piccadilly,
Whether his band-strings balence equally,
Which way his feather wags,'

strut along on their high-heeled shoes, and ogle any lady as she
passes.

Another fashion common to those in the high mode was to have the
bodice below the ruff cut so low as to show all the breast bare, and
this, together with the painting of the face, gave great offence to
the more sober-minded.

The ruffs and collars of lace were starched in many colours--purple,
goose-green, red and blue, yellow being completely out of the fashion
since the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury by Mrs. Anne Turner, the
friend of the Countess of Somerset; and this because Mrs. Turner
elected to appear at the gallows in a yellow ruff.

[Illustration: A WOMAN OF THE TIME OF JAMES I. (1603-1625)

Here is seen the wide fardingale, or farthingale, the elaborate
under-skirt, and the long hanging sleeves of the gown. Also, the
very tall upstanding ruff or collar of lace.]

[Illustration: {A woman of the time of James I.; a ruff and hat; an
alternative dress}]

As for the fardingale, it was having its last fling. This absurd
garment had its uses once--so they say who write scandal of a Spanish
Princess, and served to conceal her state upon a certain time; but
when ladies forsook the fashion, they wore a loose, almost shapeless,
gown, open from the waist to the feet, and a plain, unstiffened jerkin
or jacket underneath.

Such a conglomeration is needed (if you remember we are looking over a
lady's wardrobe) to make a lady of the time: such stuffs as rash,
taffeta paropa, novats, shagge, filizetta, damask, mochado. Rash is
silk and stuff, taffeta is thin silk, mochado is mock velvet. There,
again, one may fall into an antiquarian trap; whereas mochado is a
manufacture of silk to imitate velvet, mokkadoe is a woollen cloth,
and so on; there is no end to it. Still, some may read and ask
themselves what is a rebatoe. It is the collar-like ruff worn at this
time. In this medley of things we shall see purles, falles, squares,
buskes, tires, fans, palisadoes (this is a wire to hold the hair next
to the first or duchess knot), puffs, ruffs, partlets, frislets,
fillets, pendulets, bracelets, busk-points, shoe-ties, shoe roses,
bongrace bonnets, and whalebone wheels--Eve!

All this, for what purpose? To turn out one of those extraordinary
creatures with a cart-wheel round the middle of their persons.

As the reign died, so did its fashions