Elizabethan Menswear

Since the Elizabethan view of pure beauty was a woman with light hair and a snow white complexion complimented with red cheeks and red lips, men had to match. A pale complexion could only be achieved by a woman of the upper class. Lower class women were expected to work outside and therefore acquired a suntan. The pale complexion was therefore a sign of wealth and nobility - an immediate identification for a person from the upper classes. This alabaster complexion was therefore also required by Elizabethan men.