1-217-411 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Male costume, 15th century, (1910). Men's dress from the time of Edward IV (1461-1483). The style features broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with an extra piece of material given to the sleeve which heightens the effect produced by the mahoitres - pads of moss of flock sewn into the shoulders. In the third year of the reign of Edward IV, this style of padding was prohibited to be worn by any yeoman or person under that degree, with a fine of six and eightpence. The tailor who made them would be fined twenty shillings. No-one under the estate of a lord was allowed to wear poleyns (shoes) more than two inches in length. Illustration from British Costume during 19 Centuries by Mrs Charles H Ashdown, (London, 1910).