Fashion ID
Then → Now
Sumptuary Showdown
Trade, Tech & Sources
Lightning Round
100
This linen undergarment was worn by both men and women during the Renaissance.
What is the camicia?
100
Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda’s jeweled headdress echo this Renaissance accessory influenced by the Middle East.
What is a turban-like headdress?
100
This was the fabric most likely permitted for town laborers to wear.
What is linen?
100
This luxury textile, imported and locally woven, signaled wealth as clearly as jewelry.
What is brocade?
100
Small fabric inserts added at seams to improve fit and movement in garments.
What are gussets?
200
Venetian women sometimes wore this platform footwear that could be over a foot tall.
What are chopines?
200
Gucci revived this Renaissance garment feature with its precise tailoring and shaping.
What is the doublet?
200
A merchant’s wife wearing pearls and gold trim would cause scandal because she violated these rules.
What are sumptuary laws?
200
Painters used this wall-painting medium that now helps us study cut and surface decoration.
What are frescoes?
200
Full, rounded sleeve details created by gathering or stuffing fabric.
What are puffs?
300
This long, full men’s over-gown had dramatic sleeves and signaled status.
What is the houppelande?
300
Alexander McQueen’s dramatic cutouts and layers echo this Renaissance sleeve style.
What are slashed sleeves?
300
According to Renaissance sumptuary laws, city authorities often limited people to owning only this number of garments at a time.
What is two?
300
These household wardrobe lists let historians track how many outfits and which fabrics people owned.
What are guardaroba inventories?
300
Cord-and-eyelet fastening used to attach sleeves or tighten bodices.
What is lacing?
400
A jeweled headband worn across the forehead by Renaissance women.
What is a ferroniere?
400
The rigid bodice with a deep V-shaped waistline was influenced by this country’s fashion.
What is Spain?
400
A nobleman would wear this garment with hanging sleeves to show civic authority at public events.
What is a ceremonial robe?
400
Decorative cuts in outer layers that let a contrasting fabric peek through.
What are slashes?
400
A luxurious figured weave combining satin/twill effects, prized in Renaissance Italy.
What is lampas?
500
A male garment introduced for fit and modesty that became exaggerated in the 1500s.
What is the codpiece?
500
Chopines are most similar to this category of modern footwear.
What are platforms?
500
A wealthy aristocrat’s guardaroba might include this imported luxury textile that symbolized wealth and trade.
What is velvet?
500
By the 16th century, these printed design collections circulated widely, even if not always accurate.
What are pattern books (or printed costume books)?
500
Sixteenth-century printed design collections that circulated to tailors and artists.
What are pattern books (printed costume books)?