The Renaissance

Even though the Renaissance over-laps the Medieval period I will still be talking about it. So, the time of the Renaissance was a time of "rebirth" of Greek philosophy, culture, and art. The most influential things in this time era were religion and art. Some famous people from this time period were Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. So what was the style? Like in the late Medieval period, the Renaissance had a similar style. Later in the years of the Renaissance the fashion got more elaborate.
Like in the Medieval period, fashion determined your "social status". Wealthier men and women would spend the majority of their money on clothing and finer clothes (like silk, velvet, and cotton).

Image found on google images

Renaissance women went from wearing three pieces (underskirt, bodice, and robe) to a one piece (dress) back to a 5 or more piece (skirt, undershirt, bodice, over-bodice, vest, hood, etc). Since the lower class did not wear the same amount of pieces as the higher class this helped keep the social status.

Image found on google images

Renaissance men would wear clothes that gave them a "square" look. They would wear padded vests with the shoulders widen to look more square-ish or like buff. They had either ruffles or stand-up collars with their shirts.










What are some modern day interpretations? The show The Tudors is about King Henry VIII. This was about the same time as the Renaissance. But where can you get this look today? Its not really in style right now, but they do make vests for women/teenagers/girls. They still make some loose fit shirts like they did back then. Windsor Fashions sells dresses, casual and evening wear. They sell vests for teenagers and girls who are in their 20's. For men, well I don't know who exactly sells the shirts.

Medieval Ages.

In the times of Crusades, fall of the Western Roman Empire, and art and architecture comes the Middle Ages. From the 5th century to the 15th century, art and religion were a big influence in Europe. Fashion during this time period was very different depending on your social status. The way you dressed was just as important as what your name was. Also someone could express their social status by what they wore.

A king would wear the finest silks; long sleeved shirts, a band around the waist, closed toed shoes, and had his hair cut short. Later on in the later years of the Middle Ages kings began to wear surcoats, gold belts, stockings, or big hats.
Men would wear what the king wore; lower the class the less valuable he dressed. If he was low on the social ladder he wouldn't wear a hat or head-dress and he wouldn't wear any jewelry or gold, but he would have worn pants, stockings, and a white shirt.

Empire style dress I found on google images

A queen would wear what the king would wear. But usually they wore what is called an "empire dress". The empire dress was worn by women of every social class; but the upper class women would wear them of finer material (such as a finer silk or cloth). The style was a band that would come right under the bust of a woman and tie in the back. The rest of the dress flows down to the ground.

Jovani dress design

In modern times we still have some of the same styles as back then, although we don't dress according to social class. Some modern day designers like Jovani designs evening dresses, prom dresses, and many more. He has some designs that have the empire style.




So where can a girl get this look? Well its mainly a dress design so anywhere you can get a dress, you can find this look. Individual dress designers like Jovani and Tony Bowls have their own websites where you can look at their dresses. Or department stores like Nordstrom's, Blooming's, or Macy's have dress sections where they can have this look.

Ancient Rome.

Ancient Rome was filled with culture, language, religion, government and style. Today, we have many styles that were the same as back then. But let me give you some of the history of Rome. Rome was founded about 753 bc by twin brothers Romulus and Remus. From then on the Romans built an amazing empire; established a republic, conquered territories and expanded, and established language and technology. So what did they exactly dress like? Men and women wore wool clothes wrapped around their bodies. Around 200 bc when they came into contact with Greece and Egypt they began to wear tunics under the wool, which made it more comfortable.

What women would wear.

Today we have many designers who have styled their clothes after the Romans. Designers like Jimmy Choo and Steve Madden have made shoes called the gladiator shoe.

  

 Over the years if you look at the different time periods in history, you can see we repeat styles. We will see this when I post more things. Now, if you want to get this look these shoes are pretty much sold everywhere; Nordstroms, Macy's, JcPenny's, Target, and even Walmart.

What is this blog about?

Hi I'm Maddy and I am interested in fashion. I have been most of my life. When I was little I always picked out my own outfits (I always dressed oddly). Even though now I can't buy the latest Marc Jacobs bag or the newest Juicy Couture outfit I still buy clothes at Target or other stores and make it my own. Even though I "follow the crowd" on what's the latest style I also like to put my own twist to it, whether its a necklace or a headband. At the end of each post I'll suggest a store or an online store for different styles that might be interesting to the reader (like for an adult I'll post a store with adult fashions and for teenagers I'll post a store with teenage fashions).

In this blog I will be talking about fashion,from the ancient Romans to today. I'll talk about the different time periods in history and what was considered the "in" look at the time. For instance what was considered "in" in the 1960's or the 1980's in America and in other parts of the world (but mostly in America). Also I will be talking about different fashion influences/designers and how they impacted that time period. Lastly, I will talk about famous/historic figures who lived during that time period and how they dressed (like George Washington or Albert Einstein).

I hope you will enjoy this blog as much as I will.

(: