Each European country would imitate the fashions and clothing of another but still manage to retain its own identity. In Italy, for instance, clothing and dress always maintained a certain character of grandeur, ever recalling the fact that the influence of antiquity was not quite lost. In Germany and Switzerland, clothing and garments had generally a heavy and massive appearance; in Holland, still more so. England uniformly studied a kind of instinctive elegance and propriety in clothing. It is a curious fact that Spain invariably partook of the heaviness of clothing peculiar to Germany because the Gothic element still prevailed there. France was fickle and capricious, always ready to borrow from every quarter any style of clothing which pleased her.
The History of Middle Ages Clothing
The history of Middle Ages clothing provides details of the Sumptuary Laws and an overview of Medieval fashion through the ages of the period. The Sumptuary Laws distinguished seven social categories and made members of each class easily distinguished by their clothing. A history of clothing is detailed in a timeline charting the history of fashion through the Medieval era of the Middle Ages. An overview of the major changes in dress and clothing are detailed in the link to Medieval fashion.
