2011 11 Monday Motivation Ode to Father of

After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476CE people began to travel across Europe, learning new customs, techniques, and fashions. The Church split into two branches: the Eastern (Byzantine) and the Western (Holy Roman Empire) with different styles of clothing for each. Ecclesiastical clothing was fixed at this time by papal decree and religious vestments today still follow these templates.

 

New skills and tools. Most people in the Middle Ages wore a variation on a tunic, but, as cutting improved slowly from the 12th to the 14th centuries, clothing became more shaped to the body. Also at this time vertical looms were replaced by horizontal ones, which allowed fabric to be woven more quickly and increased textile production; it became cheaper to buy clothing. Byzantium retained the most advanced and luxurious culture—its clothing styles were much imitated by Western courts and monarchs such as Charlemagne.

 

Europeans traveling to and trading with Middle Eastern areas discovered new styles and fabrics, eventually finding out the secrets of sericulture (silk production). Fine lampas, cloth-of-gold, and brocaded silks were produced in Italy and Spain, no longer relying on expensive imports. Birth of fashion. By the later Middle Ages fashion and clothing became more complicated.

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