The Bold Medieval Look

During the Middle Ages, clothes for men and women differed from each other for the first time. Influenced by Arabic fashions discovered during the Crusades, women blossomed in fluid dresses, which left them free to move comfortably. Following the Hundred Years War, the clothes trade grew in Europe and weavers, tailors and embroiders became an organized professional body. But in the 15th century, the laws governing fashion started to restrict the extravagance and costliness of clothes. The church was adamant - women who wore men's clothing could be burnt at the stake. Still, despite this severity, the fashion for "porno-chic" tin badges became very daring, and the Inquisitors wore sumptuous clothes.