1600–1650 in Western fashion
Fashion in the period 1600–1650 in Western clothing is characterized by the disappearance of the ruff in favour of broad lace or linen collars.
The silhouette, which was essentially close to the body with tight sleeves and a low, pointed waist to around 1615, gradually softened and broadened.
The social tensions leading to the English Civil War were reflected in English fashion, with the elaborate French styles popular at the courts of James I and his son Charles I contrasting with the sober styles in sadd colours favoured by Puritans and exported to the early settlements of New England (see below).
In the early decades of the century, a trend among poets and artists to adopt a fashionable pose of melancholia is reflected in fashion, where the characteristic touches are dark colours, open collars, unbuttoned robes or doublets, and a generally disheveled appearance, accompanied in portraits by world-weary poses and sad expressions.
Figured silks with elaborate pomegranate or artichoke patterns are still seen in this period, especially in Spain, but a lighter style of scrolling floral motifs, woven or embroidered, was popular, especially in England.
Geometric reticella deriving from cutwork was elaborated into true needlelace or punto in aria (called in England "point lace"), which also reflected the popular scrolling floral designs.
[1][2][3] In England, embroidered linen silk jackets fastened with ribbon ties were fashionable for both men and women from c. 1600–1620, as was reticella tinted with yellow starch.
From the 1620s, surface ornament fell out of fashion in favour of solid-colour satins, and functional ribbon bows or points became elaborate masses of rosettes and looped trim.
In England from the 1630s, under the influence of literature and especially court masques, Anthony van Dyck and his followers created a fashion for having one's portrait painted in exotic, historical or pastoral dress, or in simplified contemporary fashion with various scarves, cloaks, mantles, and jewels added to evoke a classic or romantic mood, and also to prevent the portrait appearing dated within a few years.
Separate closed cartwheel ruffs were sometimes worn, with the standing collar, supported by a small wire frame or supportasse used for more casual wear and becoming more common later.
In the second decade of the 17th century, short tabs developed attached to the bottom of the bodice covering the bum-roll which supported the skirts.
By 1640, the long tabs had almost disappeared and a longer, smoother figure became fashionable: The waist returned to normal height at the back and sides with a low point at the front.
From 1600 to c. 1630, hose or breeches were fastened to doublets by means of ties or points, short laces or ribbons pulled through matching sets of worked eyelets.
Hairstyles grew longer through the period, and long curls were fashionable by the late 1630s and 1640s, pointing toward the ascendance of the wig as the standard wardrobe in the 1660s.
By the 1630s, the crown was shorter and the brim was wider, often worn cocked or pinned up on one side and decorated with a mass of ostrich plumes.
Wooden clogs or pattens were worn outdoors over shoes and boots to keep the high heels from sinking into soft dirt.
Louis XIII of France issued sumptuary laws in 1629 and 1633 that prohibited lace, gold trim and lavish embroidery for all but the highest nobility and restricting puffs, slashes and bunches of ribbon.
Contrary to popular belief, most Puritans and Calvinists did not wear black for everyday, especially in England, Scotland and colonial America.
Therefore, black clothing was generally reserved for the most formal occasions (including having one's portrait painted), for elders in a community and for those of higher rank.
William Perkins wrote "...that apparel is necessary for Scholar, the Tradesman, the Countryman, the Gentleman; which serveth not only to defend their bodies from cold, but which belongs also to the place, degree, calling, and condition of them all" (Cases of Conscience, 1616).
