"I've often seen illustrations of peasants working the fields in straw hats to keep the sun off their heads, but Scott claims that "straw hats were worn outdoors by all ranks in the summer". I would imagine that nobles wore fancier versions of the conventional straw hat, but it's interesting to hear that fashion extended to the practical - sometimes."
"Clearly, those could not be considered useful by any means, which is why it was the idle nobles who sported those articles. Apparently, "in 1366, the French king prohibited the production of long-toed shoes and stockings, in the vain hope that by cutting off the source of supply of the latest excesses of fashion, he could eradicate the fad itself". No such luck. People loved their pointy shoes."
Straw hats were worn outdoors by all ranks in the summer, with nobles sometimes using fancier versions of practical headwear. Fourteenth-century fashions included extreme, impractical items such as long, pointy shoes and hats, trends favored by idle nobles. A 1366 prohibition attempted to stop the production of long-toed shoes and stockings but failed to end the fad. Some fashionable headdresses covered the ears and impeded conversation. Slow hand-production of garments limited commoners' ability to replace clothing, but accessories like belts and shoes allowed peasants to engage with high fashion and observe prevailing styles at fairs.
Read at Medievalists.net
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