Male Accessories

Gloves were always worn and belonged to every gentleman's outfit, as well as muffs, which were worn with a band around the waist, and carried in front. Very often these fur muffs were rather big. 

Walking sticks remained in fashion as well, and those which had been carried already in the first half of the century, when the Cavalier outfit was in fashion, continued to be popular throughout the period. 

You will probably read in several places, that walking sticks became very tall in the 1660s to become smaller in the 80s again, but I have looked through all my hundreds of pictures again (14.01.2001) and I have not found a single example of a walking stick that was any higher than hip height. In all I found 16 depictions of gentlemen in the 1660s chapter both in French, English and Dutch paintings with walking sticks, and they all had the same length, namely a normal hip height (which is slightly higher than modern ones.) Therefore I disagree with anyone who says that walking sticks became very tall in the 1660s, as seen in he wonderful film Restoration, unless someone can show me at least one example. I believed the same... until I checked again the first hand evidence of paintings, engravings, literature and surviving items. It taught me a lesson (which I should have learnt by now, but...): to never believe anything face value, but to check everything against first hand evidence!

Furthermore the smallsword, which was now worn instead of the earlier rapier by aristocratic civilians, was always on its swordbelt on a courtier's side, because this often extremely elaborate and elegant weapon represented the status of a gentleman.

Although the cut of the male costume became much more simplified during Louis XIV's reign, decoration still had its prominent part of importance in fashion. The more uniform the cut of the coat became, the more important was the decoration, most of all embroidery, metal laces and braids. At the same time the hairstyles and the shoes and all the other fashionable accessories became more and more important as well. 

France was different to England in the respect that at court in France only velvets and silks and brocades were worn, in England, on the other hand, due to the flourishing and exquisite wool industry, fine worsted wools were just as expensive and as exclusive as the other fabrics. While in France wools were seen as the more mediocre choice, because it was worn by commoners, it gained later on once again more importance, when English fashion came over to France. Court garments were embroidered all over with gold and silver or silver gilt metal threads (see for an extant example James, Duke of York's wedding suit from 1673, V&A Museum, London) sometimes that lavishly that the fabric wasn't visible anymore. 

Expensive laces belonged to the costume of a fashionable gentleman as well, and they were worn in abundance. At the cuffs of the shirt sleeves, and on the cravats, which developed from the collars. Those cravats either consisted of lace or were richly edged with deep laces. For further information on lace please refer to the pages dealing exclusively with laces. 

Contents © N. Kipar 1997