Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/407

 385 DRE88 were a with just one touch period men hankered after the moral support of stupendously rich clothing. Their taste for splendid apparel provided a subject very much to the taste of the Roundheads, who went to the opposite extreme in the matter of wearing plain and sober clothing, and spared no one the scathing of bitterest criticism. To enumerate some of the evidences of this strange masculine love for the fal-lals and fripperies of dress, there is the satirist Henry FitzGeoffery's record of a " spruse coxcombe " " That never walkes without his looking-glasse In a tobacco box or diall set That he may privately confere with it." Suits of pure white silk velvet favourite extravagance, of colour in the scarlet heels of the white leather shoes and the relieving hint of black provided by the gloves. Men wore stays, "whale-bone bodyes " they were styled ; they cherished one or two long lovelocks, which hung far below their flowing hair, perched gorgeous bows on their shoes, known as shoe roses, wore shoulder knots, carried muffs, and hung jewels in their ears. There is a superb portrait of Charles I., reticent, aloof, melancholy, and proud, with the Star of the Garter blazing on his cloak and in his ear a beautiful pearl drop. What wonder is it that plays based on the period are so decora- tive, and that for fancy dress balls the " spruse coxcombes " of to-day choose to impersonate the lordly Royalists of the past. It was only natural that the " mincing madams " of the period elected to outshine the men if possible, and vied with them to introduce strange wonders into their schemes of apparel. They were light-hearted butter- flies by nature, and had the wit to appear so even when tears would have been more grateful to them than smiles ; for merry- making was a la mode. It was a profession of faith and of politics to turn a mocking face to fortune, or the inference was that the stern creed of Puritanism had clutched them. To which fashion should the palm for foolishness be given — that for wearing chopines or for patching the face ? We of this day are, of course, most interested in patches, for from time to time there is a threatening of the old epidemic, and a little crescent, or round dot, accentuating the curve of a lip or the whiteness of a forehead causes the alarmist to foretell a return of the strange custom of literally plastering the face Catherine of Braganza, the beautiful Queen of Charles Wearing the ringlets, leweis, and superbly'elaborate costume of the period. D 34 with devices, such as stars, moons, suns, a mourning coach and horses, and so forth. The chopine, or chapincy, was a species of clog or false heel, rising so high in some instances that it merited the title stilt. This originated in Turkey, enjoyed a vogue in Venice, and thence came to England. Made of wood covered with leather in such colours as red or yellow, while some were altogether white, the chopines were worn under the shoes, raising their wearers in some instances to as great a height as half a yard, in which case the devotees of the absurd contri- vance had to be supported when they walked. Stigmatised as a monstrous affectation, chopines were made the subject of satire in many a play. Hamlet alludes to them in the line, " Your ladyship is nearer heaven than when I saw you last by the altitude of a chopine." As for the fancy for patching the face, it came into vogue at the close of the reign of Charles I., and, despite the check of the Com- monwealth, which held in subjection many a fashionable vagary, maintained its popu- larity down to the reign of Queen Anne, when the position oc- cupied by the patches indicated the politics of the wearers. It is said that there was a reasonable ex- cuse for wearing patches when first they were introduced, for that they were plasters prescribed as a remedy for headache. Be that as it may, one of the polite arts of the period was to patch the face with due effect, and in the middle of the promenade great ladies would stop, open their patch boxes, survey themselves in the looking-glass which lined the lid, and if there was any repair to make, carry it out. Pictures of the seventeenth century show the fine ladies of the Court in their satin dresses, wearing huge sleeves ruffled with lace, a rather short-waisted bodice with a battlemented basque, and a belt finished with a rosette at the side (now being copied for the autumnal frock), also a very large and graceful cambric collar edged with a double frill of exquisite lace. Some of the fair ones carry muffs, and wear fur stoles and tippets, whilst others cling to their fans- Very many of them are masked. 'This wearing of masks is a very interesting item in the history of costume which will be dealt with in our next article. To be continued. The following are good firms for supplying materials, etc., mentionett in this Section : Messrs. Grenfell, Frazier &■ Co. (Jewellery). Horrockses' Longcloths and Sheetings (Wholesale only), London Glove Co. (Cloves). I C