Book Review: Tudor Fashion: Dress at Court, by Eleri Lynn

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

The captivating story of Tudor dress, its construction and symbolism, and the people who made and wore it The Tudor monarchs and their courtiers are some of the best-known figures in history. They continue, even today, to spark our curiosity and imagination. 

This magnificent book was a real find, as I bought it as part of my research on the details of Tudor dress and found it offers much more. A hardcover book measuring 23.5 x 2.5 x 29.2 cm, it has high quality illustrations throughout and is packed with useful information.

The Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, from the collection
 of the Marquess of Salisbury. On display at Hatfield House.
(Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)

With whole chapters on the dress of courtiers, the Great Wardrobe and even grooming and laundry, there was much which was new to me. This book has definitely helped me appreciate the work of the armies of dressmakers who created,  maintained and and transported the extensive royal Tudor wardrobes from palace to palace. 

Eleri Lynn is a curator with special access to the royal collection, so as you would expect, there is plenty of evidence from rare garments and textiles, as well as original documents and portraits of the Tudors and their courtiers.

I particularly like the detailed glossary, from 'Aiglets' (decorative metal tags) through all the weird and wonderful names for Tudor clothing, which I'm sure I'll be referring to. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in what the Tudors wore.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Eleri Lynn is a fashion historian, author and collections curator at Historic Royal palaces, with an interest in all aspects of historic fashion and how it relates to cultural and social history. She was a curator and researcher at the Victoria and Albert Museum and now has responsibility for the historic dress collections based at Hampton Court Palace. This unique collection of historic dress spans back to the 17th century.