918 margaret f. rosenthal
edged with richly embroidered cuffs. the coiffure was composed of curls
that dangled from the ears onto the forehead. in the 1550s this silhouette
changed again when the bodice became even more pointed and extremely
rigid, maintained by structural supports known as costelle, or small pieces
of ribbed cotton fabric that held the bodice open in the front as the décol-
leté fell well below the breast and shoulders. this exposed neckline was
covered with a bavaro—a neck piece, sometimes made of richly embroi-
dered fabric, or a neck ruff in a fan-shape, as Vecellio recalls in “Clothing
Worn by the Women of Venice in 1550” (Fig. 24.6):
at their necks they wore twisted strands of gold, from which hung and lay
on the breast a pendant of very precious gold... they wore belts of gold
chains, falling to the floor, and their baveri were embroidered with roses
and gold stars and studded with many jewels. heads they wore a black veil
of transparent silk, which covered their foreheads.87at mid-century, Venetian noblewomen’s gowns were more ornate, with
many gold-chain belts and necklaces and shoulder coverings that were
heavily embroidered with roses and gold stars and studded with gold
jewels. their undergarments were also intricately embroidered and
showed through their large slashed oversleeves that in the winter were
often lined with fur such as squirrel, marten, lynx, or ermine. the over-
gown was also called a romana and was a little different than the zimarra.
it was low and open at the front and was often lined with rich furs, tied
with silk sashes. a basic mantle also served as an overgown, and this was
called a sbernia. it left one arm free.
By the end of the century, the female silhouette changed consider-
ably into “two opposing V’s, one created by the stiff bodices that encased
the woman’s torso and the other, upside down... made the skirts almost
conical in shape.”88 Vecellio criticizes women’s fashions of his day not
only for their excessiveness and high costs in producing them but also
for their disproportionate parts. they included a high-necked collar with
“stiff, upright ruffles that rise almost above the head; these are particu-
larly unsightly, not only because they lack proportion but also because
they interfere with the fazzuolo [a piece of fabric used to cover the neck
or head], which (to tell the truth) falls down behind them in a very ugly
87 rosenthal and Jones, ed. and trans., cesare Vecellio, Habiti Antichi et Moderni, p. 152.
88 Fabretti, “the italian renaissance,” p. 13.