Dress According to Statute. 171 



people, against their estate and degree, to the great destruc- 

 tion and impoverishment of all the land : it is ordained that 

 grooms, as well servants of lords as they of mysteries and 

 artificers, shall .... have clothes for their vesture or 

 hosing whereof the whole cloth shall not exceed two marks 

 (26s. 8d.), and that they wear no cloth of higher price, of their 

 buying nor otherwise, nor nothing of gold, nor of silver em- 

 broidered, aimeled, nor of silk, nor nothing pertaining to the 

 said things ; and their wives, daughters, and children of the 

 same condition in their clothing and apparel, and they shall 

 wear no veile, ne kerchief, passing twelve pence a veile. 



2. People of handicraft and yeomen are not to wear cloth 

 of more than forty shillings the whole of it, ' by way of buying 

 nor otherwise/ nor may they wear precious stones, ' nor 

 cloth of silk nor of silver, nor girdle, knyf harnessed, riug, 

 garter, nor owche, ribband, chains, nor no such other things 

 of gold nor of silver/ nor any embroidered work or silk. 

 The wives and children of such persons to be liable to same 

 restrictions, it being also expressly forbidden them to wear 

 a kerchief of silk, or of anything but ' yam made ivitkin the 

 realm, nor no manner of furr, nor of budge, but only lamb, 

 coney, cat, and fox/ 



3. Esquires, and all gentlemen under the estate of a knight, 

 and not having land or rent of the value of £100 a year, were 

 to wear suits costing no more than 4§ marks (£3). They 

 were not to wear any ' cloth of gold, nor silk, nor silver, nor 

 no manner of clothing embroidered, ring, broche, nor owche 

 of gold / they were to use ' nothing of stone, nor no manner 

 of fur/ The wives and daughters of these gentlemen were 

 under similar restraint, an injunction being added against 

 their having ' any turning-up or purfle/ But esquires having 

 two hundred marks a year and upwards in land or rent might 

 ' take and wear clothes of the price of five marks (£3 6s. 8d.), 

 the whole cloth, and cloth of silk and of silver, ribband, girdle, 

 and other apparel reasonably garnished of silver. Their wives 

 and children might also wear ' furr turned up of miniver, with- 

 out ermine or letuse/ but they might not wear any precious 

 stones, except upon their heads. 



4. Merchants, citizens, and burgesses, artificers, people of 

 handicraft, as well within the City of London as elsewhere, 

 having goods and chattels to the value of £500, they, their 

 wives and children might dress as esquires, etc., and their 

 belongings, who had 'land to rent to the value of £100 by 

 the year / and those who had goods and chattels to the value 

 of £1000 might dress as esquires and gentlemen who had rent 

 in land to the extent of £200 a year. 



5. Knights who had land or rent within the value of £200 



