Comments on: The Medieval Clotheshorse: Roger Wieck on the Fashion Revolution of the Middle Ages

By: katie

katie — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:00:23 +0000

I love them all. Liz Taylor in her figure hugging cossies showing off her assets, Janet Leigh with her . enormous assets in The Vikings playing next to her former, current, ex hubby Tony Curtis. Kirk Douglas leapin’ o’er hill and dale and fjord being masculine. Fantastic. I send you a virtual bottle of mead to enjoy. On another matter, am watching a programme now on the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton being discovered under a car park. What a way to go!!

By: Annelisa Stephan

Annelisa Stephan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:10:53 +0000

Great story, Katie, ha! Good lighting is everything, right?

By the way, are you talking about The Vikings with Kirk Douglas? One of the all-time, all-time greats and a personal favorite. I always did wonder if they got the mead-hall and funeral-ships-with-torches details right, but I didn’t pay much mind to the costumes. Perfect excuse to break out the mead and watch it again.

By: katie

katie — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:13:12 +0000

Hi Annelisa
I used to work in the business and it is the zips and the machined seams etc. that get me. How long would it have taken to make a frock in real time, would the dye really have taken completely each time and not fade etc. I went along to a place to vet the ‘medieval’ costumes as they wanted everyone to look authentic. I pointed out what are they going to do about fillings in teeth, broken bones in plastercasts ect. I removed watches, zips, hooks and eyes, colours were atrocious, and the shoes…youcan guess, trainers!! What are they thinking. Mind you when I was making costumes at Glyndebourne Opera House, it was amazing how taking ordinary cotton fabric and overlaying other fabrics you could make it seem authentic with a bit of distressing and good lighting. The movies of the 50′s are excellent, the cantilevered bras under the bodices (The Vikings) and the red lippy, hysterical.

By: Annelisa Stephan

Annelisa Stephan — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:05:18 +0000

Hi Katie, Good question. I don’t think Roger meant to suggest that. He was replying to my question about whether the garments we see in manuscripts are based on actual examples, or were invented whole-cloth (so to speak). So yes, the garments in manuscripts were based on (and exaggerated from) what artists saw, but certainly only the very tippy-top elites had fine, glamorous attire.

I also find it funny when period movies show everyone spotlessly clean and without a stain, rip, tear, or mend on their clothes—and of course, with perfectly clean and coiffed hair. If it’s not that way today, how much less so before the advent of washing machines and in-home showers?

By: katie

katie — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:15:26 +0000

Re. question 2, surely you are not suggesting that everyone at court wore totally up to date fashion? There must have been the less well off courtiers who would have worn olf-fashioned clothing or hand me downs because of the sheer expense and procurment of textiles. When seeing tv or theatrical productions that place all the characters in the fashion of the day is to me false, when so many clothes were given to others and worn till literally they fell off someone’s back, and then maybe patched, the patches patched and then eventually shredded and turned into paper.

By: Fashion Man

Fashion Man — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 01:12:34 +0000

Interesting interview. I’m into modern men’s fashion myself, but it is interesting and kind of funny to think about the “fashion revolution” of the Middle Ages. The history is amazing to me, like the “fashion freeze.” That had to be something back then!