1500–1550 in European fashion

The tall, narrow lines of the Late Middle Ages were replaced with a wide silhouette, conical for women with breadth at the hips and broadly square for men with width at the shoulders.

[1] But the rising power was Charles V, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily from 1516, heir to the style as well as the riches of Burgundy, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1520.

The inflow of gold and silver from the New World into recently united Spain changed the dynamics of trade throughout Western Europe, ushering in a period of increased opulence in clothing that was tempered by the Spanish taste for sombre richness of dress that would dominate the second half of the century.

[2][3] This widespread adoption of Hispanic court attire in Europe was seen as a sign of allegiance to the empire of Charles V.[4] Regional variations in fashionable clothing that arose in the 15th century became more pronounced in the sixteenth.

In particular, the clothing of the Low Countries, German states, and Scandinavia developed in a different direction than that of England, France, and Italy, although all acknowledged the sobering and formal influence of Spanish dress after the mid-1520s.

German shirts and chemises were decorated with wide bands of gold trim at the neckline, which was uniformly low early in the period and grew higher by midcentury.

[8] Inspired by the mended uniforms of the Swiss soldiers after the country's 1477 victory over the Duke of Burgundy, elaborate slashing remained popular, especially in Germany, where a fashion arose for assembling garments in alternating bands of contrasting fabrics.

[9] Elsewhere, slashing was more restrained, but bands of contrasting fabric called guards, whether in colour or texture, were common as trim on skirts, sleeves, and necklines.

In France, England, and Flanders, the high waistline gradually descended to the natural waist in front (following Spanish fashion) and then to a V-shaped point.

Skirts were cut separately from bodices, though often were sewn together, and the open-fronted gown laced over a kirtle with a wide band of rich fabric, often jeweled and embroidered, across the bust.

Partlets (called in German gollers or collars) were worn with the low-cut bodice to cover the neck and shoulders and were made in a variety of styles.

[15] Narrow sleeves were worn in the earliest years of the century and were later decorated with bands of contrasting fabric and rows of small panes or strips over puffed linings.

From the 1530s, French and English fashions featured an open, square-necked gown with long sleeves fitted smoothly over a tight, sometimes boned kirtle or pair of bodies, (later in the century) and a farthingale.

In France, England, and the Low Countries, black hoods with veils at the back were worn over linen undercaps that allowed the front hair (parted in the middle) to show.

German women adopted hats like fashionable men's baretts early in the century; these were worn over caps or cauls (colettes) made of netted cord over a silk lining.

In warmer climates including Italy and Spain, hair was more often worn uncovered, braided or twisted with ribbons and pinned up, or confined in a net.

A Spanish style of the later 15th century was still worn in this period: the hair was puffed over the ears before being drawn back at chin level into a braid or wrapped twist at the nape.

Women of wealth wore gold chains and other precious jewelry: collar-like necklaces called carcanets, earrings, bracelets, rings, and jewelled pins.

A fashionable accessory was the zibellino, the pelt of a sable or marten worn draped at the neck or hanging at the waist; some costume historians call these "flea furs".

[23] Women sometimes applied toxic substances to their faces and chests such as mercury, alum, and ceruse to lighten the skin and remove freckles, as the ideal was loosely 'natural'.

Not all cosmetics were dangerous, many women relied on lotions and balms containing almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, bread crumbs, eggs, honey, rosewater and snake fat to clarify and cleanse the skin.

Red lips and rosy cheeks were achieved primarily through the application of vermilion; ceruse mixed with organic dyes such as henna and cochineal (a powder made from the ground exoskeleton of insects).

[25] Although at this time, women could not cosmetologically alter the symmetry of their face, or the structure of their nose in order to obtain the ideal, the products available allowed them to come close.

[27] Lower-class men wore a one-piece garment called a cotte in English, tight to the waist with knee-length skirts and long sleeves over their hose.