Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-10-03


Put then thy hands in peril without fail,
Without a gauntlet or a glove OF mail.
The dress of the 10th century would appear tru-
~ fantasticai to modern taste. A skirt hung over
the loins q long doublet laced over G stomacher,
covered the front Of the body; and a wide sleesed
mantle, like a woman's gown, fell over the skirt
and descended to the arcles.-These dresses were
gay and costly. made of silks, velvets, cloth of gold
and cloth of silver. There seems to have been no
trifing difficulty to know a well dressed man from
a woman. Perhaps the ladies' dress might be best
known by its extensive train. 1t was not long be-
fore this period that a serious and learned treatise
had been written. Contra caudas dominarum -
| against the ladies' trains. Fantastical as was this
part of feminine attire, it scarcely deserved the sa-
trio notice Of the bard, who added a stanzas to a
poem called " The Scole House." Afer harshly
abusing all women for their attachment to dress,
expense, and so on, he says,
Trewely some men there be
That 1--WE alwaye in great honeure,
And say, it goth by destinie
To h,ng, or wed-both have one houre.
And whether it be, | am well sure
Hanging is better fthe twaine,
IT'S sooner done, and shorter paine
You may be sure that this satirist upon matrirno-
ny and the sex, was some rusty old bachelor who
had never had the courage to ask a lady TO wed
him! 1t was precisely because he had not partici-
pated in the pleasures of matrimoiy and the smiles
of the fair that he abused them. The fable of The fox
and grapes appears applicable in this case, at least,
| hope SO.
Soon after the accession of Henry VIII, the dou-
blet and mantle became shorter, while the neither
garment, elongated into something like the panta
loon, took place of the short petticoat hitherto
worn by gentlemen. As the King increased in
bulk, the courtiers took to s%tuffipg their habits TO
make them resemble his-jusr as, in the Court of
Alexander the Great, his fashion of holding his
head on one side was initiated BY his courliers.-
The bulky dress still worn in England by the yeo-
men of the Guard, is a remnant OF the fashion in
troduced in compliment to the corpulency of the
fat King.
There were changes, roo, in the attire of females.
The men having exchanged the hoods of the 18th
century for a coarse round felt bat, cap or bonnet
with q jewel in font, the women assumed a PLAIN
Golf composed of q roll and false hair, or velvet bon
net. In the latter ell the portraits of Anna Boliein
are represented by Hans lIolbein. II they we're
maidens, the head was left uncovered, and the hair
either hung down, or was very simply bfaiied WIN
iIbband. The men wore their hair at tuli length,
in graceful r~inglets on the shoulders, until Henry
VIII, directed that his attendants and courtiefs
should cut it short. 1t was about this time that
perukes were first worn in England. They enter
the lists of fashion with no advantage, for Paid
for Saxton, the Kings fool, for a wig, twenty shIl-
lings," is a charge made by the Treasurer of the
Chambers to Henry VIII. This monarch appears
to have had a penchant for m~eddling with every
thing-from the holy mysteries OF religion to the
ephemeral fashions Oft Court. He made an otdi-
nance that cloth Of gold and tissue should Only a.
dorm Dukes and Marqnises and that purple should
be reserved for the Royal family: silks and saiios
might be worn by the opulent commoneri but none
inferior to an earl in dignity might use embroidery.
IT, ,-,.l ,o.artpu Fr th, laoa in fhpga 1aNz was
cloth boots; and a pair of black silk hose made in
Spain, was a present which found great favor in the
eyes of the sovereign! That sovereign was Eli
zabetl, and the silk stockings were a second hand
pair which had already seen service.
Under Edward vi. the covering for mems heads
was q plain velvet cap, worn diagonally and deco
rated with a jewel and a large ostrich feather
The hair was cut short, the beard left full, a small
ru0le surrounded the neck, and the gown was fur
red with sables in front and round the broad sleeves,
which hung over the upper part of the arm.
The female attire was then characterized by con-
~cealment, though the splendor of the dresses was
very great, by the addition of jewels, velvets, fur
INNING and cloth of gold. The garments usu-
ally consisted of long ~boddices, with or without
skirts, or close-bodied habits over them, especially
those large booped ones called farthingales, which
were introduced from Spain by Queen Mary.
At the same time, Philip of Spain on his mar
raige, brought into England a richer style OF dress
for the men, particularly the close ruff, the doublet
fitting exactly and stiily under the chin, and the
short Spanish cloak, ali of which long remained in
fashion. About 1865, the enormous trunk =" mex
pressibles," introduced under Henry VII, began
TO disappear; but while they lasted they were car
RED to such an absurd degree of magnitude, that in
the Parliament House, there were certain holes
about two inches square in the walls, having posts
in them, supporting a scaffold all round the build
ing for those members TO sit upon, who wore great
breeches stuffed with hair, like woolsacks.
The general fashion under Elizabeth was nearly
stationary, and consisted of very rich doublets and
cloaks trimmed with fur; full drawers terminating
above the knee, and hose which fitted tightly to the
legs below them. Short swords were also generally
worn, but an immoderate length ofblade was prohibi-
ted. The most remarkable and well known feature
of the costume ofthis time, was the ruff, OF plated IL
men or cambria, around the neck and wrists. These
ruffs spread out to 0 great size, and, until the inven-
ton Of starch, were supported on every SIDE oy PIE
ces of ivory, wood aad gifted metal, called poking
sticks, which were especially worn by men. The
art Of s,arching however was brought from tian-
ders. and in 1864 the wife of Guillim Boenen, the
Queens coachmsn, starched for the whole court,
and taught the art to young persons Tor a ngu e'a-
tuify.
Under James |. the Spanish habit continued to
be worn in England. Ii was chiefly OF black, win
large trunk hose, q rapier, and a hat WIN d ioi'y
conical crown, with a band Of twisted silk' hequeht-
ly decorated with jewels.
The female dsess had the neck closely envelop'
ed in a small ruff, though the bosom was often ex-
posed, and decorated with very many rows oil large
pearls, which appear to have been the iavori,e jew
els OF the time. In the time Of Elizabeth, the boards
and whiskers of the male sex had become un'yei-
sal-the former were sometimes worn trimmed 10
a point, hanging down at the division OF the ruiz
BY the time of Charles |. however, the hair was
worn long, and the mouth stood in the centre OF a
triangle formed by the moustsches and the pointed
beard.