Wonder What Fabric Royalty Wore?
October is the month people are consumed with thoughts of what to wear for Halloween. Don't forget that dressing up isn't just for Americans one night a year! Royals, Heads of State, corporate CEO's, and even celebrities dress up for stately occasions all year long.
Aristocratic choices in both fabrics and jewels come and go through the years depending on fashion trends, but one thing remains: fashion is a strategic expression of culture, time, socioeconomic status, political activism, and competition. And so, in celebration of this costumed season, here are three royal fashion statements and a little history behind the vintage photos.
Queen Elizabeth II's wedding dress, 1927. Paid for with post-World War II rations, this ivory silk dress was adorned with 10,000 pearls, floral designs and a 15-foot train. According to Town & Country, it took 350 women seven weeks to make. Her crown was held in place by a silk tulle veil, which she accompanied with satin heels.
Have a dusty train on your wedding dress? Perhaps stained silk or satin shoes? Be sure to bring it in to your local Tide Cleaners for a treatment.
Male Royals at Court, early 1800s. There was a strict "uniform" expectation of British public officials while attending court in the 19th and 20thcenturies. Officials wore extravagant clothing items meant to flash and impress, such as coats and waistcoats that were heavily embroidered with gold or silver, and made of expensive materials such as richly decorated brocade, damask, silk or satin. Black shoes had buckles and court dress was accompanied by white silk stockings. To top it off, men wore the three-pointed opera or co*cked hats. Even commoners were to appear in in a lesser- "dress," which happened to be velvet in the 1800s, thanks to the royal family and aristocrats who set the fashion expectations of the nation.
Cleaning ornate clothing adorned with jewels, beads and other embellishments can be a challenge. Lean on Tide Cleaners for a professional touch.
Marie Antoinette, 1780s. Known for her eccentric fashion and extravagant spending, this fashion legend and Austrian royal moved to France upon her marriage accompanied by 57 carriages, according to the Mayfair Gallery. Commissioning as many as 300 new dresses a year, she often matched her living quarters interior walls to the colors of her dresses. She is recognized as the first consumer of what we know today as haute couture, and oozed with today's high-fashion "creative freedom." From corsets and bustiers, to lace, silk and wildly ornate hairstyles, Marie pushed all boundaries when it came to style-particularly when choosing fashion over comfort.
Certainly, Marie Antoinette didn't clean party foibles from her delicate fabrics, and neither should you! Your special wear deserves special care from your high-quality Tide Cleaners.
Don't forget to rely on Tide Cleaners to care for all your royal looks! If you have fashionable wear that needs care, Tide Cleaners will get the job done right. Click here to see store hours for a one-on-one consultation.
FAQs
It really depends on what century you are taking about as the fabrics that royals used have changed. Traditionally fabrics were made of wool [sheep, goat, rabbit, and members of the camel family], silk [from moths and spiders], linen [from flax], hemp [the type used for rope not smoking] and cotton.
What were the fabrics in the 1600s? ›
Silk was a fabric worn exclusively by the rich in Elizabethan times. Velvet, brocade, satin, changeable taffeta, and all of the "fancy" fabrics now found in fabric stores were originally made out of silk.
What was the fabric in the late 18th century? ›
The most common fabrics in the 18th Century were wool, linen, cotton, and silk. Wool (from sheep) and linen (from the flax plant) could be processed and woven locally, and was therefore less expensive and more available. Cotton and silk were largely imported and were therefore more expensive.
What was the fabric in the 1500s? ›
Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, fabrics including cotton, linen, wool, and silk were produced in high quantities for wealthy patrons. Some patrons even ran their own textile mills, where exclusive, bespoke luxury items could be made on demand.
What is a royal fabric? ›
Royal Satin is a luxurious fabric known for its softness, fluid drape, and captivating luster. Renowned for its durability and smooth texture, it adds an element of elegance and comfort to every garment.
What kind of clothes do royals wear? ›
You'll never see a Royal wearing jeans to an important social event. Women should wear dresses, not trousers, on Royal occasions: This is because Queen Elizabeth preferred dresses to pants. Meghan has broken protocol regarding trousers a few times, but has rarely worn them to a Royal event.
What is the oldest known fabric? ›
The oldest example of textiles yet identified by archaeologists is at the Dzudzuana Cave in the former Soviet state of Georgia. There, a handful of flax fibers was discovered that had been twisted, cut and even dyed a range of colors. The fibers were radiocarbon-dated to between 30,000-36,000 years ago.
What kind of fabric was used in the 1800s? ›
In the early 18th century, the most fashionable men's and women's ensembles were made of richly colored silks and translucent lace, but by the early 1800s lighter cotton textiles, both plain and printed, became more common.
What was the fabric most used by poor people during the Middle Ages? ›
Medieval peasants wore basic functional clothing. The fabric for Medieval peasant clothing was made from wool or linen. Many women made the fabric themselves. It may have been undyed or dyed in basic, easy-to-make colors like grays, browns, and occasionally blue.
What is the oldest clothing ever found? ›
The Tarkhan Dress, named for the Tarkhan cemetery south of Cairo in Egypt where it was excavated in 1913, is an over 5000 year old linen garment that was confirmed as the world's oldest piece of woven clothing.
That study indicates that the habitual wearing of clothing began at some point in time between 83,000 years ago and 170,000 years ago based upon a genetic analysis indicating when clothing lice diverged from their head louse ancestors.
What fabric did they wear in Victorian times? ›
Throughout the period light colours were fairly general for evening wear and were considered more suitable for young ladies, as were cottons like muslin or taFlatan, but by the 1860s cotton had lost ground as a high-fashion fabric, and silk, satin, taffeta, faille, moiré, silk poplin from Ireland, and velvet for more ...
What fabrics did nobles wear? ›
Surprisingly, blues were even available for some peasant classes, though the color would have faded quickly. Nobles would have worn finely crafted linen, wool, silks, and furs. Both the undertunics and outerwear would have been heavily embroidered and might even have had precious gemstones adorning the fabrics.
What material did Kings wear? ›
At the time, a given outfit of his could consist of “a gown of thickly pleated cloth of silver ribbed with gold, and a doublet of rose velvet. His cap was black velvet encircled with rubies, emeralds and pearls with a white plume.” On other days he might wear dark furs and purple silks, reserved for royal use only.
What fabric did Marie Antoinette wear? ›
Cotton emerged as a fashionable fabric in the 1780s with the chemise à la reine, the cotton shift favored as dress by Marie Antoinette beginning in this turbulent decade. As always, clothing had political and international implications.
What fabrics did Charles James use? ›
James mixed velvet, satin, taffeta and tulle, mastering both cut and cloth, taking chances combining unique textiles and distressing materials long before his competitors. James looked upon his dresses as works of art, as did many of his customers.
