Suffering Middle Ages: 10 things of the era that can be worn today
Designers often refer to the most distant eras: They create luxurious bulky dresses, pretty decorated shoes, massive accessories and long coats to the floor. It is hard to argue that it turns out very beautiful - but it is not practical at all. In everyday life, we might want to try on medieval costumes, but it stops a lot: both their excessive theatricality and simple inconvenience. But among the abundance of stones, tons of fabrics and outdated styles, we still found things that can be adapted to modern wardrobe. Here are ten items that in one form or another we would dream of seeing on the streets today.
Roll hats
How the idea of such a hat appeared was not known for sure: it could inspire both men's long hoods, which sometimes were tied on the head, and the Crusader's stories about Eastern turban. Craftswomen of that time cannot be denied ingenuity: for practicality or just a wow effect, the hat’s horns grew from rolls that were stuffed for stability by some material; the whole structure was tied with braids and decorated with stones, ribbons and a veil. We do not know how stable, for example, the turbans from the spring show of Marc Jacobs, but the idea to fill them, like roll hats, here can obviously come in handy.
Chaperon
The medieval hood was such a functional thing that it is surprising why they forgot about it today. Chaperon was worn separately over clothing, and he had a long “tail,” which could be tied like a scarf over his neck or a turban on his head. It was the hanging end that was considered fashionable detail. But today, because of the inseparable associations with jesters, such hoods look somewhat caricatured. A pity, because its functionality is not enough for many modern things. Just designers returned to the podiums overhead hoods and balaclavas - in time to experiment further.
Gupelyand
Truly royal attire, which we need here and now. This is a very long robe or, if you wish, a cape whose train could drag on the ground. To him were attached the same long sleeves, extending to the palms, like wings. Due to the abundance of fabric, many folds were formed, and, by the way, the most luxurious materials were used: silk, brocade and velvet. The hem was decorated with patterns; it could be straight or in the form of leaves and flames (the most actual print, by the way). If you are dreaming of a similar elegant outfit, embody it in general is not difficult: just add a luxurious belt to a very long coat or capa and surely finish - braid, tassels, lines, ribbons - in general, everything that your sense of proportion will do.
Wimple
Perhaps this headdress will remind the apostles of the modern nuns - and not by chance: medieval Christian culture considered uncovered women's heads unseemly. So, the hair was hidden behind a lot of cloth, and for confidence they tied the resulting dressing under the chin. Of course, to cover your head or not, your business is - we will offer a modern and lax alternative to the apostolic: for example, in Andreas Kronthaler this piece of clothing is combined with a cap. Perhaps in the future he will grow all connotations with religion and become more familiar.
Collar cutter
If luxury corrugated collars delight you as much as us, then you probably would like to try it on once. It is difficult to imagine how to adapt such an accessory to a modern wardrobe, even if you close your eyes to its inconvenience. But we would act according to the example of our heroine: a not-too-lush collar can easily be worn with a business suit or a white blouse to add drama. By the way, in Europe, the XVI century, loved the cutters of different sizes: the more they are, the less the head seems. Fortunately, any lace is available today. The rich people of that time sewed collars mainly from the luxurious Venetian.
Koif
It would seem such a simple headdress, but with such a long history. If you see caps and bandages on the street or on the catwalk, like those of Creatures Of Comfort and Matty Bovan, know that these are echoes of the medieval hat - they were worn from the 10th century to the 14th, and in England and Scotland until the 17th century. As an independent headdress or lining under the hat, the cap can be made of wool or cotton. We see no reason not to wear it today.
Surcoat
The thing whose prototypes can be seen at the shows of Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney and J.W.Anderson is outerwear (although it looks more like a simple sundress) without sleeves. Sometimes the armholes of this piece of clothing were made deliberately large, so that an interesting cut was made and part of the bottom dress was opened.
Stockings
We agree that there are stockings in the women's wardrobe, but in the Middle Ages, male models were interestingly different: often each leg was of a different color or pattern. And they were worn under lush breeches and fastened in a bizarre way. Today, such images are more likely to be found in historical cinema than at fashion shows, while men confine themselves to black leggings under shorts or high toes.
Armor
The dresses of the rich ladies were often supplemented with solid corsets and vests, which resembled real armor. For noble men and military armor were part of everyday wear, but the debate about whether women wore them is still going on. The prototypes of bulky dresses, long corsets and "shells" can be seen in the latest collections of Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen and Chanel.
Gennin
One of the most difficult things that could be applied is the “fairy hat,” or gennin. If you do not talk about costume parties and Halloween, the headdress up to 80 centimeters will look at least unusual today. It is noteworthy that they wore such "cones", from which light fabric could also subside, noble women of the late Middle Ages — sometimes, to shave the hairline especially for this bonnet, they shaved their foreheads. There were gennins and smaller ones, about thirty centimeters - they are reminiscent of sharp hoods, which retain their straight shape, even if they are put on the head, as well as eastern headgear. In fact, today there are also very high hats - at least look at this straw Finnish brand Samuji.
Photo:InShade, Andreas Kronthaler, Samuji, Y's, A.W.A.K.E., Lanvin, EGO MUST DIE, Yeezy, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexander McQueen