The Musketeers Era: A Costume Design

Abstract

I choose to design the costumes for Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew because it was the first show I ever worked on in high school. Because it was a show I knew from working on it I could spend the time that I would have spent reading it researching the various time periods that I could set it in. My original inspiration was from the BBC Musketeers, a show that was not historically accurate in the costuming department. I chose to set the show during Queen Anne’s regency and not during the reign of her husband, King Louis XIII, as I had originally planned because there was a distinct style during her reign. Woman’s clothes moved more towards the fashions of Spain and away from the fashions of England. Woman’s skirts were open in the front to show and underskirt and draped with little support. The ruff that stood up around the wearer’s neck was now a lace collar that draped over the shoulders. Men’s clothes were still full at the sleeves and legs with darts but they were less full than their English and Spanish counterparts. Men wore small cloaks over one shoulder that tied across their bodies and under the opposite arm. This is also the time period of the musketeers with their large hats and bucket boots.