A NOTE ON MAKE-UP:

Make-up in this time period consisted of applying egg whites to the face to create a glazed look or similar… methods. Mainly women would pinch their cheeks and bite their lips. Powder became popular in the late 16th century… but was toxic and caused everything from muscle paralysis to death. Along with all this, usually the only people to wear truly “heavy” make-up would be opera singers or prostitutes. So just please keep this in mind when you mention make-up IC or in your character application ^-^




So, we all know that the color purple is supposed to be reserved for royalty and the higher nobility only, right? *buzzer sounds* well not on SC! The color that is deemed as special really depends on the duchy you're in, so be sure to check their information and see what their color is. For example, the color for the Duchy of Pemberton is all shades of red. Therefore, dark red will be worn only by the head of the Sherbourne family while pink can be worn by anyone. The darker the shade, the higher your rank.

Any other color is free to be worn.

Clothing Styles:

This would be something a nobleman would wear in SC. Note his feathery hat, rich doublet w/the slashings in the sleeves (you can see his undershirt through the sleeves), sword (always worn), and shoes (also called slippers).



Here's a picture of a nice male shirt... complete with pleated ruffs!

Female Courtier:

Note the slashings in the sleeves (you can see her undergarments through the sleeves) and the rich materials this is made with. Whether you will wear your hair down or hidden beneath a hood depends on your duchy (please see the Cultural Notes for that duchy).



A French hood (would be called a Pemberton Hood) worn by Anne Boleyn! Yay!



Anne again, this time with a gable hood, (called a Harleston Hood here) complete with veil.



Here is a pretty hood, a Harleston without a veil. Also note her dress... she's not showing as much skin as the other woman :).

As far as undergarments go, be prepared for a corset, chemise, underskirt, and even a hoop with some styles of dress.

Materials

Cotton
Linen
Damask
Silk
Velvet
Satin
Brocade
Wool
Cloth-of-gold (exactly what it says... cloth woven from gold)

Decorations

Common and simple decorations, for both genders, are slashings in the material where you can see the undergarment beneath. It gives some depth to the outfit that wasn't there before. Others include:

Fur (ermine, fox, rabbit, etc.)
Ribbon
Pearls
Jewels
Embroidery
Feathers (yes... feathers)
Silk flowers

For basic decorations (starting out clothes) you will only have embroidery and/or slashings. Some of these decorations, like jewels and ermine fur, can become very expensive.

Some Do's and Don'ts of 16th century dresses:

Don't

• No strapless/strappy/short sleeves. Skin = bad
• No hems above ankle. See above for skin = bad
• No see-through xD skin = bad
• No slits. skin = bad
• No neon, metallic, glitter, etc. etc.

Moral to this story? Skin = bad


Do

• Low cut is fine
• Off-shoulder is fine
• Split sleeves is fine (think stopping at the elbow, but then flaring out and draping... so the forearm is revealed *blanked and forgot a good way to phrase that*)
• Bold colors are fine because this is the time period when they were getting better dyes.

Moral to this story? Some skin = good xD