The early Middle Ages - the Romanesque period - start around the 800s. Architecture, art, and fashion are very down to earth. Garment shapes were extremely simple, consisting of mostly identically cut outerwear and underwear; people sometimes wore just simple rectangles or semicircles by way of capes, typically closed on the right shoulder. The Frankish outfit featured trousers, which especially baffled Romans. Materials were also rather basic: wool and linen in the house of the women - even the most distinguished ones - also spun, woven and sewn. On the other hand, fur was generally worn. As Byzantium fell in 1204, silk weaving quickly spread throughout Europe, becoming especially popular in Italy. However, patterned fabrics remained prohibitively expensive and could only be worn by a select few, who did so on special occasions.. Middle Ages At the same time, Byzantium produced the most magnificent silks, opulently woven with gold threads and fitted with precious stones. Such treasures, even if imported to Europe, were so costly that only an affluent few could afford them, mostly in the form of ribbons decorating garment hems, necklines, and sleeve edges. Men's and women's clothing was nearly identical -expect for the Franks and their trousers. In 1200, at the dawn of the Gothic period, a dramatically different sense of form emerged, leaving behind the earthbound, severe Romanesque style. It is a time inspired by the afterlife, with a pervading sense of elevation. Similar to cathedrals, which seem to draw the viewer upwards, vertical lines dominate fashion. While Romanesque clothing did not trespass the crown or the sole of the foot, this new period sees and attempt to break these boundaries. Thus, dresses are provided with increasingly longer trains and hats become higher and more pointed, visually stretching the body in both directions. In general, Gothic style - much to the chagrin of the Church - tends to emphasize the body: medieval clothing is extremely tight down to the waist and women's dresses feature ever-growing necklines. Over these tight-fitting upper garments, men (and woman) wore another - sleeveless - loose over-garment called Surkot, whose sleeve openings - dubbed as "devil windows" by the Church - grew increasingly larger, revealing the waist. Popular among both sexes was the Houppelande, a coat-like garment with long, hanging sleeves and the semi-circular "Tassel" coat (Tassel = metal clasp). The outfit of male aristocracy also included the tunic, to be later replaced by a close-fitting short jacket, some featuring long hanging sleeves. Under that, aristocrats wore a doublet to which leg warmers were laced. In the early Gothic, the Romanesque's hooded jacket for men evolved into the "Gugelhaube", a kind of shoulder cape with hood, whose tip grew into a long flat band. In addition, both sexes carried the chaplet, a wreath of jewels, flowers, foliage or fabric, which married women handed over. Later came various forms of horns and Wulsthauben and the Hennin, a higher, more pointed "Zuckerhut".
Beak shoes (medieval poulaines) were an inseparable part of Gothic fashion. The costumes of the late Middle Ages are represented in all its magical splendour in the court of Burgundy. The most luxurious robes, the most imaginative headgear, thelongest trains were found here.For three quarters of a century, the Burgundian duchy dictated costumes and etiquette in Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages and, initially,also in Burgundy, bright colour were predominantly. Thus, Philip the Good favoured black for his vestments and made them popular for the first time in fashion history.