Julianne's Fashion Sourcebook: Military Influence in Fashion

The Bronze Age

The acclaimed warriors of Homer’s epic, the Iliad, were the Mycenaean’s, who controlled the Greek mainland, the islands of the Aegean, and parts of Asia Minor from 1700-1200 BC. The Mycenaeans are known for their extensive use of bronze armor to protect themselves in battle. Soldiers suits were made of bronze plates that protected the body from the neck to the upper thighs and bronze plates were strapped over their shins.[1]

This first image is a picture of actual Mycenaean armor excavated from Dendra, near Mycenae, c. 1200 BC. [2]

The image above better displays the Mycenaean warrior's helmut which was made from the tusks of wild boars to protect the head during battle.

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was an especially violent time, and became the era of the “professional soldier” otherwise known as the knight.[3] A knight's armor was worn for protection, but it also signified the knight as part of a particular military unit and social class. The earliest armor worn by knights was chainmail. Chainmail was made up "of tens of thousands of interlocking rings woven painstakingly by hand to form a shirt, coif, or leggings."[4] The below image is an example of a knight's chainmail.

One fashion trend that developed during the middle ages was the use of the surcoat (for both knights and civilians alike). Knights wore the surcoat: a sleeveless, loose and colorful tunic placed over the armor to protect it from inclement weather.[5] The image below is an example of a surcoat.

The Renaissance

As better and more powerful weapons, "such as the longbow and crossbow" came about, chainmail became inefficient at protecting the knight, and plated armor began to extend to every part of the knight’s body and even to his trusty steed.[6] The images below display authentic armor from the days of Henry VIII in The White Tower Armory in London.

During the Renaissance professional knights known as chevaliers, not only wore armor, but also influenced the fashion of the times with their penchant for "brightly-colored doublets, feathered hats, knee-high boots and starting during the 17th century, elaborate wigs.” Due to the chevaliers, men's clothing became "more colorful, elaborate and extravagant than women's" [7] The images below display popular late Renaissance fashion for men.

The 18th and 19th Centuries

In the 18^th century, firearms were developed and both battle and military costumes changed. “The academy officer replaced the chevalier” and due to the French Revolution, the fashions of the people and the soldiers became more “stoic”. Soldiers now wore more “proper, color-codified uniforms”, which helped to identify both the enemy and the ally when shooting a firearm. As firearms became more advanced, uniforms became even less for show and more sensible for fighting.[8] The images below display 18th and 19th century forms of dress influenced by military fashions.