What happens after the chemise is a question of social class. For lower class women, the next garment may be a kirtle, a one-piece, sleeveless dress, and over this a gown or overdress, which has a bodice attached to a skirt. The gown opens up the front and is laced together. Sleeves may then be attached by pins (even the poorest women would be expected to have a little "pin money" for those so-necessary pins to keep her clothes together.). Although this is a style of the 1560s and 1570s, lower class people's clothing changed much more slowly than upper class fashion
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The skirts of gowns are very full, with multiple petticoats underneath and often padded out at the hips with a bum roll. The gown may also be hiked up and tucked in the waist to show the petticoats. Working women wore their skirts above their ankles, and often as high as mid-calf. They couldn't afford to be tripping on them around the hearth!
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also wore the same type of overgown, usually at home or as a magisterial robe). This portrait of Catherine of Austria is an excellent example.
Women wore ruffs like men, both with and without partlets (it was a maiden’s privilege not to cover this area, and Elizabeth of England made a point of it). They did not wear the falling collar as much as men at this time, but upper-class did wear a dramatic, stiff, fan-like collar wired to the side and back edges of the bodice, sometimes with veils flowing out behind. This picture of Marguerite of Valois from the 1580s demonstrates the style.
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| Marguerite of Valois |
Women wore caps of various kinds. The "Mary Stuart" style, with a heart-shaped outline around the face, is still worn. Wearing the hair brushed up over pads to make a kind of beehive is a trendy aristocratic style -- a more modest version of the same is also worn. Close curls are still worn also, with the long hair gathered into a bun in the back that was usually covered with a small cap or net of some kind. Women also wear men’s style hats over their caps -- a scandalous fashion development according to some. A woman rarely has her hair completely uncovered, and an older or widowed woman would be likely to be even more covered. A working woman would probably have a kerchief or headcloth. A common style is to braid the hair and wrap it circularly around the back, then cover the braids with a small cap or cloth that might be woven into the braids.
A woman wore knee-high stockings under her skirts, held up with simple garters. She might also wear knee-length drawers for comfort and warmth (these are crotchless, for convenience). The custom of wearing drawers seems to originate from Italy and was not necessarily widespread elsewhere.
A gentlewoman traveling out of doors commonly wore a mask -- a full-face number, often made of black velvet, to protect her delicate complexion from the elements. She would also wear a traveling cloak.
A working woman wore an apron. This might be nothing more than a piece of cloth tucked into the waistband of her skirt -- maybe with the upper piece of it pinned to her bodice. Like her brothers, a working woman’s wardrobe was not much subject to change.
