The principal characteristic of the Renaissance female dress was its fullness; men's, on the contrary, with the exception of the mantle or the upper garment, was usually tight and very scanty.
During the 16th Century, the Renaissance fashion is making a distinct separation between ancient and modern dress; in fact, our present fashions may be said to have taken their origin from about that time. It was during this century that men adopted clothes closely fitting to the body; overcoats with tight sleeves, felt hats with more or less wide brims, and closed shoes and boots.
The women also wore their dresses closely fitting to the figure, with tight sleeves, low-crowned hats, and richly-trimmed petticoats. These Renaissance fashion garments, which differ altogether from those of antiquity, constitute the common type from which have since arisen the endless varieties of male and female dress; and there is no doubt that fashion will thus be continually changing backwards and forwards from time to time, sometimes returning to its original model, and sometimes departing from it.