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Costumes
and Customs from the Sixteenth Century
In the medieval
days, expression
of one’s loyalties to a ruler or lord and of one’s social
prestige, as well as of one’s wealth, became an object of dress.
There were two main classes of people: the few who had every advantage,
and the many who had none. Class distinctions were stressed, and personal
discomfort and restrictions in movement were willingly endured by
those of the upper class, since the dress gave evidence of the fact
that the wearer did not need to engage in any useful work. Some influence
from this period may be noted from time to time today. It may be seen
in the pomp and ceremony of elaborate church weddings with veiled
brides in trailing wedding dresses, sometimes making it necessary
to have train bearers and maids of honour. All this duplicates—in
some respects, at least—some of the pageantry of the life of
the lady of the castle long ago. — Laura Baxter, Today's Clothing |
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