\date{}
\title{
Sources and Ideas for Reconstructing a 15th Century Male Suit of Clothes
}

\author{ {Arenwald von Hagenburg (Pears, A.N.)}\\
AoA, GoA, OL.\\
Shire of Aros, Kingdom of Drachenwald\\ [0.2cm]
Ovre Slottsgatan 18C\\
753 12 Uppsala, SWEDEN\\
Ph: +46 18 471 6202, FAX: +46 18 55 02 25\\
Email: arnoldp@docs.uu.se \\ [0.2cm]
}

\maketitle
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\begin{abstract}

There are, so far as the author is aware, no complete 
suit of 15th century clothes preserved in the European
archaeological record. Consquently any reconstruction of
dress from this period must necessarily involve some informed
guesswork. It is the intention of this article to gather
useful resources for others who would like to have an 
informed foundation for their future guesswork, and also
to illustrate the utility of the conclusions reached through
the practical expedient of constructing a sample suit of clothes.

Consequently, this article gathers and discusses relevant evidence upon which
to base the construction of a male costume of approximately 1560.  A full set
of clothes is considered, and the arguments for cut and construction of the
suit of clothes is drawn from primary source materials, secondary sources (in
the form of art works)
\footnote{Types of art
vary in value in reconstructing costume\cite{Pipo95}. This article
classifies sources in the following manner. Primary sources are 
considered to be extant examples of clothing that are reliably dated
to within 20 years of the putative date for the clothes to be constructed.
Art which depicts clothing, for example paintings, sculpture, and 
reliefs are considered to be secondary evidence, together with 
written accounts describing clothing which were written within
20 years of the clothing being reconstructed. Tertiary sources include
books on historical costume, and patterns that are reconstructed by
textile researchers. Value has been assigned to evidence in the
order given above. It should be noted that the majority of the 
evidence for costume construction in the period mentioned is
secondary in nature, and so this article relies heavily on details
in paintings and sculpture of the period to substantiate the
theories of construction put forward.}
and tertiary discussions of costume by costume historians.

Discussing individual items of clothing in isolation is difficult
since the foundation provided by one piece of clothing can be 
vital to the construction of the layers that lie over it.
Consequently this article investigates the issues associated
with constructing a complete suit of clothes.
Basing the structure of this article on the major subdivisions
of clothing proposed in the introduction a section is devoted
to the evidence that can be used to deduce the form of each of
the following constituent pieces of a full suit of clothes.
Namely, {\em underclothes}, {\em doublet and hose}, and {\em robe}.

Having presented a synthesis of views and evidence in each area
hypothetical patterns and reconstructions
of each of the items of clothing discussed.
In doing so limitations in the evidence are explored 
and discussed in the context of developing a workable and
wearable reconstruction.

The article concludes that there are wide variations in the
cut and construction of clothing within the period of
time chosen for the study. Much of the evidence used 
is drawn from Italian art and this has a significant 
impact on the final style. While common elements of costume
can be seen in the artistic record, there is also much diversity
even within a single region. Such variations and dispersal of
regional fashions over Europe need to be taken into consideration
when constructing costumes from this period.

\end{abstract}
