The Fashion Historian

Fan, eighteenth century. Painted paper leaf with mother of pearl sticks inlaid with gold. Gift of Mrs. Robert D. Graff. 1967.46. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin

Painted silk fan, late eighteenth century. XA-1221. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

Detail of painted silk fan, late eighteenth century. XA-1221. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

Detail of painted silk fan, late eighteenth century. XA-1221. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

Detail of the back of the fan, showing the outlines of the unfinished design. The white tape is from a previous conservation treatment from an unknown date. Painted silk fan, late eighteenth century. XA-1221. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

Printed fan, c. 1790s. Gift of the estate of Anna P. Williams. 2380-50H. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

This printed fan is from the opposite end of the spectrum from the luxurious fan featured above. Due to the time it took to produce fans and the expense of the materials, fans in previous centuries had only been available to the upper classes and were highly valued luxury items. However, in the eighteenth century, fans became available to a much wider market and became an important accessory for all classes. In the 1720s fan makers began printing fan leaves and mounting them on sticks of plain wood. These printed fans could be quickly produced en masse and sold cheaply. Due to the ease and speed of the printing process, printed fans could be made to commemorate important events and serve as souvenirs for travelers.

Detail of printed fan, showing the off-center placing of the central image. Pinted fan, c. 1790s. Gift of the estate of Anna P. Williams. 2380-50H. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

Back detail of the fan, showing the stitches holding the spangles in place. Printed fan, c. 1790s. Gift of the estate of Anna P. Williams. 2380-50H. Chicago History Museum. Photo by Katy Werlin.

The ruff is the fashion item most associated with the Renaissance. It evolved from the collars of the shirts worn by men underneath their doublets. The collars would have a small decorative ruffle around the top, which would add a bit of visual interest. Gradually this ruffle grew larger, becoming its own independent garment.


The Darnley Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England, c. 1575

What made the ruff possible was starch. In the early sixteenth century, starch was imported from the Low Countries. But the ruff really began to blossom in the 1560s when starch production came to England. In 1564, Mistress Dinghen van der Plasse moved from Flanders to London, opening up her own starch making business. The business flourished, and soon there were manufacturers all over London. Starch was derived from cereal grains such as wheat or corn, which caused some contention. William Cecil, chief minister to Elizabeth I once said, "Is it not a very lamentable thing that we should bestow that upon starch to the setting forth of vanity and pride which would staunch the hunger of many that starve in the streets for want of bread?"


Sir Francis Walsingham by John De Critz the Elder.

Ruffs were made from starched linen cambric, edged with lace, although as the century wore on, ruffs could be made entirely of lace. Lace was a new textile, having developed in the early sixteenth century. It was immensely time consuming to make, therefore it was EXTREMELY expensive. And while we think of linen as a basic fabric today, the quality of linen in the sixteenth century was highly superior to the quality of linen today. One surviving ruff has linen with a thread count of fifty threads to one centimeter. The fabric was put into a figure 8 pattern, called goffering, and sewn with gossamer threads. The larger ruffs, called cartwheel ruffs, had a basic wire support system called a supportasse or underproper.


Detail of a procession portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England, c. 1600.

Ruffs were highly luxurious garments. They could take hours to set, and could only be worn once as body heat and the weather would cause it to droop and loose shape. Their placement on the neck affected posture, forcing the wearer to keep their chin up and assume a proud and haughty pose. They were a potent symbol of status and wealth, as anyone who could afford to wear and maintain a ruff was clearly not doing any manual labor.


The Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria by Frans Pourbus, c. 1599

The ruff continued to be worn in the early 17th century, but was beginning to peter out. By the time King Charles I came to the English throne in 1625, the ruff had disappeared and been replaced by a loose lace collar which draped over the shoulders, called a falling band collar.

When some one says medieval fashion, one of the first thoughts that come to mind is the tall cone shaped hats worn by little girls pretending to be princesses everywhere. But what were these hats actually called and when were the actually worn?


Detail from Presentation of Christ at the Temple by Hans Holbein the Elder, 1500-1501

Princess Hats aka henin appeared in the mid to late fifteenth century, when height began to replace width as the dominant feature of womens headwear. Henin were a continental trend, originating in Burgundy, and it is unlikely that they were ever worn in England. The henin appeared during the period when the gothic style still dominated architecture, and may be a reflection of the tall spires reaching towards heaven.


Chartres Cathedral.

The henin was worn with a veil called a cointoise, which was either attached to the point of the cone or swathed around it. The cointoise could vary in length, reaching anywhere from the shoulders to the hemline of the dress. It's not exactly clear how a henin stayed on a womans head. They feature a small v-shaped loop in front, called a frontlet, which may provide some anchorage. Others have suggested that a small bit of glue was put on the frontlet to attach it to the forehead. An extremely high hairline was considered beautiful in this period, and the henin allowed women to show off their prominent foreheads.


Image from Mary of Burgundy's Book of Hours, 1467-1480.

Naturally the henin took a great amount of abuse. Pierre de Gros said in Le Jardin des Nobles that "the younger and more beauitufl the ladies were, the higher were the chimneys that they carried."