Suzi Clarke

17th Century Clothes

The clothes for this century are widely differing in style with many based on the English and European paintings of the period that are easily seen in museums and art galleries.

The earliest in date was a red velvet dress of 1615, with the collar resting on a supportasse, based on a painting in the Rangers' House, Blackheath, London.

The dress above was based on a painting of a young girl at Audley End.

Quite different was a copy of the suit, seen on the left, worn by Charles I in a painting by Anthony Van Dyck.

Other costumes were made for members of the English Civil War Society. I also made a uniform for a re-enactor in Germany, for an even later period, c. 1688.

There are many different styles in this period, including mantuas, and other pictures may be seen in the Photo Gallery.