Dinner Dress Blue Jacket

Dinner Dress Blue Jacket

Dinner Dress Blue Jacket

English laws governing fashion and dress were first recorded in the thirteenth century and regulated the apparel of workmen who were often supplied with clothes as part of their wages. In an attempt to preserve class distnction and especially the divide between the upper classes and the lower and middle classes, the laws were expanded to include all levels of society.

Sumptuary Laws in Medieval England

These laws distinguished social categories, enforcing visible differences in social stations. Strict penalties accompanied violation of sumptuary laws. Lawbreakers might be fined, have their property confiscated, suffer the loss of their title or in some cases face execution.

Knights objected hotly to inferiors mimicking their clothes. Women were expected to dress according to the social standing of fathers and husbands. Wives and daughters of servants were limited in what they could spend on veils. A fine was exacted from knights wearing shoes or boots with spikes or points longer than two inches. Silks in gold and purple were to be worn only by royals.