Fashion in the Middle Ages

by Margaret Scott

From the costly velvets and furs worn by kings to the undyed wools and rough linens of the peasantry, the clothing worn by the various classes in the Middle Ages played an integral role in medieval society. In addition to providing clues to status, profession, and/or geographic origin, textiles were a crucial element in the economies of many countries and cities. Much of what is known about medieval fashion is gleaned from the pages of manuscripts, which serve as a rich source of imagery. This volume provides a detailed look at both the actual fabrics and composition of medieval clothing as well as the period’s attitude toward fashion through an exploration of illuminated manuscripts in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The last portion of the book is dedicated to the depiction of clothing in biblical times and the ancient world as seen through a medieval lens. Throughout, excerpts from literary sources of the period help shed light on the perceived role and function of fashion in daily life. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Art History, Medieval History, Fashion, Fashion History

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2011

About the author

Margaret Scott (b.1951) was Head of the History of Dress Section at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London University, from 2001 until 2004, and is now a freelance writer.

Reviews

[Arybo ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book is very quick to read and it gives you an insight into the culture of fashion in the Middle Ages. The author bases this book on manuscripts and illuminated volumes that represent scenes of human life at various times of the year and especially at various times in European history. There are texts that describe invented stories, legends, myths, stories of saints, stories by Boccaccio and philosophy. The portrayed characters belong to all social classes, from peasants to great lords, from priests to bishops to popes, from children to the elderly, and each of them has his own wardrobe. This book it's in the middle ground between an art essay and a costume essay: while describing clothes, for example, the author often describes the material of which clothes are made up, whether in reality or on paper.
I was a little disappointed by the shape of the text, because it seems a catalog without a long introduction that could link the various iconographic sources that make this book really interesting and curious. I recommend it a lot, but I would have preferred another form of essay, more detailed and with more descriptions. I hope, then, that in the printed book the photos are large because they speak for themselves for their beauty and their opulence.

**Thanks to Netgalley and Getty Publications for sending me a free digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review 🧡🤗💫✍🏻

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fashion in the Middle Ages is a fascinating read. This beautifully illustrated volume comments on medieval dress by considering its portrayal in illuminated manuscripts of the time; therefore it is an interesting blend of fashion, history, and art. Some periods are better represented than others, but over all it is an informative work that is also a pleasure to flick through. It provides an excellent overview for those new to the study of medieval fashion, including a handy glossary at the back to explain the clothing terms used.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley.

[Chocolategoddess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly light look into the fashion of the Middle Ages. I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review, in the form of an ebook. Unfortunately the pictures were extremely small and impossible to see, and the formatting wasn't finalised so the captions were out of order (making it impossible to see if the manuscripts were available to view online). As such, this is not a review of the selection of images in this book. It's a shame, because a book like this lives on its photographs and it's very difficult to review without at least a sample.

The text itself is a little dry, even for a historical clothing nerd like me. It basically just describes what people in the images are wearing, and occasionally talks about why (for instance, to show status, profession, or a historical figure).

My particular clothing interests lie a little later than the Middle Ages, so I don't hold myself to be an expert in this period, but some of what the author was saying made me a little suspicious of the text. She repeatedly states that the lower-class people depicted in the illuminations are wearing bright colours purely at the artist's fancy. This seems outright wrong to me. While lower-class clothing from the period is extremely rare, we do have evidence that bright dyes were used by the poor in Europe hundreds of years prior, and later. Many, many natural dyes exist that produce bright results, and which would have been readily available during the period. I'm not saying they were walking around in lurid primary colours, but a bright red was both achievable and affordable. Woad creates a bright blue and was incredibly popular. Surely it's unreasonable to expect that peasants just decided to dress in undyed wool for a few hundred years?

Nevertheless, if the physical copy of this book is filled with large images of the beautiful manuscripts, it's probably worth it. From what I could see, the images contain a substantial number of people wearing a variety of clothing. Studying these primary resources for clothing enthusiasts is valuable enough even without the text.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is less a book about Medieval clothing in general than a book about clothing as it appeared in illuminated manuscripts of the period. Illustrations in these writings presented an idealized (and sometimes stylized) image of clothes. The author does address this issue in comparison to how people actually dressed, so the reader isn't mis-lead. Full of lavish, full-color reproductions of period illustrations (sometimes with enlarged images of specific figures), each section deals with different aspects of fashion in the art of the Middle Ages - Stuffs of Clothing, Experiments in Tailoring, National Styles, Criticism through Dress, Clothing a Tale : The Romance of the Rose, Dressed to Rule, Serving God, Academic Awards, Serving Man, Outfitting for the Seasons: Spinola Hours, Biblical Times and the Holy Land, Ancient Greece and Rome, and Garbing a Hero: Book of the Deeds of Alexander the Great. As you may guess, the last three sections discuss artistic conventions in portraying personages and events of earlier times. 3.5 stars.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there was a lot more information included in the book, but altogether interesting and a quick snapshot of different styles and materials used. This book feels more like wandering through a museum exhibit than it does a comprehensive guide, so as long as you bear that in mind it should be enjoyable! A nice, easy entry point for anyone who knows little to nothing about medieval fashion.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by Middle Ages and interested in fashion and lifestyle through the ages.
I was happy to get this book as it seemed perfect for me.
All my expectations were met: it is well written, full of interesting facts and information, and lovely pictures.
I loved to discover some less known Middle Age works as much as I liked the historical part.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Getty Publications and Netgalley for this ARC

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested Fashion in the Middle Ages mainly as reference material for my art and to learn more about fashion in the middle ages.
This book was an interesting read and the illustration complemented the text well. I only wish there were more illustrations in the book, but this comes only from my artist's point of view.

[Zachary Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Our first fathers were dressed in leaves and skins, only to cover the nakedness of their bodies; but gradually, growing with time, men's mischief changed these first outfits in many diverse ways. This happened as much from necessity as from humans' curiosity, as can be seen in Northern countries whose inhabitants have to wear furred garments or heavy cloaks, and in the Southern countries they are naked or wear light clothing... But I hope that you will get some pleasure from seeing here the fickleness of our ancestors of old, and [see] that they were more interested in sumptuous garments than in rare virtue."- FRANÇOIS DESERPS TO PRINCE HENRY OF NAVARRE, 1562

I loveee a small book that you can knock out in an hour. Unlike other art catalogues I've read, this was really just the art and museum labels rather than in depth essays. The writing was a bit boring, but there are enough gorgeous illustrations here to distract you from that.

Favorite piece of art from the book is this gruesome 15th century illustration that demonstrated through a wide variety of dress that anyone from Kings to nuns can be sent to Hell.

Favorite Fun Facts
1. In England in 1463, the wearing of short tunics that revealed the male buttocks was restricted by law to the upper classes.

2. In 1366, the French king prohibited the production of long-toed shoes and stockings, in the vain hope that by cutting off the source of supply of the latest excesses of fashion, he could eradicate the fad itself.

3. Those who taught medicine at Paris universities were required from 1350 onward to wear good-quality, violet-colored cloth.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Fashion in the Middle Ages was originally published as an exhibition catalog accompanying a historical retrospective at the J. Paul Getty museum in 2011. The book was apparently organized in relation to the physical exhibits in the museum, because it's not arranged in any obvious relation to time period, culture, or world location. This causes some amount of confusion and 'cultural whiplash'. I did enjoy Dr. Scott's commentary on sumptuary laws and the use of different materials.

There are interesting and well written notations about the curated objects. Many of the illuminated pages are very well notated with interesting observations about the depictions being of a different culture or time period from that in which the objects were produced.

I received an electronic galley of this book and many of the illustrations were so pixellated and unclear as to be virtually unusable. The historical notes were very clear and well written, so I assume that a print copy of this book would solve the problems which plague the e-book. Roughly 1/3 of the illustrations in the electronic version are sub-optimal. As noted before, the exhibit notes are well written and accessible and the illustrations could be better.

I enjoyed this small volume. I would have liked to have seen the original display.

Three and a half stars, most likely more (4 - 4.5) for the paper versions with better illustration reproductions.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Tesha Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title is great for anyone studying culture in the Middle Ages or those interested in historical fashion. It has pictures of art work that details the fashion as well as images of actual pieces to help readers see what is being described. It also includes a glossary for a detailed description of fabric and dyes to assist anyone with things they may not have a great deal of knowledge about. The author provides in-depth descriptions of common fabrics and their exact uses as well as the colors that they dyed these fabrics and the purpose of those. I would highly recommend to anyone needing a factual source, or anyone simply interested in fashion.

I received a free ARC copy of this title through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Beatriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a bit misleading. Here's a better one: 'Fashion as depicted in Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts', because that's not exactly the same thing as 'Fashion in the Middle Ages'.

Still a nice book with really great real illustrations of the period of time in question, even if it doesn't go much in depth.

[April Munday · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures are mostly good, but there's no depth and little information in the text. I came away knowing how to identify which kind of fur was depicted in a painting and how to recognise that an artist was showing someone wearing velvet. I had hoped to learn more about the fashions themselves.

[Dobrota · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say 3,5 cause it’s quick to ready and it helps you understand the basics of medieval fashion and contemporaries illustrating it. However I wished there was more about accessories, jewellery etc

[Fyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good over all. I think it was a little heavy on later medieval texts and I would have liked more from earlier periods but that's not a big deal.

[Yaryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good as an introduction, but it could have been way more.

[Triumphal Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I did receive a digital version of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fashion in the Middle Ages by Margaret Scott is an interesting little book that covers several dozen medieval images in just a few pages. It is essentially a museum exhibition catalog and this is the first book of this kind that I have read. Essentially, many medieval manuscripts are examined and the author describes how the image should be viewed in its historical context. Akin to "reading between the lines" the author is able to relate the importance of the image in regards to how the contemporary viewers of the image understood their own world as well as how they understood an even earlier past.
It is important to note that this book is not encyclopedic or comprehensive, being an exhibit catalog. It is also important to know that the book is certainly much more about "fashion" as the title states and not simply about the different kinds of medieval dress and clothing. In regards to fashion of the 14th and 15th centuries, this book is superb. It relates how the varying social orders and economic classes were perceived in a very stratified society based on outward appearances. An interesting highlight of the book was an understanding of how some foreign people (both of the contemporary time and of the historical past) were understood. The author does a great job pointing out and examining details that reveal a wide array of information that someone untrained in viewing medieval manuscripts would pass over or not know to even look for. Some weaknesses of the book are that the vast majority of the images are from the same time period of the 14th and 15th centuries. While this is necessary for a cohesive museum exhibition, this does lead to the title of the book to be a little misleading. Also, a somewhat more connective narrative would have been appreciated. While there is some general discussion and summarizing at the beginning of chapters, much of the book feels a little disjointed as being simply individual examinations of different images without a wider context to always place them in.
Overall, Fashion in the Middle Ages by Margaret Scott is a neat little book if you are interested in the sense of fashion in the Late Middle Ages and using its high quality images as a resource, though the casual medieval reader may wish for a little more meat on the bone from this volume.
3 out of 5 stars.

[Heather Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty little glossy exhibition publication from the Getty's exhibit of the same name in 2011. It's a slim book (120pp) but lavishly illustrated for the size (89 color plates), which is hardly surprising given the nature and purpose of the publication. The exhibition was focused on fashion as depicted in manuscript art and the book has the same focus, although there are also a handful of pictures of textiles and surviving garments. The text has some basic background information on medieval clothing, clothing for different classes and occupations, materials and styles, and other topics. There is nothing startling or groundbreaking and I would hesitate to suggest the book as a starting point for someone just beginning to study the field. But there are lots and lots of pretty pictures, provided with full information about the source and context of the art, and most of them are not from the standard default library of images of medieval costume illustrations, so the book is worth added to a browsing library for the images alone. But if you're looking for a once-stop single-source reference on medieval costume, then move along, there's nothing to see here.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good little book about interpreting what an artist was trying to convey when illustrating what people wore in the Middle Ages. For example, the color red was often used to convey a person of high learning. Excellent reminder that art doesn't necessarily always portray actual life.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is greaet for those who have an interest in the Middle Ages and /or fashion. Great primary sourcing and all levels of class and in religion. It is really interesting to see how the author interprests and gives the inofrmation on the sources.

[73pctGeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley I received access to a digital ARC of Fashion in the Middle Ages by Margaret Scott in exchange for an honest review.

A foreword by Elizabeth Morrison is followed by an introduction and then the three main chapters, Dressing for the Moment, Dressing for the Job, and Dressing for Another Time, Another Place, before a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading.

This book is fascinating and I’m so grateful for having the chance to read it. Tons of interesting information illustrated by lots of pictures with illuminating (heh) captions. In my copy many photographs were of very low quality making it hard to make out the details described by in the text, but I assume that is a feature of the digital ARC and not part of the final copy.

I enjoy reading historical fiction, biographies of historical figures, and playing faux-medieval fantasy roleplaying games, so this book was very much a delight for me. The glossary alone is exceptionally helpful when trying keep the difference between miniver and ermine straight in my head, or remembering just what samite was again. I will happily add a copy of this book to my collection as soon as possible.