Medieval Romance Giveaway--Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of Debbie Lynne Costello's guest appearance here at Woman of Faith, and to her giveaway. To enter the drawing for a free copy of SWORD OF FORGIVENESS, simply leave a comment after the post. Winners will be drawn next week and the announcement given on Friday, May 1st. (If you also comment on Part One of this drawing, you'll have more than one entry. Both comments will count.)
Please Note: Winners must reside within the 48 continental states. One winner will receive a kindle  ebook and one a paperback. Winners are chosen using random.org. 


Welcome, Debbie Lynne Costello. I'm grateful for your generosity to my readers!

Linore, thank you for having me on your blog! I’m excited to chat with your followers.

And, readers, if you join my newsletter you'll  know when I do other giveaways. To be notified, send me an email at DebbieLynneCostello (at) hotmail (dot) com. 

A Peek at Fourteenth Century Fashion 

by Debbie Lynne Costello

Clothing styles have always changed, even back in medieval times. While changes were slower than today, styles did come and go.  And fashion within the same style varied from country to country. My story is set in the late 1300’s (fourteenth century) but an interesting fact is that as early as the 15th century sumptuary laws* began to regulate the cost of clothing. This included the length of items such as shoes, hoods, and trains. 



*Note: According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, sumptuary law is "any law designed to restrict excessive personal expenditures in the interest of preventing extravagance and luxury."

The hennin,  which is a steeple headdress, (see illustration, right) became popular during the 14th century. These cone-shaped headdresses with a flowing veil became so extravagant in heights that they too, were regulated. The higher the hennin, the higher the wearer's status in society.



 
Caul headdresses were also worn. The woman’s hair would be plaited (sometimes adding bulk to the hair) and then covered with fabric, which  would be shaped on each side of the head. (Think about the evil stepmother’s hat in the 1965 version of Cinderella.) The cauls were often jeweled. 

Many types of hats were popular during this time period from the tall hennin to the plain rectangle shaped headrail.


 Other 14th Century Fashion Tidbits

Women plucked the hair on the back of their necks, along with their hairlines, and thinned their eyebrows. Some wore makeup while others sat for hours in the sun trying to get those lovely highlights. 

Both men and women wore clothing made from several different pieces of fabric, dividing them into halves or quarters. Each section was made out of a contrasting color. This popular style also extended into the stockings and shoes as well.

Women wore a cotehardie beneath their darker colored surcoat. The cote-hardie was a fitted dress with long sleeves. The surcoat was a sleeveless over- dress. In the 12th century the surcoat sides were opened to reveal the fitted undergarment. The church objected, however,  to the new style stating it was too revealing. 

Along with the jeweled cauls the woman would wear a jeweled girdle (belt like) at her hips. 








Her shoes were made of a soft leather or fabric and had elongated toes. They were low cut and buttoned or tied at the ankle. The shoes were often embellished with embroidery and gems.







Hope you enjoyed that peek! Would you like to have been alive when these styles were in fashion? Imagine living without your jeans and flip-flops! Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for my book. 

As a reminder, here's the book being given away:
 Read more about this medieval romance, Sword of Forgiveness, on Amazon. 







Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was about eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children's Director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland Sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In her spare time, Debbie Lynne enjoys camping and riding  Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses with her husband.

16 comments:

chappydebbie said...

Yikes! I would hate to have to wear what passed for fashion back then. And it's amazing to hear what was considered too revealing....and yet, the woman's chest hanging out did not offend? Oh well, I wouldn't wear them anyway....Way too many layers...and those hats are just plain ugly. ;-)

Anne Payne said...

Oh man! I would not want to wear one of those hats. GAG!!! But the layers of dress...Yes, at least for a day! I've always thought they are so pretty, especially the embroidery on some of them. :)

Don't enter me as I have a copy of the book already. And let me just say I had the honor of having lunch with Debbie Lynne last week (along with Laurie Alice Eakes), and had a bit of a fan moment when I met both of them :-) They are the sweetest and most encouraging women! They tell me that you, Linore, visit Debbie Lynne, so next time you are in town, I hope I get the opportunity to meet you, too.

Linore Rose Burkard, Novelist said...

I would enjoy dressing in those fashions, hats and all. But Anne! I had no idea you lived near Debbie Lynne. Yes, I'd LOVE to meet you when next I get down that way. How nice that the three of you got to do lunch. (Nothing like some good girl time!)

Lis K said...

I wouldn't mind wearing some of those dresses, the colors and fabrics seem so beautiful! However, I could not wear those shoes...so pointy! I would definitely trip and hurt myself =)
garfsgirl AT hotmail DOT com

Donna J. Shepherd said...

I would have had a difficult time - I hate hats! :)

Some of the clothing is beautiful, but I'll stick to jeans and stretchy tops. LOL!

Linore Rose Burkard, Novelist said...

Those shoes do look painful, Lis! And I hear you, Donna. I said I'd enjoy dressing in those fashions--but maybe for ONE DAY!

MammaG said...

I definitely don't think that I would have liked wearing any type of head dress like that.Now as far as the dresses go, I think that I could handle that. I do have a question though.Was there a difference in unmarried women apparel than for married women?Would love to red your book!

Debbie Lynne Costello said...

I wish I could replay to each of your posts, ladies but it seems there is not a way to respond individually. Thank you for stopping by! I love hats and though they look so crazy, I'm sure that for the time they were all the go. LOL. Think of what people in a few hundred years will think of MC Hammer pants! And long layered dresses, all I can say is LOVE!!! However, I wouldn't want to wear them all the time! Can you imagine doing some of the chores we do today in those heavy things? Oh my goodness!! Mamma G, it's been a while since I've done all the research on this but I don't remember there being a difference unless it was the headress.

Linore Rose Burkard, Novelist said...

Aye, there's the rub, Debbie Lynne. The well-dressed women of yesteryear weren't the ones doing the chores!

Journeywoman said...

I do have to say the shoes made me cringe! Even my flimsy flip-flops seem to offer more support. :)

Vintage Girl said...

Those shoes would never fit a wide foot. I do love the clothes!

Carol R. said...

It's fun to learn about the names for these clothes. I've seen them before but never knew what they were called.

Debbie Lynne Costello said...

Linore, those ladies of the castles did more work than we could imagine! They weren't sitting around eating and fellowshipping. They had jobs that had to be done to keep the castle running smoothly.

Debbie Lynne Costello said...

Hey Journeywoman and Vintage girl! I agree! Those shoes are hideous!! And I can't even imagine how uncomfortable they'd be!!!

Carol, I love learning too. Problem is I have a hard time putting it in my long term memory!

Debra Dawn said...

I wouldn't like to wear those fashions. It doesn't look comfortable at all. Thanks for the giveaway.

Debbie Lynne Costello said...

Hey Debra! Thanks for coming by! I think the shoes look like they'd pinch my feet. You'd have to have terribly narrow feet!