Dress Historian Explains Elizabethan Fashion || 16th Century Fashion Timeline 1550s-1590s

Queen Elizabeth’s reign from 1558 to 1603 saw huge changes in fashion--some quite revolutionary--so in this video we’re going to take a decade by decade look at Elizabethan fashion to learn about the unique styles that existed throughout the last half of the 16th century.
For much of the 16th century, women's clothing consisted of a linen smock, a kirtle with a bodice stiffened with layers of fabric such as buckram and canvas, and a gown over that. There really were no "corsets" or even boning used in bodices until the every end of the century! Beginning in the 1550s, fashion increasingly favored bigger skirts, bigger sleeves, and bigger ruffs, culminating in the truly wild silhouette of the 1590s.
Elizabeth's love of fashion and her extensive wardrobe have left us with a treasure trove of sources for researching elite clothing of the 16th century.
Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Uploaded, a searchable database
elizabethancostume.net/cyte/El...
Sarah Bendall
sarahabendall.com/
Music
Suonatore di Liuto by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
Teller of the Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
Images
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Ew...
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www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search/...
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[@bernadettebanner]

Yess bestow this knowledge upon us ✨

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

☺️

[@crystalkirlia4553]

Omg hello famous people!!!!

[@loushark6722]

Yeses!!!

[@hdjdjxhhdhdhruieh1025]

gd

[@idkanymore790]

you know it's accurate information when Bernadette Banner is giving you praise

this is so useful, thanks! ❤️

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@crystalkirlia4553]

Omg MORE famous people!!! Hello karolina!

[@diese.eine.person4688]

OMG SHE ALSO WATCHED THAT

[@bruh666]

the fashion era that starts off casual and just gets gradually more insane

[@verynotreally]

First of all, you could spend hours on Elizabethan fashion and I'd watch! It's fascinating to me. Secondly, I love the portraits of Elizabeth from early in her reign, before she transformed into Gloriana. There's a vulnerability and humanity that is missing from her later portraits. It's interesting to see the contrast in fashion from the start of her reign to the end.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I agree, I love her early portraits!

[@janehollander1934]

Totally agree👍🏻. I think the later portraits of Elizabeth turned her into an unchanging Virginal icon & figurehead on purpose. Just as she wanted to be & was. Especially with her no longer "aging" in the later portraits. With the exception of the portrait of an aging Elizabeth. Which was painted around 1610 - 7 years after the Queen's death at Richmond. 'That particular painting shows a "fading" Elizabeth flanked on either side by the only two enemies she could not defeat, Death and Old Father Time. They think it was painted by someone who knew, her clothing, her posture & the Queen well: from during those final years of her life.' - excerp from: onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2014/11/01/portrait-of-an-ageing-elizabeth-i-by-gareth-russell/ (It's said she didn't pose for these later paintings, and artists were only allowed to depict The Queen as a younger/fresh looking Elizabeth I. So they we copying older paintings where the Queen still looked youthful and dressed Elizabeth I up in the fashions of the day). So yes, the early portraits probably show a more honest and vulnerable Elizabeth. Who had learned from a very early age: to fight and literally "survive" through very tumultuous & dangerous times.

[@carag2567]

@@janehollander1934 I agree completely with the OP and your additional comments! Great info! I'm currently in the middle of Allison Weir's biography of Elizabeth I and this is discussed in extensive detail throughout. The Queen went to extraordinary lengths to cultivate and maintain her image during her reign and is sometimes described as being downright vain (I don't care for this framing but it comes up frequently so I digress...). In particular, Elizabeth was deeply concerned about the comparisons between her appearance and that of Mary, Queen of Scots, the biggest threat to her crown, her realm, and her life. Both women were strikingly tall and slender red heads with legitimate blood claims to the Tudor throne. And while most contemporary sources describe both of them as having been quite attractive for the beauty standards of the period, they do also tend to imply heavily or state outright that Mary was more beautiful than Elizabeth. I think this was a source of tremendous insecurity for her and because she viewed Mary as such an imminent and ever-present threat to her sovereignty, it motivated her to create the Gloriana image that still survives. To the point regarding her early vs later portraits, this would make perfect sense. Gloriana is a caricature of everything that Elizabeth wanted to portray to her people and on the global stage: larger than life, unquestionably powerful, self-aware and assured, and always virginal. These traits are absent from, for example, the Coronation Portrait but by the Armada Portrait are quite evident. My favorite portraits of Elizabeth are the Coronation and the Family Portrait of Henry VIII with Queen Katherine Parr when she's shown as a teenager. And I agree, there is a visible, palpable sense of humanity about her that disappears after her deliberate cultivation of Gloriana.

[@InnateNobility]

I've always preferred the 1560's fashions over the 1580's and 90's, it was a more flattering silhouette and had French and Italian influences.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

I agree! I think it's my favorite from the last half of the century.

[@alicialingle179]

I absolutely love how accessible and clear this is, you've done an incredible job delineating the eras of Elizabethan fashion!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you so much!

[@GraciePattenSewing]

This video was excellent; I learned so much! I personally like the smaller ruffs, and I feel like they could be flattering today. If you ever do a similar video focusing on working women's clothing through the 16th century decade by decade, I would definitely watch that!

[@lucie4185]

Me too

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I will put that on the list!

[@daydr3ambeliever]

I've always been wanting to research elizabethan fashion, but I never did. Thank you!

[@clare5one]

THERE ARE MANY GREAT TEXTS AVAILABLE, ON THE SUBJECT!🌻

[@dsburd8944]

Great video. Wish it were longer. I too prefer the earlier Elizabeth.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@lucie4185]

Great use of extant images to show how much things changed in this era, I have been looking at blackwork recently and looking at how prevalent it is in all these images makes me want to make a smock! 😀 I love how Elizabethan taste goes "All the embroidery!"

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Yes! It's so gorgeous and adds so much to an outfit!

[@helenpalombella]

This was great! I really enjoyed your use of visual sources to show comparisons. I hadn’t sent some of those paintings so it was lovely to see the clothing. X

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@danaglabeman6919]

I dress historical 17" dolls, and your dressing videos and info videos like this one are an invaluable resource for me! One of my favorite things about making fashion from this time is I feel like, more than any other period besides our own, it's all about separates! With the kirtles, frontparts, sleeves, outer gowns, doublets, partlets and ruffs all being their own pieces, it's so mix and match! Building a new outfit from the separate pieces of your wardrobe is such a connection to how we do it now.

[@helenasnopek5431]

Wow, this was a really excellent summary! Definitely more of an early 1500s person, but, as with much of fashion history, the more I learn about the details of an era the more I come to appreciate it, at least as art if not from an "I'd wear that" perspective.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I do love the early 16th century too and hope to do more of that in the future!

[@caincatto2473]

Awesome video!! It's so hard to find videos about Elizabethan fashion, which is a shame--it's so cool!!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you so much! I hope to do more!

[@ubertuber3d]

The lace and embroidery on the wear of the late Renaissance and early seventeenth century is mouthwatering stuff. I could ogle those portraits of nobility for hours!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

I love it too!

[@mattlittle1612]

I am a History teacher in England and this is brilliant for my students. Thank you so much Samantha! Cheers!

[@katencat]

Your videos are so informative! I love your focus on Tudor history. I've been making an outfit from the Tudor Tailor and this video showed me how much I've mixed and matched the eras of my garments. Oops!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! The most important thing is to make what brings you joy!

[@Lolibeth]

This was really informative and useful. Thank. you!

[@ChrisSmith-fk3ru]

This is a wonderful video! Your knowledge on fashion during the time period is extraordinary! Your videos are always a joy and quite educational to watch! Thank you for sharing!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you so much!

[@celiatais251]

I know I'll enjoy this video before it even started because I've always been fascinated by Elizabethan fashion but found it too intimidating. Thank you for packaging it so clearly. ALSO, your makeup here is so lovely. You look positively exquisite.

[@isw_1214]

As a Tudor era fan, thank you for this video! What I'm wondering is how all these heavy fabrics and layers were dealt with during the outdoor summer months? I wear a historically inspired alt-fashion and use lighter fabrics & shorter cuts as well as a crinoline instead of tulle petticoats to avoid overheating but it seems there's far less flexibility with Tudor fashion.

[@DipityS]

Fascinating - thank you! I know you asked which style we liked the most but think overall I love the embroidery of flowers the most - the work is so beautiful as represented in the paintings such as the one at 6:58. Sigh! So lovely.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

I love it too! I wish I was a better embroiderer lol

[@verabeara2106]

I would have had to search through multiple books to have such a decade by decade breakdown of the matter. Thank you for all the research and editing you do for us!!

[@lauraguglielmo]

A fantastic video about an era of fashion I didn't know anything about! Thank you Samantha for breaking down the various elements in such a comprehensive and well structured way!

[@madpenguinina]

Great video! I've been meaning to dive more into elizabethan fashion for a while now so this came at a great time. All your videos are super informative and well made. Also, I'm still waiting on a dedicated video on French Hoods!!!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you so much! French hoods are next, I promise! Hopefully in a few weeks, it will be ready...

[@sarahmwalsh]

Thank you so much for this comprehensive look at the changing silhouette in the 16th century! I was of the mind that it was all pretty much the same but WOW! I really appreciate the decade-by-decade breakdown!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@sarah-phillips]

I just love watching your videos! I love learning the history behind it all. Fascinating.

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

Looks interesting. I have a big watch que. Boosting algorithms for now. 💙 Thank you for putting together what I expect yo be another wonderfully edited & presented video.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you so much!

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

@@TheCoutureCourtesan you are very welcome!

[@mirkivi3931]

This is a fantastic video! So well made and beautifully explained! I'd love to see more like it that go through periods of fashion history with visual references

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I was surprised there wasn’t something like this already on KZbin. There was one video claiming to talk about Elizabethan fashion but it was pretty bad... If you say they wore “corsets” and use modern images, I’m seriously doubting your scholarship...

[@ThistlenStitches]

Thank you for sharing all this well researched knowledge. This video set me straight on a couple misconceptions including one I had about when bumrolls came into play. Research is not my strong suit so thank you again!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I think there’s a lot we take for granted about this time period because of renaissance fairs and things like that; that certainly was the case for me before I really started researching!

[@Griiisetryne]

1560's is my JAM! Great video, thank you!

[@florenceyoung1246]

So interesting and informative! Thank you!

[@anonymousperson4214]

Yay! I'm just getting into this era and I am hooked. Your Dressing a Common Woman video did it for me...

[@J0Darcy]

This is one of the most clear and helpful guides I've seen of Elizabethan fashion. Thank you so much for putting this together!

[@racheljackson4144]

Love this video: so much useful information explained in an accessible way with excellent detail and examples, thank you so much!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear its accessible and helpful!

[@rachiehasrabies9041]

I am very impressed!! Why am I just now stumbling upon your videos? Subscribed ❤idk if you’ve got an in depth video about the late 15th through early 16th century difference regional fashion styles. Germanic, English, and Italic/Spanish. I’ve always wanted an in-depth dive into the different fashions.

Super informative and well explained, thank you!

[@TheAstroWitchLux]

It's amazing how even without visual media and mass communication, fashion still changed every few years!

[@Amanda-gg6kz]

An interesting theory I just came up with, regarding the change in the fashions. During the reign of Henry VIII, the women wore clothing that had a lot more exposed bosoms, and after Mary became queen, it seems like the necklines became more modest, and then during Elizabeth's reign, the modesty continued, and then the women's dresses became slightly more masculine. I wonder how much of that is connected to who the monarch was at the time, ie when Henry was on the throne, women would want to catch his eye to hopefully become his mistress, or more, so the clothing was more seductive. But when a woman was on the throne, especially with Mary, who was a devout Roman Catholic, the fashion was to appear to be a modest, virtuous woman. Then, with Elizabeth, who oversaw her nation become an extremely strong nation, and expanded it past what her father was able to accomplish, her overpassing her father, the fashions changed further, and didn't constrain the waist as much, and then also added the buttons up the front, maybe as a subtle way of women asserting themselves on the same stage as men, since it was a Queen who did this, and not a King. Don't know if it has any validity to it, but it would make sense if that was the subconscious reason as to why fashions changed as they did.

[@maggery]

LOVE this! Also your makeup is 🔥🙌😍

[@wormlover3653]

thank you so much for this video! I think this era is so full of wonderful marvels of what fashion can be!

[@monicacall7532]

I learned so much from this video. Thank you!

[@Lornicopia]

I was so excited to see Mary Hill! She is my 13th great grandmother! Sir John Cheke is my ancestor,her husband. She remarried and became Mary McWilliams,but was always referred to as Lady Cheke. She lived well into old age. I forget how old but about 90.

[@mead343]

Terrific lecture with great illustrations. Thank you.

[@anitacaroline12345]

I could watch this for hours I am obsessed

[@TheLostLost01]

Thank you so much. So informative.

[@TudorositiesbyMaureen]

I enjoy 1550-1570, as you get to see the transition from late Henrician Fashion to the early Elizabethan styles. Well done video

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

I love the red and green floral embroidery on the white sleeves and partlet. I love your videos!

[@kweejibodali7009]

great analysis, descriptions, I have studied costume history and always preferred later seventeenth c. , and designed for theater, as well as my own clothing line, but you have given me a better understanding and appreciation for this other time period, and see how much more sexy it is than i previously thought and even inspired me to want to design again, good work, hot !

[@AlaskanCookie]

This video is excellent. I wish there was a video with this much detail about the men’s fashion as well.

[@Crescend0ll]

Great video, as always! I'd love to see more about early 17th century fashion, I think it's quite interesting how it contrasts with late elizabethan. Take care!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you! That is absolutely on the list! I really love that period and get to research and make clothing from it for work, so I’m eager to share!

[@Crescend0ll]

@@TheCoutureCourtesan can't wait! Thanks again for all the knowledge you put on the internet ❤️

[@VioletLady07]

Excellent video, ma'am! Impressive, as always. I very much appreciate your work. ETA: Forgot too mention that my favorite decades are the 1560s and 70s. I love the different influences, the silhouette, and the different gown styles. (I like the fitted ones the best, but the loose ones look so comfy!) (Also, I may have made a dolphin noise when I saw you used Mary Dudley Sidney's portrait.)

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Hehe thank you!!

[@harrietlyall1991]

Fabulous illustrations and first-rate explanations. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@user-mary_hist]

You nailed it ! Congratulations!

[@csmtcqueen]

My goodness this looks so inconvenient to wear. This was such an EXCELLENT video. Thank you for educating us.

[@starwarssyl1177]

This is AMAZING, thank you!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@jennyp4934]

Great information. I've never really liked Elizabethan fashion, but I do find it interesting. I much prefer the fashion during Henry VIII time, to me they complemented the female body much more.

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

Agreed

[@astrogallus]

Wonderful! We thinkest thou hast informed us well!

[@girlsaysstuff]

This was very interesting! I love the early modern age (both generally and in terms of fashion) and I don't hear it talked about often enough. Watched with my animal-loving baby sister in the back and she squeaked every time whalebone was mentioned lol thanks for sharing!!

[@janehollander1934]

Oh what a very informative/educational and detailed video👌🏻. Just lovely. Thank you so much for making it a mini lecture that was a joy to watch. I stopped and paused and even rewinded several times. If only 🇺🇸Hollywood & 🇬🇧Pinewood film makers would take some of the available historical information, that you shared, to heart and applied it to their Elizabethan works. I can name several costume dramas/films where they completely lost the plot🤦🏼‍♀️...making 1560 "sleeve-rolls" look instead like "backpack-straps" 🤣. I'm looking at you 2004's 'Gunpowder, Treason & Plot'🤨. My favourite Elizabethan look centers around 1560. Thank you again for the work you put into making this video. Bravo!!👏🏻. Spring🌷🌷greetings👋🏻from The Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@egilhaggmann6666]

How refreshing; an accurate, detailed presentation by someone who is obviously passionate about her field. I think this used to be called academia but I'll have to check. Brava, Ms. Bullat!

[@stace0712]

Great video!

[@KellyBurnett138]

I love how the sleeves and other items were interchangeable…thinking now of modern possibilities I could create.

[@deborahbrottmiller2948]

So interesting. Thank you

[@miaokeefe7959]

Although most people hate 1590s silhouettes, i absolutely LOVE them. I would really want to recreate one of the dresses using secondhand fabrics.

[@stakie1871]

Do you have anything on the early 1500s? I didn't see anything but this was really good so would love to see another!

[@rorygilmore2470]

Queen Mary I’s fashion in particular is my absolute favourite 😍

[@michaelamcnamara4879]

Wonderful research clearly presented.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@clare5one]

Your videos are excellent! Very well researched! Yes, I hate ER I's later fashions.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Thank you!

[@xavierrodriguez1370]

I am particularly in love with the pelican gown.

[@astrogallus]

My favorite Elizabethan period? 1580s through 1603... Make it huge. Make it grand. Make it Gloriana!

[@felixortizmadamequeen7731]

I LOVE IT♥️♥️

[@amandastout1948]

I would have thought the "bodies" would have started to come about when the jerkin bodices and closed-front skirts started to be in fashion. Which would cover up any sort of kirtle.

[@lucie4185]

It's probably hard to know without definite evidence, likely the fashion was a slow transfer over this period.

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

That's an interesting idea! Even though kirtles /could/ show under a gown, they didn't always. Gowns that don't show the kirtle at all had been around throughout the entire century. The kirtle's primary function was support and shaping, but it became yet another chance to show off some wealth.

[@myriamickx7969]

Congratulations to Samantha Bullat for such an erudite video! It definitely shows that Elizabeth I was not the iconic image we know from her latest portraits ,but that she followed the fashion.

[@Hair8Metal8Karen]

People forget that she ruled for 40 years, fashion changes dramatically over that kind of timeline!

[@giuliafontana891]

You know that this is top notch content when it's blessed by Bernadette Banner and meme mom as well

[@mmcgartland2095]

Finally thanks

[@billy123174]

Love it

[@Sabatuar]

My favorite Elizabethan gown is technically not an Elizabethan gown. It's that salmon gown in the portrait you showed early on, which I'm going to qualify as Elizabethan on the technicality that it's being worn by Elizabeth.

[@bulstrode1882]

I’m loving Mary tudors gowns-

[@elizharber3564]

The 1840s revived the long pointed torso. Do you think they were linking Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth?

[@AudoricArt]

Why does this not have a lot of views?? Come on youtube! Get to work!

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Haha thank you!

[@devikat]

OOoo! I love the portrait at 2:03! (I can't seem to find the link for it in the list though... Do you know who it's of?)

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

Here she is! commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hans_Holbein_d.J._-_Bildnis_einer_englischen_Dame_(ca.1540-43).jpg

[@luciadilazzaro2285]

You should do a costume Review of the second season of "A Discovery of Witches"

[@JessieCochran37]

I like Elizabeth's early fashion from the first couple decades of her reign, lots more simpler and easier on the eyes vs. the exaggerated silhouettes, whale-boning, and big ruffs in the later decades.

[@alaskacosplay]

If I was dressed in Elizabethan dress, I'm gonna have my own table around my waist!

[@aliceanne3952]

Can you do a 1500s to 1540s please???

[@danceforlove12]

I'm always partial to the 1570s but that's also the decade i reenact so maybe im biased ;-)

[@TheCoutureCourtesan]

The 1570s are lovely! That’s actually my next big project. I’ve done 1560s already, so maybe now I need to do every decade lol

[@danceforlove12]

@@TheCoutureCourtesan If you did, I personally would die of joy

[@victoriamyung7029]

I have always wondered how they kept the long skirts clean since it is always dragging on the ground.

[@louiseogden1296]

I like the early portraits of Elizabeth before the couture got too extreme. I would have preferred middle class clothing myself but having been married in a lovely large dress, being all dolled up in heavy material that had been properly fitted and tailored to my shape was actually quite fun and made me feel goof, so wearing the 1590s dress may be more comfortable than it looks.

[@ashleymichelle6061]

I just found my 9th great grandfather born in 1580 in London, Major John Hansford.

[@LynxSouth]

5:58 I looked up this drawing, and it turns out there was a fad, more or less, of putting animals, especially monkeys, in scenes as though they were human. These images are called "singerie", which is French for "monkey trick", in case anyone else wants to find out more.

[@flygirlfly]

The clothing in late 1590's must have weighed a ton!

[@WhoIsCraig]

Baleen is not whale bone, but the filter from inside its mouth. It's the same material as fingernails, plasticy and flexible, but strong.

[@tamaragonzalez2227]

Oh how absolutely uncomfortable those clothes must have been and heavy. I read the cost of making those clothes for the elites was enormous. Sad to think about how they engrossed on thier clothes while the average man was starving.

[@callumfootitt5366]

*MEN ALSO WEAR GOWNS WOOOO* if only

[@Lornicopia]

I have to say that the latter fashion of the big wheel of a skirt in the latter years just looks weird,as does the odd elongated torso. It's proportionally just odd. I am always thinking,where really is the waist? It also makes the legs look short. Definitely my least favorite style.

[@widowrumstrypze9705]

Have you ever collaborated with Bernadette Banner? You're like her brilliant, tasteful Goth cousin, lol!

[@niccoarcadia4179]

Hey Sam' You look a lot like Queen Bess and could easily play her character in a movie. Just dye your hair strawberry blonde.

[@TOKYOGANG417]

Do you have an Instagram?