King Henry’s VII Wives and Fashion

Catherine of Aragon

Born in Spain in 1485 Catherine of Aragon was King Henry’s first wife. Catherine had a fantastic taste in Spanish style and clothing with heavy fabrics elaborate and intricate wear. Popular Spanish farthingale and the Blackwork embroidery were among her favorite garments. Her love for jewelry was evident through the gown that had gold and the necklaces she wore that were made of large pearl with a diamond cross hanging on it. In the modern time, Catherine wardrobe would be occupied with some of the deep crimson and sexy latest Spanish wear A good example would be Balenciaga wardrobe.

Queen Anne Boleyn

Born in 1507, Anne Boleyn was King Henry’s VII second wife. Her love for jewelry and fine clothes in her immaculate taste in fashion was well illustrated though her dressing. She had much love for the French design and this was evident through her headwear which was French rather than the English headwear that was popular during her days. She also considered the English headwear as heavy and unflattering. In the modern time, Anne’s wardrobe would have more of a French designer clothes. A perfect example would be a Marc Jacobs wardrobe.

Jane Seymour

Jane was the third wife of King Henry VII. She was not impressed at all by the French fashion. She had the French fashion abolished and introduce the English clothing (Maxwell, 2014). Her much love for the English clothing was vivid in the English made garments made for her and her ladies.  Her love for the jewelry was seen by the red pearl necklace she wore. Her preference for English headwear also portrays her deep love for the English clothing. If Jane was alive at the present time she would definitely be dressed in the English designer clothes. Her wardrobe would be suited with Alexander McQueen and Thomas Burberry designer clothes.

Anne of Cleves

Ann of Cleves was born in 1515 and was King Henry‘s VII fourth wife. She was a German and this was well elaborated by her love for the German taste in clothing. She wore German fashion which was very different in shape from those in the English fashion worn by the ladies in the English court. German dresses were typically high-waisted and their sleeves were differently shape compared with those of the English. Anne’s headwear was differently shaped with this style being very different from the English headwear. If Ann was alive we would see her wearing German fashion. Her wardrobe would be filled with Stephan Schneider and Karl Lagerfeld designer dresses.

Katherine Howard

Katherine was a fashion lover and trendsetter that evoked not only glamor but also sophistication (Azevedo, 2016). Her love for fashion was evident through her dressing the latest fashion. She also had a preference in the French latest fashion made from fine fabrics with no absence of dazzling jewels. In the modern time, we would see her wearing some of the fine French designs with very dazzling and expensive jewels. In addition, she would have a collection of diamond necklaces and gold accessories, her wardrobe would be filled with Jean-Paul Gaultier, Coco Chanel, and Madeleine Vionnet French designer dresses.

Katherine Parr

Parr was born in 1512 and Kings Henry’s VII sixth and last wife (Temple, 2014). She was considered as a frumpy wife. She had no unique taste in fashion and was regarded as the snappiest dresser in Europe. Although she loved clothes she was also a fashion icon. She loved the English headwear and had no taste in jewels. If she was alive in the modern time, we would not see her dressed in designer clothing. She would settle for normal dresses and have no jewelry on her. Parr’s wardrobe would be more of a rich modern woman with no taste in fashion.

References

Temple, M. (2014). Curriculum Focus The Tudors History KS2. Mark Allen Group

Azevedo, A. (2016). Celebrity Branding Advertising Processing: A Conceptual Model. In Rediscovering the Essentiality of Marketing (pp. 599-611). Springer International Publishing.

Maxwell, A. (2014). Patriots against fashion: Clothing and nationalism in Europe’s age of revolutions. Springer.