Renaissance Fashion in Venice and Florence

A fairly concise overview of Italian fashion during the renaissance, with particular focus on Venice and Florence. The script of this video essay was extracted from a larger research paper I submitted while I was obtaining my bachelor's. Most of my sources are, unsurprisingly, paintings from the time period. For further reading, please see my bibliography below.
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Historical Context
3:05 Culture
5:47 Politics
8:42 Religion
12:35 Gender
14:06 Conclusion
Bibliography
[1] Campagnol, Isabella. Forbidden Fashions: Invisible Luxuries in Early Venetian Convents.
Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2014.
[2] Chojnacki, Stanley. Women and Men in Renaissance Venice: Twelve Essays on Patrician
Society. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
[3]
Currie, Elizabeth, ed. A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion: In the Renaissance. London,
Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
[4]
Currie, Elizabeth. Fashion and Masculinity in Renaissance Florence. London, Bloomsbury
Academic, 2016.
[5]
Newton, Stella Mary. The Dress of the Venetians 1495-1525. Brookfield: Scolar Press, 1988.
[6] Riello, Giorgio and Peter McNeil, eds. The Fashion History Reader: Global Perspectives. New
York: Routledge, 2010.
A note on the music:
Although Vivaldi was not a renaissance composer, The Four Seasons (1723) is one of my favorite pieces, and since it's from the Italian peninsula, I thought it fitting for the video.
Check out my other social media platforms:
Twitter: / asktheravens
Instagram: / asktheravens
Website: www.annarleslie.com/

[@casgrd5779]

I'm working on character design based of Venice renaissance fashion, you gave me plenty of idea to work with, thank you!

[@asktheravens]

Great, I'm so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for checking it out.

[@somda2795]

ขอพระองจงเจริญ

[@finnjones9979]

Even back then Italians had a great sense of style which is still with them today

[@asktheravens]

I agree! They've been pioneers in fashion trends for a long time.

[@Maldoro81]

Aaand the books are bought. Thank you for providing sources. Too few youtuber do that.

[@asktheravens]

I'm glad you were able to get your hands on the books. I agree about the inclusion of sources, which is why I always strive to list them when possible and relevant. Thanks for watching!

[@anniedeinna]

My nerd heart is ho happy with this video. Thank you so much!!!

[@asktheravens]

Yay! Fellow nerds are always welcome here. I'm glad you liked it! :)

[@nikoroo]

So glad I found you! New sub here. I love your delivery In this! There’s not many people on here that make parallels to historical fashion and politics, I think if you keep offering more content on this area, I just know your channel would explode! 🙏🏽

[@asktheravens]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I agree with you about the content on my channel and I really do want to make more history videos. I have so many ideas. Unfortunately, my current job takes up so much of my time and energy that I have very little leftover to dedicate to KZbin. Hopefully in the future though!

[@honorladone8682]

Love the corsets and tiny waists.

[@bettierusso5410]

Wonderful video! Thank you for all the work you have done. There is a wonderful movie out that is about Veronica the Venician Courtesan called " Dangerous Beauty". I'm sure you have seen it, but if not, it is well worth the hunt as it is an older film. Jacqueline Bisset plays the mother in the movie to perfection. Such a well-done collection of facts about one of my favorite times in history. Thank you.

[@asktheravens]

I know this comment is quite old now, but I just wanted to follow up and say that yes, I have seen Dangerous Beauty and I quite liked it. Actually, I used some of the clips from that film in this video. :)

[@sarahrei4530]

This video is amazing!!! And exactly what I needed, so thanks a lot❤️

[@asktheravens]

Thanks! I'm glad that you found it useful.

[@QQzs]

Beautifully written! Thank you for this :)

[@asktheravens]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@gray_mara]

Really wonderful video! I would love to see more information on this topic and about women's lives during the Renaissance.

[@RedWolfhound]

I absolutely loved this video, that was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! I'm so glad to hear it was helpful.

[@RedWolfhound]

@@asktheravens It really was, thanks once again for all the work you put into this. :D

[@LariLesque]

Congratulations. I so enjoyed your content and they way you put it together. I hope you will do more. I recently read Dress in Italian Painting 1460-1500 by Elizabeth Barbara which was fascinating.

[@asktheravens]

@@LariLesque Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have lots of plans for future videos on a variety of historical topics.

[@LariLesque]

Author was Elizabeth Birbari published 1975. I had had in on my shelves for ages before getting around to reading it.

[@dmason1444]

Wonderful video! Thank you for sharing all your hard work in such a pleasant way.

[@asktheravens]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@SandriaDore]

This was so lovely and informative. Thank you!

[@asktheravens]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching. :)

[@Preptato]

Thank you so much for this video, it helped me get better information for a presentation I must do for high school that's due tomorrow lol. You're a lifesaver!!

[@asktheravens]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching.

[@latifx3944]

Well done and thanks for sharing!

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@sylvievicenza179]

Passionnant, merci

[@erinrising2799]

Very interesting video, my ancestors are from the Veneto, so I was trying to guess which ones were my relatives.

[@leahpinault1617]

this was fantastic

[@asktheravens]

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ldrcherrycola9337]

This is a great video thanks

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.

[@expe808]

good stuff, thank you

[@asktheravens]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jaydee5638]

Great video!

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@ThanhThanh-ki2vl]

Your video is very good and necessary for me, I am not very good at English, the day before I saw it, it had Vietnamese subtitles, and today I watched it without subtitles. so sad

[@asktheravens]

Thank you and I'm glad it was helpful. I am sorry that the subtitles have disappeared. I believe this is because of a copyright claim for one of the film clips in the video, but I am working to resolve the issue and hopefully subtitles will be back soon.

[@ThanhThanh-ki2vl]

@@asktheravens 221 / 5000 Thank you very much, I am also researching on this topic, but my country has very few documents for this, your video is really great, full of things that I need. Hope to have subtitles in the future

[@progqueen5952]

Great!!! New sub and greetings from Illinois!

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Greetings from Colorado.

[@FDFAcanal]

Thank you :)

[@markmancevice8735]

I enjoyed the video but I believe the Neopolitan nobleman is dressed in armor which followed men's fashion of the time. Note that he is resting his arm on his helmet.

[@asktheravens]

Indeed! Pretty cool that his armor is also black. It certainly says a lot about him that he is not only dressed in a very extravagant way, but he is also showing his physical prowess through the use of the armor. Quite a different attitude from Cosimo.

[@markmancevice8735]

@@asktheravens You might want to consider doing a spot on 16th century parade armor. The 16th century saw great advances in plate armor which would mimic high fashion such Maxmillian style armor which copied men's pleated doublets and duck footed shoes. Italian all'antica armor was over the top and was used by Charles V, who besides being HRE and king of Spain was the king of Naples,

[@sboltontube]

I've also read that prostitutes had to wear bells, I think on their shoes. This may have been in Florence, though, and not in Venice. Do you know anything about this?

[@feliciaigbani3367]

who is the woman @ 15:22 on the right?????

[@asktheravens]

Apparently a celebrity named Karen Elson. She wore this to the 2015 Met Gala if I'm not mistaken.

[@senthilkumar-xy9oc]

Nice video keep it up

[@asktheravens]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@senthilkumar-xy9oc]

Design nice well done magic screen

[@senthilkumar-xy9oc]

Thank you so much your comment

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

Fashion was the engine of trade. See, Indian export cottons, silk, the wool trade.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

This is good, I just wish she read her script a little more slowly and naturally. What’s the rush?

[@asktheravens]

This is the kind of constructive criticism I need! It was my first video essay, so it was worried about it being too long and boring. I'll be sure to slow it down for future ones. Thanks for watching!

[@QQzs]

I think it‘s at a perfect pace ^.^

[@baylorsailor]

The heels the women wore looked so much like what they wore in Japan. I wonder who wore it first?

[@asktheravens]

That's a good observation! I'm not sure if it was something that one culture borrowed from the other or if the idea appeared independently in both cultures.

[@XenusMama]

That’s goldwork not embroidery on the pink Elanora gown .

[@asktheravens]

Goldwork is literally a type of embroidery.

[@gordanaginamihajlovska6125]

Who was the fashion for? Certainly not the poor

[@asktheravens]

I think you're spot on. There aren't really any sources (that I found in this project) detailing what the peasantry or lower income people wore during the Renaissance in Venice and Florence. This lack of written source material as well as the absence of lower classes depicted in paintings during this time and in this particular geographic location certainly indicates that whatever the poor were wearing was not worthy of mention or notice. We can probably assume it was very simplistic, versatile, and well-made (or home made) because fabric wasn't really 'cheap' and they would want each garment to last as long as possible. They would certainly have been mending and repairing clothes themselves as well to prolong the life of the garments. "Fashion" as a concept has often been for the middle and upper classes historically. Of course, they conceptualized it differently than we do today, but given the sheer expense of making new clothes, staying on trend and expressing oneself through clothing was something that only those who could afford it participated in. Clothing and fashion are not the same. Everyone wore clothes, but not everyone was fashionable.

[@laara1426]

The was a huge difference between the prostitutes and the courtesans. I suggest.you read more about Veronica Franco. She did not “fall”. I often wonder why women who report on history, be it fashion, marriage, royalty etc are so condescending towards the women of history .

[@asktheravens]

I maintain that Veronica Franco had a "fall from grace" because she went from being a pillar in the Venetian community to being charged with witchcraft and subsequently losing her wealth and status. This is a "fall" is it not? Moreover, I am aware of the difference between standard prostitutes and courtesans, but the sartorial nuances present in Renaissance Venetian society affected both groups in very similar ways. The point of this video essay was not to discuss prostitution in the Renaissance, but to discuss how clothing communicated a myriad things about the individuals within a community. Finally I will say that I welcome differing opinions on this channel, if done respectfully. However, by stating that I, as a woman, have been condescending towards historical women, you are in fact belittling my own research efforts and attacking me based on my gender as a historian. It is an amusing irony, but at least this sort of controversy shows that my video is doing marginally well if I have already attracted some negative comments.

[@martinemartin4779]

I cannot believe that you had to put a 'nudity warning' at the start of this - is this because of demonetizing? Crazy.

[@asktheravens]

Actually, my channel isn't monetized at this point. But the world is full of snowflakes and I don't want any reason for my videos to get flagged or whatever because some people can't handle the female form as represented in classical art. 🙄

[@martinemartin4779]

@@asktheravens yes, it's so silly! I feel sad that you had to do this.

[@chonesman123]

Why are you playing late baroque music in a video about the Renaissance?

[@asktheravens]

Wow, you are like SO smart for figuring out the exact era of the Creative Commons music in the background of my video on my non-monetized, purely for fun KZbin Channel. Here is your gold star. ⭐

[@chonesman123]

@@asktheravens it is obvious that your comment isn't meant to be taken seriously and is quite sarcastic, but due to the fact that that i am reading text and i can not hear your tone of voice, it is also coming off as defensive and is if you're sarcastically trying to insult me. I did not mean to insult you or demean you when i left that comment, and if it came off as that, i apologize. That said, i'd like to share a star with you too. Hopefully we can take a fun speed of light ride on our new shiny stars while we listen to Vivaldi and Palestrina!

[@asktheravens]

@@chonesman123 If your previous comment was truly not meant to be condescending, then I apologize as well. My last comment was definitely 100% sarcastic. I was defensive because this video is meant to be fun and educational. I am not a professional KZbinr nor am I an expert in all things history. I am aware that the music in the video is not from the right era, but I used what I could find for free.

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

Black was ferociously expensive, it was worn by the rich to show their wealth. Even the English wore black. It’s not so much Spanish as 1%.

[@asktheravens]

Of course many people wore many colors; that's the nature of cultural and material trade. Black was not exclusive to Spain, but it was a sartorial symbol of the Spanish at the time, particularly in the context of the Spanish influence in the Italian Peninsula.