What Did Rich People Wear In Elizabethan Times?

Many fine works of Art survive to give us an idea of how the Nobility, the Rich, and the Clerics dressed in the Elizabethan times. Women favored wide skirts, and tight low cut bodices. Access to the silk trade allowed for fabulous silk and satin fabrics. Wide white lace ruffles were considered chic, worn around the neck. Velvet and rich materials were sewn into costumes very ornate. Rich people tried to emulate the Nobles in fashion. Men wore wide short breeches, with hose, shirts were finely decorated and of course they wore hats with feathers. Women wore smaller hats, ornately beaded and bejewelled. Shoes or slippers were of 2 kinds , soft and somewhat pointed, or hard with clasps and ornamentation. Boots were favored by men. Women wore several layers of clothes to achieve the final effect that we see in the art from that period. Necklines and sleeve cuffs were focal points for fancy details. The wearing of jewelry was a huge status symbol and quite fashionable, with real jewels and pearls often sewn into the costumes at large.