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Historic Clothing is littered with unfamiliar terms, some so obscure that no-one knows their meaning! Confusingly, some terms are used to mean one garment in one century, and something different in another cenury or another place.
Here is a list of terms as I have used them on this site. Please note that these definitions are not exhaustive and other folks may use different words, or the same words meaning different things. Please insert Babelfish accordingly.
For example, consider the following:
To look smart in Britain, a man might wear a waistcoat. This garment is derived from the Tudor doublet, originally an undergarment, later a short jacket with optional sleeves. A sleeveless version of the doublet was called a singlet. In the US, a singlet is a sleeveless undergarment, also worn as an outer garment, what we in the UK call a vest. However, in the US, that's what a man might wear to look smart, i.e., a waistcoat. Confused yet?
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Bag Sleeves
Barbette
Braies
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A
AIGUILLETTE
the metal end to a lace, often very decorative, pointed so as to pass easily through eyelets.
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B
BAG SLEEVES
large sleeves with tight cuffs often slit down the front edge.
BALDRICK
a sword belt. Also a gloriously revolting turnip-eating sidekick with far too many 'cunning plans'.
BANYAN
18th century loose robe for wearing at home. Also called a night gown, although not worn at night.
BARBETTE
'little beard', the white strap passing under the chin and over the head, worn by women in the 12th - 14th centuries.
BASQUE
extensions below the waist of a bodice or doublet.
BLIAUT
Medieval gown with wide skirts gathered onto the bodice.
BODICE
the upper part of a dress, with matching attached or unattached skirt. A bodice may be boned for support.
BODIES/BODYS (pair of)
see stays.
BOLSTER
see bum roll.
BRAIES
men's underpants, held up with a belt and reaching anywhwere from mid-thigh to ankle.
BREECHES
men's close-fitting knee-length trousers, usually with a fall front. Late 16th - early 19th centuries.
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BUMROLL
roll of padding shaped like a German sausage, used to hold the skirts out.
BUSTLE
the sticky-out bit at the back of a skirt, formed by lots of gathered fabric helped by padding or a frame under the skirt. First fashionable on the late 18th century, then ousted by the crinoline from the 1830s - 1860s, popping back for a visit 1860 - 1870, and finally back for a triumphant farewell tour from 1880 - 1890.
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C
CARTRIDGE PLEATS
tight, regular pleats like those at the head of curtains, used extensively in outer garments.
CAUL
decorative hair net worn in 14th and 15th centuries.
CHAPERON
initially a caped hood, but usually used to mean the fancy hat with a padded rondel and coxcomb into which it evolved.
CHEMISE
18th century name for a smock.
CHEMISETTE
mock blouse-front used to fill a low neckline. Mainly Victorian.
COIF
close-fitting cap, usually white, initially worn by everyone, later by women and children. Medieval to 17th century and, in modified forms, through to Victorian.
CORSET
see stays.
COTTE/COTE
unfitted tunic, with gores or slits to aid movement, worn from ancient times to Medieval.
COTEHARDIE
form-fitting gown worn in 14th and 15th centuries.
CRINOLINE
wide stiffened petticoat (from 1830s) or frame of hoops and wires (1850s and 60s). See also farthingale for 16th - 17th centuries and hoops for 1740 - 1770.
CYCLAS
long, sleeveless over-gown with deep armholes. 13th and 14th centuries.
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Coif
Cyclas
Crinoline
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Dalmatica
Dead Chicken Hat
Doublet
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D
DAGGING
DALMATICA
long-sleeved, flared tunic favoured by the late Roman Empire and popular until the 13th century.
DEAD CHICKEN HAT
the medieval version of wearing a sweatshirt round your waist. A fancy hat made by wearing a chaperon hood the wrong way round with all the floppy stuff dangling over one ear.
DECOLLETAGE
literally 'coming unstuck', this is the low, revealing neckline popular at many periods and very often for evening dress.
DIRNDL
traditional folkdress of Alpine Europe, little-changed for serveral centuries. In comprises a white frothy blouse, a close-fitting bodice/waistcoat, a full, gathered skirt and an apron. Many figures of European folk-tales, Little Red Riding Hood and Gretl, for example, are characterised wearing such clothing which is both practical and comfortable, and very flattering to the figure!
DOUBLET
padded garment for the upper body, often with matching sleeves tied on at the shoulders by points. Late 14th to mid 17th centuries until supplanted by the waistcoat in the Restoration.
DRAWERS
originally worn by men (when they were called braies), women started wearing these long under garments in the 1840s when the very wide skirts required something underneath for modesty! Drawers were made of two baggy tubes with decoration at the lower edge. They were connected only at the waistband until well into the 20th century.
DRESS
not necessarily a one-piece garment. More comonly a dress was a matching suit of bodice, skirt and possibly sleeves. Some dresses had more than one bodice, so that they could be worn in the day or evening.
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EMPIRE/REGENCY/DIRECTOIRE
Think of Jane Austen novels and you're there.
ENGAGEANTS
false under-sleeves worn with elbow-length sleeves in the mid 1800s. Also called garde-jambes.
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F
FALLING COLLAR/Falling Bands
unstiffened collar or ruff worn turned down over the shoulders.
FARTHINGALE
stiffened petticoat in cone shape (Spanish farthingale) or flat-topped cylinder (drum, cartwheel, French farthingale). 16th to early 17th centuries.
FIBULA
Roman brooch or pin.
FICHU
fine fabric used as a small shawl to cover a low neck-line. 18th century. See also pelerine.
FILLET
nothing to do with fish! A circlet worn horizontally around the head over a veil.
FLAT CAP/BONNET
Tudor hat with low, wide unstiffened crown and flat, narrow brim.
FROCK COAT
impressive coat with flared skirts, worn by men in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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G
GAITERS
also called spats, these protected the top of the shoe and ankle from splashes.
GARTER
bands used to hold up hose or netherstocks (stockings). In Saxon times, garters were very long and worn wound over the whole lower leg, later they were tied just above or below the knee. Medieval to 19th century.
GIRDLE
a belt, as in 'gird your loins'. Not an elasticated bum slimming garment!
GOWN
a loose garment covering shoulder to floor or thereabouts, worn by men and women. Often worn open to reveal a decorated underdress or embroidered doublet. Later a one-piece long dress.
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Falling Collar
Fichu
Flat bonnet
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Hood
Hose
Houppelande
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H
HANGING SLEEVES
decorative sleeves open at the front and hanging behind the arms, often with decorative linings and tippets extending to the ground.
HAUBERK
a coat of chainmail armour
HENNIN
think of Rapunzel and one of those tall, pointy hats with a whisp of veil hanging from the top. The veil isn't right, but thpointy bit is called a hennin.
HOOD
except for the Scottish Widows lady, almost never attached to a cloak. A hoods was a separate garment, like a balaclava helmet with an attached shoulder cape.
Also GABLE HOOD/CRESCENT HOOD/FRENCH HOOD - head-dresses with attached veils that framed the face, popular in late 15th and 16th centuries.
HOOPS
a revival of the Elizabethan farthingale, hooped petticoats were popular from round 1710. First conical, they became a wide, flat oval in the 1730s. These were more modest when sitting, but tricky to manage through doorways! The hoops were then worn only on the sides until the 1770s, when they were replaced by padded panniers.
HOSE
close-fitting leggings, often parti-coloured and worn by men and women. Medieval to 17th century. Intitially separate legs, what we would call stockings, held up by garters or tied to the doublet or braies with points. Later they were joined, first at the back and then front as well, as men's clothing became shorter. see also trunk hose.
HOUPPELANDE
very loose gown with enormous sleeves, late 14th and 15th centuries.
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I-J
JERKIN
unpadded sleeveless over-doublet, often made of leather. Late 15th to 17th centuries.
JUPON
padded jacket, often worn with armour.
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K
KERCHIEF
large square or long rectangle of fine fabric used as a partlet or fichu to cover the decolletage. 18th century.
KIRTLE
woman's fitted gown, worn in layers, Medieval. Later an under-gown or petticoat, 16th - 17 centuries
KNICKERBOCKERS
baggy, knee-length trousers gathered into bands below the knee. Also known as plus fours.
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L
LIRIPIPE
the long tail dangling behind a hood.
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M
MANTLE
large shawl or small cape, sometime with vague sleeves. 18th and 19th centuries.
MANTUA
loose informal robe with pleats falling from the shoulders and a draped train. Worn over stays and a decorated petticoat. 17th and 18th centuries.
MOB CAP
unfitted, gathered cap with frilled edge of varying designs. Popularised by married women in the Georgian period, it was worn by servants into the Victorian age.
N
NETHERHOSE/NETHERSTOCKS
men's stockings, what we would call socks. Held up by garters or points to upperhose.
NORFOLK JACKET/SUIT
Suit worn by children and for outdoor pursuits. The jacket has box pleats front and back and a fabric belt, and is teamed with knickerbockers or a pleated skirt. Victorian.
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Kirtle
Mantle
Mob cap
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Parti-coloured doublet
Partlet
Penannular brooch
Pinafore
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P-Q
PALLA
a large veil or shawl, the Roman woman's equivalent of the toga.
PANES
strips of fabric on the surface of or forming part of a garment, designed to let the lining show through the gaps.
PANNIERS
Half hoops or padding worn at the sides to hold out the skirt when the fashion was for a wide, oval shape.
PANTALOONS
long, tight breeches, reaching to the ankles. 1790s to 1850s.
PARTICOLOURED
having different sides of different colours, especially hose. Popular in late Medieval period.
PARTLET
covering for the upper chest to fill in the gap above a low-cut bodice. Late 15th to early 17th centuries. See also chemisette.
PASSEMENTERIE
hand-made braid or trimming.
PATTENS
platform soles, designed to slip on over nice shoes to keep them out of the goo. Usually wood with leather straps. Medieval to early 20th century.
PEASCOD BELLY
padded front of a doublet giving a fashionable 'beer-belly' shape. 1570s.
PELERINE
bigger than a fichu, smaller than a mantle. A large collar or small wrap that could have long ends to cross in front.
PELISSE
woman's lined cloak with slits for the arms (from 1750s) or a fitted coat like a spencer with skirts (1790s to 1820s). After this time, up to mid-century, it was adapted as a coat-dress fastened with ribbons.
PENANNULAR BROOCH
very popular design of fastening throughout the ancient world, and right up to early Medieval. From the latin 'nearly a ring'. Used extensively for fastening cloaks.
PETTICOAT BREECHES
men's short, wide breeches, popular during the reign of Charles II.
PETTICOAT
woman's under-skirt, sometimes with decorative lower edge or front part (frontage) designed to show beneath over-skirts. Petticoats could be stiffened, with quilting or hoops to give the fashionable line.
PINAFORE
originally an apron with a bib that was pinned 'afore' (ie, to the front). Worn by children in the 18th century and by girls and young women in the 19th.
POCKETS
"what has it got in its pocketses?". Originally separate flat bags, hung fron the waist inside the skirts. They were accessed through slits in the skirt, later replaced by the reticule or integral pockets as we know them.
POINTS
laces (usually with metal tips) used to tie on sleeves, hose etc, through eyelets.
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R
RETICULE
Small hand bag, late 18th - 19th centuries.
ROBE
see gown.
RONDEL
doughtnut-shaped headdress, worn by women in the 14th and 15th centuries. Also the basis of the modified chaperon, the celebrated Dead Chicken Hat, worn by men in the 15th century.
RUFF
stiffened (standing) or soft (falling) collar arranged in several layers or figures-of-eight to add depth and stiffness. They developed from the frills at the neck and cuff edges of smocks and shirts of the mid 16th century and increased in size to the amazing 'cartwheel' ruffs of the early 17th century. By the mid 17th century plainer collars were in favour, but small ruffs were often found attached to chemisettes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
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S
SHIRT
A man's undergarment, not generally designed to be seen. From Tudor times the cuffs could be embroidered, and from the mid-16th century the neck edge and cuffs gained frills, from which evolved the ruff. In the early 17th century a wide, square falling collar was popular. The front corners of this lengthened and were pinned in front to form an early cravat, which then became a separate garment, as did the frills at the front slit and cuff. The shirt gained stiff, upstanding collars in the 19th century and eventually, a front opening in 1890.
SLOPS
wide breeches, full from waist to below the knee. Early 17th century.
SHIFT
see smock.
SMOCK
a woman's long undergarment, also called shift or chemise. Nothing to do with smocking. Generally not designed to be seen, except, perhaps the neck edge and cuffs.
SPENCER
very short jacket designed to be worn with the high-waisted Empire fashions. Similar in cut to the pelisse but ending just below the bust. 1790s to 1820s.
STAYS
a stiffened bodice (originally in two pieces, a pair of bodys), worn immediately over the smock and under the gown and later known as a corset. Stays evolved in the 16th century when women's dresses started to have separate (unstiffened) bodices and skirts. The stays laced at the front or back (or both) and often had tabs at the waist to prevent the boning digging into flesh.
STOMACHER
Stiff triangular panel originally worn under the front lacing of a bodice, 16th - 18th centuries.
SURCOAT
overgown, 12th - 15th centuries.
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Rondel
Smock
Spencer
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Trunk Hose
Underpinnings
Scary woman wearing a wimple
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T
TABARD
Originally the cloth worn over armour to identify officers in battle. Essentially a long rectangle with a head hole, worn over the front and back.
TIPPET
hanging streamers formed from the edge of the sleeve, 14th century. Also small shoulder-cape, 17th - 19th centuries.
TREWS
shapeless trousers as worn by the 'barbarian' (non-Roman) nations. Often cross-gartered. The fore-runner of hose, tights, socks and trousers.
TRUNK HOSE
also called round hose. Short baggy breeches, often slashed or paned to show lining. 16th to early 17th centuries.
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U
UNDERPINNINGS
Women's undergarments designed to 'improve' the shape. Corsets, crinolines and bum rolls, for example.
UNDERPROPPER
That which hold a large ruff up at the back. Wire or padding.
UNDERSKIRT
Hmmn, this is a tricky one. It's a skirt that's not the top one. Often decorated.
UNDERSLEEVES
Again, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
UPPER HOSE/UPPER STOCKS
Round hose or breeches, late 15th - early 16th centuries.
V
VANDYKE
decorative zig-zags, especially on hems.
VESTEMENTS
clothes. 'Divesting' is undressing and 'vesting' is what a minister does in a vestry.
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W-Z
WIMPLE
chin and throat veil. Popular in the 12th - 15th centuries and to the present in some convent communities.
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No dragons were slayed in the construction of this page - but one has had her picture splatted all over the internet!
Additions and corrections are welcome, accompanied by referenced sources, to
seamstress(at)deadchickenhat(dot)com.
All mistakes are entirely of my own invention, and I claim world-wide copyright on them.
Glossary
Dead Chicken Hats