Home > Tudor Research > Costume Myths: Busted! > List

Here is a listing of the various myths, in case you prefer to pick and chose.

1. Myth: That paintings are perfect representations of what the painter saw. [Darmstädter Madonna]
2. Men's' clothing should fit like today's garments, loose, baggy and hang off the hips (doublets). [True Art of Defense]
3. Men's' clothing should fit like today's garments, loose, baggy and hang off the hips (lower classes). [Woodcut of a Workman]
4. Men's' clothing should fit like today's garments, loose, baggy and hang off the hips (upper and nether stocks). [The Land of Cockaigne, Detail]
5. Codpieces are large, and were worn throughout the Tudor era. [Details of Codpieces Over Time]
6. Shirts can be worn alone with no doublet or jerkin, especially without sleeves. [The Peasant's Dance]
7. Shirts are laced up the front. [2 Views of Men's Shirts]
8. All women must have ample cleavage overflowing from their very tight bodices. [A Group of English Women]
9. All tight laced bodices lace up the back. [Lady Helena Snakeborg, Colonna Family Child]
10. Corsets aka "Pair of stays" or "pair of bodies" were always worn under English Renaissance court bodices, and were meant to make the waist small and push up the breasts. [Lady Mary Guildford, Italian Woman]
11. A corset is a corset. I can wear any kind under my Elizabethan gown. [Elizabethan Pair of Bodies, Victorian Corset]
12. English smocks are sexy garments to be seen by everyone, have drawstring necklines and wrists, and are worn off the shoulder. [Woman's Smock 1575-1585]
13. Partlets were only worn by married women all of the time. [Princess Mary Tudor]
14. Farthingales were worn throughout the entire Tudor era. [Two Family More Ladies, Princess Elizabeth
    Elizabeth Brydges & Queen Elizabeth]
15. Farthingales are the same shape as modern hoopskirts or 19th century crinolines. [Farthingales, Modern Hoop, Crinolines]
16. Skirt length must cover the ankles to be proper. [Two Family More Ladies, Two Women from 'June, Mowing']
17. Buckles had no tongue, and were just a d-ring. [Buckles]
18. Gemstones were cabochons only. [The Barbor Jewel]
19. Only nobles wear sleeves. [April - Farmyard Scene, Detail ]
20. Peasant woman wear a fur tail because it's sexy! [Jeweled "Flea-fur", The Cripples]
21. Peasants often wear bells to jingle while they walk. [Bell on a Child's Arm]
22. Just wearing a crocheted snood is perfectly fine and period for English ladies. [Examples of Women's Hair Coverings]
23. Peasants do not need to wear a hat, hood, or other form of head covering. [Peasant Wedding]
24. Flat caps were commonly worn by English gentlemen. [Examples of Men's Headwear]
25. French hoods are easy to make from a visor, so it can stick up on top. [Medal of Queen Mary Tudor, Detail]
26. Colors for the less well to do were drab & boring. Black colored garments were reserved for the nobles only. [A Fete at Bermondsey, Detail]
27. Pink is not a period color. [The Ambassadors, Detail]
28. Blue colored garments are for servants only. [An Elizabethan Maundy]
29. All purple colors in all fabrics are reserved for Royalty only. [Henry VIII and the Knights of the Garter, Example of Royal Purple Color]
30. There were no buttons used, and everything was closed with ribbon laces or ties. [Various Forms of Closures]
31. Only the Irish and Scots use celtic knotwork on their garments. [King Henry VIII of England, King Francis I of France]
32. All Tudor English pirates should look like they stepped out of a pirate movie. [An English Sailor, and Detail of a Thrummed Cap]
33. Irish leine sleeves hang to the ground and are held up with drawstrings or pleats. [Irish Men and Women]
34. Highland Scotsmen wear kilts. [Highland Archers c.1577]

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