Late Gothic Men's Costume

Late Gothic Men's Costume with Mi-Parti Hosen and Beret

Historical Context and Usage

At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, men's fashion underwent a dramatic transformation. Garments became shorter and started to fit tightly to the body to emphasize the male silhouette. This costume faithfully reflects Late Gothic courtly and urban fashion. A typical feature is the close-fitting hosen (tights), which during this period were joined into a single garment and fitted with a front flap or codpiece. The two-tone design of the hosen, known as mi-parti, was incredibly popular and often expressed allegiance to a specific noble house or city. The jacket (often called a doublet) features fashionably puffed sleeves and is practically tied at the front with laces. Today, you will find this garment excellent as a civilian costume for 15th-century historical reenactments, theatrical performances, or LARP. Please keep in mind that this is civilian clothing; it is not protective armour. If you intend to engage in contact fencing, always wear hidden protectors or a padded gambeson underneath for safety reasons.

Material and Garment Care

The costume is tailored from a combination of two high-quality materials that ensure both an authentic look and wearing comfort. The doublet and beret are made of duvetyn (100% cotton), which with its soft surface faithfully imitates expensive velvet. The hosen are made of warm wool, which has excellent temperature-regulating properties, wicks away moisture, and adapts well to the body.

• Woollen Hosen: We exclusively recommend professional dry cleaning. Washing in water could cause irreversible shrinking and felting of the wool.
• Cotton Doublet and Beret: Can be washed gently by hand at temperatures up to 30 °C (86 °F). Do not tumble dry and iron only on the reverse side on a low to medium heat setting.
• Cleaning and care of costumes

In the photographs, you can see the garment accessorized with leather shoes with elongated toes (known as poulaines), a leather belt, and a one-handed sword. These accessories are not included in the delivery. To bring the overall impression to absolute perfection, we highly recommend purchasing a period leather belt and a medieval dagger or falchion from our selection.

Product Specifications

Upon request, we can also tailor this Late Gothic men's garment in other colours (for example, in a single-colour version, striped, or with a chequerboard pattern) according to our fabric swatches. Simply note your desired colour in the comments field of your order (always include the swatch number, the colour letter, and its name, e.g., 03-A-Yellow). If you choose a fabric with a different composition, we will consult any potential price adjustment with you before processing the order.

The costume is available in standard sizes, or we will custom-tailor it exactly to your measurements at no extra charge. For custom tailoring, simply fill out our measurement chart after completing your order. For this particular costume, measurements 8a, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8q, 8r, and 8x will be perfectly sufficient.