Elizabethan Menswear

BREECHES/TRUNKHOSE – Most common would be trunkhose (slops), a full mid-thigh length pant. Around the 1570s, codpieces were going out of fashion. Button fly closures with either wood, horn or cloth-covered buttons were used. All trousers were cut high, and worn at the natural waist, around an inch below the rib cage. They were made of wool or heavy linen. Venetians, the longer tapered pants, were not yet widely worn, and would not have been worn by lower-class men.

 

STOCKINGS – Plain knit cotton or wool stockings that reach over the knee. They were often supported by garters, strips of cloth tied at the knee - There was not to be a gap between the breeches and the stockings – no knees showing!

 

BELT – Narrow leather, no wider than one inch. Buckles were somewhat small. Belts were worn over the doublet, up at the waistline, not down on the hips. The belt followed the waist seam of the doublet. They used belt hooks to keep it in position.