ABSTRACT
The fashionable woman in sixteenth-century England took some time in dressing, with the assistance of one or more maid-servants. The following description in Lingua, or the Combat of the Tongues by Thomas Tomkis, printed in 1607, gives an idea of the number of component parts needed at the turn of the century and conjures up a picture of the Ditchley portrait of the Queen. It is quite a complex task to trace the origins of any particular style of dress in a given period, to tell how widespread it was and to judge the duration of its popularity. The evolution of fashion is a gradual process, dependent on many factors. In sixteenth-century England fashions were set at Court, partly by the personal dictates of courtiers and the skill of their tailors, working within limits imposed by the weight, texture, and width of the materials available.
