The Elizabethans were the people that lived during the Elizabethan era, which was the time period of 1558-1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Elizabethans were a group of people whose looks meant everything to them, and some would go to extreme lengths to achieve their desired look.
How the Elizabethans dressed was used to determine what social hierarchy that they belonged to. People had to dress in atire that would reflect, and not exceed your wealth and rank in society. This meant that others could look at you once and they'd instantly know that you were either an upper of lower class citizen. Wealthier Elizabethans would usually wear colours such as red, purple, black and white, as these were the most expensive colours to produce in fabric. The lower classes would wear colours such as blue, green, orange, brown and yellow.
Throughout Elizabeth's reign, the style of the era changed and evolved. Shapes became a lot rounder; sleeves become puffier and neck ruffs became bigger. The Elizabethans used to pluck their foreheads in order to make their hairline receed and their foreheads appear higher. They would also pluck their eyebrows really thin and shape them so that they appeared high on their foreheads.
Elizabethan women did not have access to the materials that we are lucky enough to take advantage of today. They used to apply cosmetic products to their skin such as white lead, ceruse, kohl, vermilion and vinegar. These, plus many more, would ruin a woman's complexion, however they would then disguise it by making a white paste out of another form of dangerous cosmetic, and a lot of women suffered from lead poisoning, scarring and other side effects that were caused by these products. These harmful products were used to make a white paste that the women would then apply thickly to their skin, before using fuces (crushed bugs) as a blusher and lipstick to give them a bit of colour in their cheeks. Other less harmful products that the Elizabethans used were things like egg whites, which were used to get rid of wrinkles.
Elizabethan men didn't like that the women wore a lot of make-up. This was because if a woman then blushed, they wouldn't be able to tell because of all the make-up that they were wearing, and a woman blushing is apparently very desirable to a man.
As for their hair care, women would rinse their hair in sulphur and sit out in the sun to try and bleach it. When styling their hair, they would sweep it up and off of the face, decorating their hairstyles with delicate headwear, and adorning it with jewels and pearls. For Elizabethan women to achieve the traditional red curly hair, it was very difficult.
Queen Elizabeth - the main, and possibly only, style icon for the women of the Elizabethan era. She was viewed by the public and one step down from God, she always had a pale face applied (because this represented wealth and stability) and she often wore wigs to cover up the fact that she was actually going bald underneath. Elizabeth loved her country, and part of the reason for her dressing the way that she did, was to represent this love, and to prove to others that she was serious about her role as leader of the country.
References:
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_era
http://www.elizabethancostume.net/makeup.html
Information from seminar
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