Each week we have provided a timeline with key dates and key moments in

fashion history for that period which you may find useful to refer back to as
you progress through the week.

Key fashion date: The Spanish farthingale appears in women’s dress,

introduced by Katherine of Aragon. The cone shaped structure was worn under
the skirt

Key date: April - accession Henry VIII

Key fashion date: Cloth of tissue, cloth of gold and cloth of silver are used at
Henry’s coronation
Key fashion date: Men’s fashions continue to follow those set in the court of
Henry VII in the form of gown, doublet and hose, but greater attention paid to
bolder and brighter fabrics
Key date: June – Henry VIII marries Katherine of Aragon

Key fashion date: Henry introduces the first of his sumptuary laws against the
‘wearing of costly apparel’ in men’s fashions

Key fashion date: Codpieces, part of men’s upper hose, reach elaborate
decorative heights in the early years of Henry’s reign

Key fashion date: A new red scarlet livery replaces the green and white
uniform of the Yeomen of the Guard
Key date: 18 February – birth of Princess Mary, later Mary I
Key fashion date: Inventory of Henry’s wardrobe lists 134 doublets made from
29 different fabrics

Key date: June – Henry meets King Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth
of Gold
Key fashion date: Henry wears cloth of silver, feathers, and a jewelled collar to
meet the French king
Key fashion date: Katherine of Aragon asserts her Spanish loyalties by wearing
a Spanish headdress

Key date: Anne Boleyn enters the service of Katherine of Aragon

Key fashion date: Henry tells Katherine his doubts about the validity of their
marriage. She responds by dressing in more sumptuous clothing

Key date: Henry starts divorce proceedings against Katherine of Aragon

Key fashion date: The ‘high shoe’ becomes fashionable. This is a square-toed
shoe, worn by Henry VIII

Key date: November – death of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

Key fashion date: Anne Boleyn stops Katherine of Aragon from making shirts
for Henry VIII

Key fashion date: Katherine is ordered to give her jewels to Anne

Key date: 25 January – Henry marries Anne Boleyn in secret

Key fashion date: Anne starts to wear clothing suitable for her royal status,
including cloth of gold frieze
Key date: 7 September – Princess Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I, is born

Key date: Act of Supremacy makes Henry VIII the Head of the Church of
England, breaking with the Catholic church in Rome.

Key date: January – Katherine of Aragon dies

Key fashion date: Princess Mary wears black clothing in mourning for her
mother
Key date: Henry suffers severe leg wounds at a jousting accident
Key date: 19 May – Anne Boleyn is beheaded for adultery
Key fashion date: Anne wears mantle of ermine and a grey damask gown with
a crimson petticoat to her execution
Key date: 30 May – Henry marries Jane Seymour
Key fashion date: Jane’s style of dress is more modest and closer to the English
style. She forbids her ladies from wearing the French hood which Anne Boleyn
had favoured
Key date: 12 October – Prince Edward, the future Edward VI, is born at
Hampton Court Palace. His mother, Jane Seymour, dies 12 days later
Key fashion date: Courtiers are given black gowns and cloth as a sign of
mourning for Jane
Key fashion date: Princess Mary wears a gown of cloth of silver to Edward’s
christening

Key fashion date: The increased use of starch means ruffs can become
increasingly elaborate
Key fashion date: ‘Pinking’, where patterns are stamped onto cloth with hot
metal tools, becomes fashionable

Key date: January – Henry marries Anne of Cleves

Key fashion date: Anne’s style of dress is not received favourably. It was called
‘strange’ and ‘ugly’.
Key date: July – Henry has the marriage annulled. Three weeks later he marries
Catherine Howard
Key fashion date: Henry showers Catherine Howard with gifts of cloth and
jewels

Key date: Catherine Howard is arrested and charged with adultery

Key fashion date: Henry seizes Catherine’s clothing and jewellery

Key date: February – Catherine Howard is executed

Key date: July – Henry marries Katherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace
Key fashion date: Katherine favours red crimson and cloth of gold as queen.
She also buys matching outfits for the royal children and herself
Key date: Act of Succession restores Mary and Elizabeth to the line of
succession

Key date: 28 January – Henry VIII dies. He is succeeded by his son, Edward VI
Key fashion date: Edward wears a cloth of gold gown, a sable cape and white
velvet jerkin for his coronation
Key date: Edward starts his campaign to reform the Church of England

Key date: 6 July – Edward VI dies at Greenwich Palace.

Key date: 10‒19 July – reign of Lady Jane Grey
Key fashion date: When proclaimed queen, Jane wears a green gown and her
husband wears white – the Tudor colours.
Key date: Mary I claims the throne
Key fashion date: Princess Elizabeth and Anne of Cleves wear cloth of silver to
Mary’s coronation.

Key date: Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower of London under

suspicion of treason in the Wyatt rebellion
Key date: July - Mary marries Philip of Spain
Key date: Mary reverses the Protestant reforms of her father and brother, and
reinstates Catholicism
Key fashion date: Philip returns to Spain and Mary increasingly adopts Spanish
fashions, such as black clothes

Key date: 17 November – Mary dies at St James’s Palace. Her sister, Elizabeth,
inherits the throne

Key date: 15 January – Elizabeth is crowned at Westminster Abbey, wearing

the cloth of gold robes that were initially worn by her sister, Mary, at her
coronation

Key fashion date: The Flanders gown is introduced – this has a high collar and
large puffed sleeves
Key fashion date: Female silhouette gradually expands with bigger hair, ruffs,
sleeves, and skirts

Key fashion date: A bout of smallpox leaves Elizabeth with facial scars, which
are possibly the reason for her use of white face creams

Key fashion date: Elizabeth introduces a sumptuary law that includes women
for the first time

Key fashion date: The conical Spanish farthingale has been replaced with the
wheel or drum farthingale, often made with whalebone
Key fashion date: The ruff reaches its peak exaggerated cartwheel shape
Key date: 8 February – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed for treason. Her son,
James VI of Scotland, will eventually inherit the English throne

Key date: The Spanish Armada is scattered off the coast of Britain
Key fashion date: The defeat of the Spanish Armada is commemorated in a
portrait of Elizabeth in her favourite colours of black and white, with scenes of
the ships in the background

Key fashion date: The cartwheel ruff has evolved into the open ruff which
went around the side of the neck
Key fashion date: Naturalistic embroidery is fashionable

Key fashion date: Elizabeth commissions an inventory of her wardrobe, it

shows that she still has her coronation robes

Key date: 24 March – Elizabeth I dies at Richmond Palace

Key fashion date: Elizabeth’s wardrobe contained approximately 2000 items at
her death

© University of Glasgow & Historic Royal Palaces