Images of madame de pompadour fashion

When Henry VIII's daughter Elizabeth begun her reign, fashion was to change dramatically over the ensuing decades.

What sets the fashion of Henry VIII's age apart from Elizabeth's is:

- gowns normally have a straight waistline, not a pointed one

- no ruffs yet

- Tudor sleeves usually consist of two layers, the outer one is wide and triangular shaped and buttoned or tied into it is the lower "undersleeve".

In this famous portrait, Queen Elizabeth wears a tight bodice and under it a pair of stays and she has also donned the relatively new French (or: wheel) farthingale.

This portrait dates from c. 1592.

When studying portraits, it is always crucial to remember that portraits are modes of representation with an agenda.

Madame du barry

In this case, this is a painting of a queen who used symbolism for maximum effect and carefully controlled and manipulated her public image. Therefore, we cannot take this portrait at face value. Nonetheless, it serves to illustrate the basics of the fashion of