Queen Elizabeth's Language of Clothing and the Contradictions in Her Construction of Images

This article considers the Renaissance “fashion queen,” Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603), and how her policy of dress compared with the general construction of her political images. Several scholars have investigated her dress from portraits or the inventories of her Wardrobe of Robes. Nevertheless, most of the study of her costume has dealt with the cuts and textiles, that is, the materiality of actual garments; Elizabeth’s own attitude towards clothes, her policy of clothing and its connection to her political image, have not yet received their due. In addition, few scholars have located Elizabeth’s clothing policy in the context of her overall images, and even fewer have noted the antithesis between her clothing and her dominant representations. This article approaches those questions through the connection between language and dress. At one level, it interprets the messages expressed by Elizabeth’s attire that appears in her portraits, the inventories of her Wardrobe of Robes and textual records. At another level, it considers how she referred to garments or used This article is produced under my research program: “Fashion, Social Order and Political Culture in Early Modern England, 1509-1603,” which is sponsored by National Science Council (NSC97-2410-H-004-043-MY3). Portions of this article have been read at the annual conference of the Sixteenth Century Society in St. Louis, USA, in October, 2008, and that of the Renaissance Society of America in Los Angles, USA, in March 2009. I am grateful for all the constructive criticism raised by the audience, especially by the chair of the panel at the RSA’s meeting, Professor Stephen Greenblatt. My deep thanks go to Professor Tim Baker and Professor William Landon for reading my early drafts and giving me many useful suggestions.  Associate Professor, Department of History, National Cheng-chi University 《成大歷史學報》第三十八號 BIBLID1683-9794(2010.6)38. pp.89~13