Fashion accessories of the Sixteenth Century were almost as important as the clothing itself. Hoods, ruffs, wigs and cosmetics all came onto the scene during the 1500s.

Hoods

Headwear was a necessity during the Renaissance. There were laws in place that actually fined persons appearing in public without their heads covered. Hoods were the most common headwear for women in during the early sixteenth century. They usually fell in folds, and the sides were turned back to reveal an under cap. Another popular style was a gabled hood, also known as an English hood. A gabled hood looks a bit like the wearer has donned tent on her head, draping the sides of the face and forming an arch or gable over the forehead. See the portrait of Catherine of Aragon below, for an example of a gabled hood.

Gabled hoods were very popular until about 1540, when the French Hood became all the rage. A French hood was smaller than the English hood, with a horseshoe shaped crown. It was worn far back on the head, allowing a woman’s hair to show. Most often made from black velvet, this style of hood remained popular until around 1580. Refer to the picture of Anne Boleyn below, who helped make French Hoods fashionable in Tudor England.

Another type of hood was the Mary Stuart hood, after Mary, Queen of Scots. It was a smaller hood, wired into a heart shape and decorated with lace (see image below).

Beneath a hood, a woman usually parted her hair in the center and wore it in a chignon, or bun, on the back of her head. Many women also opted to wear a caul- a decorative hairnet made of gold thread or silk.

Ruffs

A ruff is a radiating, pleated neckband made of lace or linen. A rug of lace folded in a figure-eight pattern was very popular during the latter part of the Renaissance. A new invention, starch, allowed ruffs to grow taller and wider. As neck ruffs grew in size and, hoods became shorter, eventually giving way to hats and elaborate hairstyles toward the end of the Renaissance.

Hats of the Renaissance

A biggin was a tight fitting cap worn by infants and younger children. A beaver was a hat, made of beaver fur. A bonnet was a soft hat worn by men and women. Tall hats, similar to top hats, were popular for hunting, for both men and women. Linen caps, edged in lace and wire, to curve over the wearer’s hair, were popular toward the end of the Renaissance.

Sixteenth Century Hairstyles

Hairstyles did not become visible until the very last part of the Renaissance. Up until that point, most Renaissance women wore their hair covered by hoods or coifs, although some women puffed the sides of their hair out, to peek out from their hoods. Like everything else in Sixteenth Century Renaissance fashion, hairstyles were dressed in ornate styles, dripping with jewels, pins, wires and ribbons.

Big hair is not just a trademark of the 1980’s. It was also extremely popular at the court of Elizabeth I. Woman frizzed their hair to make it fuller and stand taller. To add more height and fullness many women used wigs and false hairpieces. A broad forehead was considered very beautiful in Renaissance times, and consequently hair was plucked from the hairline to give a woman a smooth, fair brow.

Sixteenth Century Cosmetics

Among the very wealthy, cosmetics were popular, especially in age when small pox would badly scar a woman’s complexion. After her own bout with the deadly disease, Elizabeth I wore ceruse, a smooth white powder made from lead. Vermillion was used as rouge and on cheeks and lips, and elderberries and marigolds were used to color hair. At the court of Elizabeth I, it became fashionable to dye ones hair auburn, after the queen’s own tresses.

Sources

http://www.kimiko1.com/research-16th/FrenchHood/1560/index.html

Hansen, Henry Harold. Coustumes and Styles: the Evolution of Fashion from Early Egypt to the Pesent.

McCutcheon, Marc. Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary. New York: Checkmark Books, 2005.

Picard, Liza. Elizabeth's London. New York: St. Martins Press. 2003