What should the stylish woman be wearing this September? The answer, according to the fashion magazines, is red. Sanguineous shades hold a lethal fascination this season, writes Vogue magazine. More dazzling than deadly, these reds are healthy, warm and vibrant, proving fashions heart beats strong and sure. Nowadays, where colour is concerned, we wear what we choose. But that has not always been the case. In Tudor England successive monarchs tried to define social status by dress - Henry VIII passed four separate pieces of sumptuary legislation during his reign. A strict code governed the wearing of costly apparel, and red was one of the colours most rigidly controlled. No Englishman under the rank of knight of the garter was allowed to wear crimson velvet in their gowns, coats or any other part of their clothing. A breach of this rule could result in the offending garment being confiscated and a fine of 40 shillings. The issue was fundamentally who should be allowed to flaunt their disposable wealth. Red was by far the most expensive of dyes, and velvet the costliest of cloths. Red cloth in this period was dyed using four main dyestuffs - madder, kermes, cochineal and lichen dyes. Of these the most expensive was kermes, a dye made from the desiccated bodies of insects, which produced a luscious, deep crimson. Imported from Spain and Portugal, it was subject to heavy import duties. Official paintings of Henry VIII portray him in his Parliament robes - the robes he wore to attend Westminster - of crimosyn veluete. These images show the way red was used by the monarch to assert his authority and power over his people. Those who laid claim to the greatest power at court chose scarlet as the colour of their retinues livery - the sumptuary laws permitted a person of sufficient rank to dress their entire household in the expensive fabrics and colours they were entitled to wear themselves. Red played its part in the power games Hilary Mantel captures so vividly in Wolf Hall. At the height of his success at court, Thomas Wolseys household livery was suitably sumptuous - and red. His gentlemen, being in number very many, the records tell us, were clothed in livery coats of crimson velvet of the most purest colour that might be invented and all his yeomen and other lesser officers were in coats of fine scarlet. After 1515, as a cardinal, Wolsey was entitled to wear the crimson cap and robes of that office, and did so with relish. His sartorial presumptuousness surely contributed to the kings growing belief that Wolsey was rising above his station, and to his eventual downfall in 1530. 1576 illustration showing knights of the garter A 1576 illustration shows the Knights of the Garter, arrayed in red For those who did not dare flaunt their red clothing as Wolsey did, a discreet red lining to a sleeve could serve to let people know that you could afford to dress expensively if allowed to. Wealthy merchants, in particular, were prepared to risk a fine by flashing a rich red lining to a collar or cloak. Not surprisingly, Henry VIIIs coronation costume was a riot of reds. This is listed in his account books as including: 2 Shirts whereof one shall be of lawn the other of Crimson Tartaryn silk... a Coat of Crimson Satin largely opened as the Shirts been to the which Coat his hose shall be laced with Ribbon of Silk... a Surcoat cloth of crimson Satin furred with pure menyver... A great mantle of Crimson Satin furred with pure menyver... And a great lace of Silk with 2 tassels also of Crimson... a little hat or Cap of Estate of Crimson Satin ermined & Garnished with Ribbon of gold. line Thomas Wolsey (c.1475-1530) cardinal wolsey Born in Ipswich, the son of a butcher. Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, ordained around 1498 and made chaplain to Henry VII Rose to power when Henry VIII became king in 1509. Appointed as archbishop of York in 1514, the pope made him cardinal in 1515 and the king appointed him lord chancellor Henry delegated much state business to him over next 14 years, including near control of foreign policy. Wolsey used his amassed wealth to build Hampton Court Palace, and Cardinal College in Oxford (later re-named Christ Church) Inability to broker Henrys divorce from Catherine of Aragon led to Wolseys fall; arrested in 1530 and died on his way to trial BBC - History - Thomas Wolsey line Over all of this he wore the obligatory scarlet velvet Parliament robes. Henry VIII It seems, too, that the King had a personal fondness for red - it dominates his Great Wardrobe accounts, which detail his daily expenditure on clothing and household goods. He liked his wall-hangings and bed-furnishings to be red too. A wonderful range of names discriminate between the various tones and depths of the hue referred to - crimson and scarlet were the deepest and brightest, murrey was a purple red, sanguine a blood red, carnation and incarnate deep flesh-coloured. But red had other, more negative connotations - especially when worn by a woman. The Book of Revelation made explicit, for early modern Protestants, the fact that the Church of Rome was a scarlet woman, the Whore of Babylon: And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. As a female queen, Elizabeth I was all-too aware of the symbolism that attached to her person. She chose lavish embroidery and costly gems rather than scarlet to convey her wealth and power on ceremonial occasions. The Virgin Queen played on themes of purity and nurture (the ideal female virtues) throughout her long reign. That meant richly embellished white satin gowns for formal occasions, the embroidery pointing up the positive symbols of female rule - the pelican for self-sacrifice, the sieve for chastity. line To dye for 15th Century print of dyers at work Dyed fabrics found in Egyptian tombs provides evidence that people were dyeing cloths as early as 4,000 years ago Until the development of synthetic dyes in the 19th Century, virtually all dyes were obtained from plants or insects Red dyes include kermes and cochineal, both of which are obtained from insects (1kg of cochineal is obtained from 200,000 insects) Woad and indigo are blue dyes, both obtained from the dyerswoad herb Synthetic dyes were developed from coal tar, a by-product of industrial coke production line Associations of healthiness encouraged more ordinary people to add a little red to their outfit (which, intriguingly, todays Vogue still alludes to). Scarlet wool was believed to play a significant part in a healthy lifestyle. Conduct books circulating in the first half of the 16th Century advised: Let your nightcap be of scarlet and in your bed lie not too hot nor too cold but in temperance. We cannot be sure whether the legendary scarlet petticoat and bodice worn by Mary Queen of Scots, and revealed just before her execution when her black satin gown was removed, was really a proud statement of her rank and Catholic faith, or simply a practical attempt to keep warm, and prevent a shiver on the scaffold from being interpreted as fear. Red outfit Which brings me back to the present, or at least to the 20th Century. On the morning of 2 June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II set out from Buckingham Palace for her coronation at Westminster Abbey. She was followed every inch of the way by the BBCs television cameras. All along the route, respectful commentators described the procession in hushed tones. Inside the Abbey, the doyen of commentators, Richard Dimbleby, followed the ceremony itself from a vantage point high above the nave. The entire seven hours of coverage was re-mastered and re-broadcast in 2013, on the 60th anniversary of the event. As I settled down to sample this historic piece of broadcasting, I was delighted to catch what seemed like a stumble in the polished commentary (not Dimbleby, of course). As Elizabeth IIs coach emerged from Buckingham Palace, he intoned, Here comes the young Queen, or words to that effect, in her scarlet robes of state. In fact, however, as the camera panned to the fairy-tale golden coach, she could be clearly seen to be all in richly embroidered white. Composite of film stars wearing red dresses on the red carpet Red dress on the red carpet: (l-r) Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington and Jennifer Aniston I am pretty sure that the Palace decided the new Queen should not parade through the streets of London in scarlet, as her father and grandfather had done (both had travelled to Westminster in scarlet and ermine). It was Elizabeth herself who had instructed the royal dressmaker Norman Hartnell that her coronation gown should be sumptuous white satin, like the wedding gown he had designed for her six years earlier. Even in the 1950s a woman in red could carry too many negative overtones. I have a grim memory myself of arriving at the Bordeaux home of my French pen-pal aged 11, in a neat red dress my mother had made me, and Dominiques grandmother pronouncing tartly: Elle na pas honte - roughly translated, Shes a shameless hussy. Those overtones of what colour a woman wears are surely all but gone now. Even the Queen wears red on public occasions, and it seems to be one of the Duchess of Cambridges favourite colours. Im thinking of perhaps a red shirt myself this winter. Duchess of Cambridge in New Zealand, 2014 Some vestiges of symbolism surely do cling to scarlet, though. Women in red in fiction are still bold, dangerous, knowing. The bridal fashion magazines are enthusiastic about red wedding dresses this winter. Personally, I feel that may be a step too far. Here is a selection of your comments. Red catches the eye like no other colour. Ive heard that this is due to an evolutionary link to the identification of red - and potentially edible - berries. As an artist, I use this to my advantage. Deborah, Amersham So many Ottoman designs were red and I will research to see if the colour had the same meaning - I expect so. The story and significance of Ottoman silk and the kaftans they wove is fascinating and has great significance not only to Turks but also around the Middle East, Russia and the Balkans where the Ottoman sphere of influence dominated 500 years ago. I have even found a silk hand weaver who is still doing Ottoman designs - he must be one of the last ones left. Ros Pollock, Guildford and Istanbul Regarding the last two sentences - Indian brides traditionally wear red, and it is definitely not a step too far. There arent any connotations of being a shameless hussy in doing so. I think in ancient Rome brides also wore red? In China, red is a lucky colour. Wearing red is therefore dependent on context, culture, occasion, the style of the dress and how the person wearing the colour carries it off. RK, London I think the symbolism of red, at least for women, is so outdated now that nobody knows or cares any more. I never knew about it the whole time I was growing up in England and I left in 1967 at the age of 20. Most of us live in cosmopolitan societies now where all these rigid rules have gone by the wayside. Why should anyone dictate what I should or should not wear? Indian and Chinese wedding gowns are red so, perhaps, its not too much of a stretch to imagine British wedding apparel as red either. Jacqui Miller, Vancouver, Canada Ive always worn red, not because of any statement, but because its my favourite colour. Im also lucky to have skin and hair colour that makes it easy for me to wear. I wouldnt have it any other way! I even own a few pairs of red shoes! I occasionally become self-conscious, because it is bright, and makes you stand out, especially in a business setting. Doesnt last long, though, and I despise black! Alison, Basingstoke, UK I recall hearing that when the Queen distributed the Royal Maundy at Winchester, she told the authorities there off for the choir wearing scarlet as it is reserved for royal peculiars like Chapels Royal, Westminster Abbey etc. Winchester choir then changed to a more burgandy colour classical. Clare Lees, Swindon, UK A monarch on the way to his or her coronation wears parliamentary robes, which are red... these are the state robes rather than the ones used on occasions such as the opening of Parliament. A lady does not wear the full cloak style but a thing that looks more like a train... it would therefore not be visible when sitting in a carriage. Take a look at the train Her Majesty wears for the Opening of Parliament. Megan, Cheshire UK Red wedding dresses? I wore red velvet for my second marriage in January 1993, it looked good in the photos and was warm for a winter wedding. I agree it has immoral overtones in European society, but its up to us to change silly conventions. I like red. Annie Makepeace, Northwich, UK I object to your thoughts that wearing a red wedding dress is a step too far, my husband and I tied the knot in February, with a laid back ceremony in Mayfair Library followed by a bangers and mash feast with copious quantities of wine and ale at a pub near Baker Street afterwards. Not only did white seem stuffy and too formal for our event, I am a very pale and freckly English/Scottish hybrid and white makes me look washed out & in need of a doctors assistance. My favourite colour is red, and it very much suits me. As such I had a strapless, mermaid gown made especially for the event in a beautiful, bold red, and I felt far more like a princess than I would have done in any traditional wedding dress. My husband wore a red shirt under his three piece grey suit, our witnesses, both male, wore red ties and pocket squares to coordinate our wedding party look and in the pub we had red napkins and candles on all the tables. the only downside to this was that I did have to put please dont wear red on our wedding invites as I could think of at least two people who will wear the colour quite often, particularly to a more dressy event. When I look at our wedding photos now I am thrilled with the warmth we created on a cold and drizzly February afternoon in London and would not change our colour scheme for one second. I would also point out that my wedding dress is now a permanent art fixture on our wall, primarily as it doesnt fit in any of our wardrobes, but also because it is such a beautiful gown I cant bear to hide it away!
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 20:30:01 +0000
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