Men's Clothing in 15th Century Florence, Page 2

The young man is wearing black, so it's difficult to see exactly what is going on here. However, one can make out the ties at his throat holding his outer coat closed. The ties have aiglets on their tips. A narrow rim of white camicia can be seen above the edge of the stand-up collar. The coat is full-cut and almost baggy. The youth wears a typical red hat of the period, this one with a turned-down brim.

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Legends of Saints Justus and Clement of Volterra, 1479, Florentine school.

There are a lot of things to look at with this picture. The youths wear the new-style doublets, these with very short skirts, pourpoint-looking fronts, and very fitted two-piece sleeves. All of them sport codpieces, though none have very elaborate ones. The hose are very imaginative. Since we are outdoors, all the youths wear shoes of some sort. Pouches, swords, belts, and other accessories can also be seen here.

Here you will want to note the laces that hold the hose up to the vestito and the arming laces on the upper sleeves of the doublets. Most of these doublets close in front, with little evidence of laces -- hooks and eyes were just coming into style around now, so it's possible that's how these were closed.

One youth wears a pleated giornea over his clothes, but it's plain that his clothes look exactly like those of his friends beneath the tabard.

This detail reveals a number of details about these doublets. The two-piece sleeve has an upper and lower part. The upper part is not terribly poofy, and the lower part comes to above the elbow. The collar is very narrow, with a bit of camicia peeking out over its edge. The vestito fastens in front, though there are no closure details, so whatever it's doing, it's doing underneath the surface. The youth also wears a simple black berretta style cap.

This is a good example of several kinds of Florentine boots, cloaks, and hats. The boots look like they are made of soft leather, and all of them are calf-height with no buckles or straps. The cloaks are voluminous, with the orange one sporting a hood and a slit in the back center seam. You also get a rare view of green and blue caps.

The youth wears a fashionable brown doublet lined in pale fur, perhaps lambswool. The fur peeks out behind the edges of the garment, at the neckline and front closure. No closure details are visible, so it may fasten with hooks and eyes. The dropped-sleeve armholes are open to allow the camicia to poke through, as women's clothing has been doing for years. The sleeves may be separate from the main body of the garment -- Florentine women, at least, like to tie on their sleeves.

You don't really see those dropped sleeves too often, but this just goes to show you you can find just about anything in this period.

This simple doublet is made of heavy fabric decorated with vertical quilting lines. The sleeves are somewhat loose at the top, becoming more fitted at the wrists. The garment may be fur-lined, since a bit of fur is visible at the neckline -- it's definitely a very bulky, thick garment. As always, a camicia collar sticks out above the coat's collar. The youth also wears the very fashionable scarlet berretta, or cap, this one with a brim similar to Botticelli's medal portrait above.