559
Spanish fashion was ascendant in the 1550s, from the loose women’s gown—the ropa—and the Spanish farthingale in women’s dress to the narrow-cut jerkins and tight sleeves of Philip II and the must-have men’s outerwear piece, the Spanish cape.
1540-1549
In the 1540s men’s doublets begin to emerge from under to outerwear and their hose increase in volume, beginning to assume a melon shape. Womenswear becomes increasing rigid with stiffened bodices flattening the torso and breasts.
Recent Essays
15th century – Late Byzantine Silk Damask Dress and Taffeta TunicIn 15th century, Byzantine, garment analysis
The Fez and the Ottoman Path to ModernityIn 19th century, 20th century, thematic essays
1869 – Red Silk DressIn 1860-1869, 19th century, garment analysis
katazome (stencil printing)In 18th century, 19th century, ancient, Asia, K, P, S, term definition
1905 – André Derain, Lucien GilbertIn 1900-1909, 20th century, artwork analysis