“The glass of fashion” is one of many features in the list of qualities Ophelia laments when mourning Hamlet’s apparent descent into insanity (Hamlet, Act III Scene i). Complimenting someone’s sense of dress in the Elizabethan era was one of the highest compliments that could be paid, and after Queen Elizabeth I’s Sumptuary Laws of 1574, insulting or mocking clothing was one of the harshest, and most common, insults. Luckily for the designers of the costumes on show in Whanganui Regional Museum’s latest exhibition The Glass of Fashion, only compliments can be paid.
When Elizabeth I declared her laws on clothing she specified what styles, fabrics, adornments, and even colours could be worn by each class and occupation. This was ostensibly to monitor and control the peoples’ expenditure on clothing and the importing of luxury fabrics and jewels, and was designed to boost local textile trades and keep England’s manufacturing quarter running profitably. However, it also served to keep the social structure firmly in place and made it immediately identifiable to the observer what class and social standing the wearer of a particular cut or colour of clothing belonged to.
Such was the understanding of the symbolism of these colours that Shakespeare and other playwrights of the time used them to reinforce the moral and social standing of the characters in their plays. When a character came on stage wearing brown, green, or orange the audience knew they were of the lower classes; but when someone appeared wearing white, indigo, or yellow they knew they were dealing with the upper echelon. Crimson signified the Church, red was the colour of courage, black symbolised power and authority, and purple was reserved for royalty only.
The meanings of some of these colours have carried through to today and are visible in the stunning costumes designed for the Sheila Wynne Shakespeare Festival. It is clear looking at the white and gold Cleopatra costume that she was a character of great wealth and royal power, while looking at Puck’s greens and browns definitely places him somewhere closer to earth.
The style of Elizabethan clothing would not have changed between the audience and the actors, aside from the men wearing dresses in public! The male characters would have worn tight hose, tight-fitting doublets and cloaks, and the female characters would have worn long full skirts, square necklines and tight bodices. It is likely that even characters portrayed from other countries would have worn everyday English dress, differing only in the extent and quality of their ornamentation to show the wealth of the character.
But the designers today are able to play with shape and form of the costumes to highlight the nature of the characters. Ophelia’s sweetheart of flowers at the neckline emphasizes her sweet and loving nature, while Hecate’s voluminous skirts with jagged hems indicates the unkempt old woman with bigger things on her mind than how she looks.
The fashion of Elizabethan England reflected the time of exploration of the globe and the increased trade routes saw the influence of Spanish, French and Dutch vogue in English attire, and the Pacific Juliet reflects this as a beautiful example of international style on the stage.
It wasn’t just the style of the dress that indicated the nature of the wearer in Elizabethan times, but also the fabrics used. The higher classes wore ermine, diamonds and rubies, while the lower classes made the best of fox and otter fur and coloured glass. So whereas the Elizabethan audience would have worn satins, silks and wool, the leather and metalwork of the Tamora costume on show identifies her as a barbarian, the notion of which is increased by the animal-print leggings, and the slightly militant feel to her garb emphasizes her otherness.
As well as defining the importance of cut and colour to clothing, some meaning of which carries through to today, the Elizabethan era is also one of great writing – poetry and prose, diaries, letters, pamphlets, play bills, and contracts were created in quantities unseen in earlier times, and many examples remain today including several items from the Museum’s collection on show in the exhibition. The two indentures from the 
C16th and C17th are examples of the kinds of contracts created, using a combination of Latin and English to highlight the importance of the documents.
The Breeches Bible, so named as it refers to Adam wearing breeches rather than the more traditional leaf, is a beautiful and fragile example of the kind of publication produced at the time.
Other items in the exhibition show the extent and influence that Shakespeare had on all walks of life well after his death. The Complete Works is one of hundreds of different editions that have been published throughout the last 400 years, and the facsimile of his will shows the interest we take in his personal life as well as his publications. The likenesses of him on the walking stick and the statue show the high regard we hold him in, and the depiction of his characters on china and in the costumes themselves show the enduring fondness we hold for his creations.
So what would William Shakespeare say if he could see these representations of his characters? “The hand that hath made you fair hath made you good” (Measure for Measure, Act I Scene ii).
