Facts about Tudor clothes

Tudor England is famous for its beautiful and ornate clothing, particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Clothes were a means of displaying how wealthy a person was. Rich people could afford clothing made of fine wool, linen or silk. Their clothes were decorated with jewels and embroidered with gold thread.

No rich person felt properly dressed to impress unless he or she was wearing a Ruff. Like so many Tudor clothes, it gave a strong signal about the wealth and important of the person wearing it

Rich ladies wore padded skirts held up with loops. Over these went bodices and colourful floor-length gowns.

Rich men wore white silk shirts, frilled at the neck and wrists. Over this they wore doublet (a bit like a tight-fitting jacket), and close-fitting striped trousers (called hose).

Everyone wore their hair shoulder length.