Dressmaking 
 
 
  In place of the barrel-shaped hoop and the enormous 
skirts a close underpetticoat was worn with an overskirt 
which fell in graceful folds with its fulness arranged at 
the sides and the back. This overskirt opened at the 
front to show the underskirt. To give some of the size 
which the hoops had formerly given, the overskirt was 
often puffed or draped a little at the hips. The under- 
dress, or petticoat, was of round length, while the overdress 
                           was frequently long and train- 
 
 
ing. Occasionally the under- 
petticoat was omitted, and the 
full overskirt was gathereo at 
the waist and fell in straight 
folds without any opening at 
the front. If the skirt opened 
over a petticoat the bodice usu- 
ally also had a narrow panel 
which matched in material that 
of the underskirt. 
  The neck line of the bodice 
was more often round than 
square, as that shape was bet- 
ter suited for the arranging of 
the fichu, or collar, which re- 
placed the ruff. These collars 
were as varied as the ruffs in 
 
 
Early 17th-century costume shape, style, and material. 
                          They were not always flat; 
many were wired; and they usually stood out, away from 
the head, rather than up, close to it. Waists were still 
small, though not so exaggerated as in the late Renais- 
sance. Many of the bodices had a somewhat pointed 
waist line, while others had one which was raised some- 
what above the normal waist and had attached to it a 
kind of peplum, or basque. These peplums were short 
and usually slashed or cut up in sections to give sufficient 
flare over the hips. The sleeves were large but no longer 
padded. They were allowed to fall in natural folds and 
were finished with deep, turn-back cuffs to match the