As you devour Hilary Mantel’s latest novel in self-isolation, take notes from the 16th century’s foremost fashion influencer, says Kate Finnigan.
“She was unrivalled in the gracefulness of her attire, and the fertility of her invention in devising new patterns, which were imitated by all the court belles, by whom she was regarded as the glass of fashion.”The Rise and Growth of Anglican Schism
. Now, there’s a meaty read for your quarantine routine. Sander seems to have had a weird thing about Boleyn, also theorising that she was Henry VIII’s illegitimate daughter, which is fairly wild, but let’s go with him on her personal styling: as he says, Queen Anne was “the glass of fashion”. Or, in the basic terms we are all familiar with, she was the 16th century’s foremost fashion influencer.
It’s a strangeness that continues to be alluring, given designers’ current obsession with Tudor style. Before Covid-19 became the biggest trend in town, we were all set to have a merrie Tudor Spring in square-neck brocade dresses and tops, with leg-of-mutton sleeves, maybe a quilted number by the Copenhagen darling Cecilie Bahnsen, or the Delsey dirndl by Batsheva .
But a certain amount of dressing up may be just what the doctor ordered while we’re self-isolating for the greater good of the nation. Who says you can’t Zoom in drop earrings and a Rosantica tiara? And isn’t it all the more authentic when it takes place inside, anyway? After all, your average Tudor queen’s day wasn’t a non-stop schedule of HIIT workouts at Equinox and quick dashes to Honi Poke for lunch.
This was Anne’s shopping list for her and her daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, for the weeks between 20 January and 27 April 1536. Reading it, I think we can all now feel much better about the current contents of our online shopping baskets. I also take heart at how seriously she took her gowns and nightgowns – the equivalent of dressing gowns, and those in which a queen might receive visitors.and a couple of embroidered nightgowns, if the privy purse can stretch to it, please.
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