Standard-Examiner Festival From CI might lace up in the back, and the laces might be hidden beneath other layers of clothing. • Swishy skirts. The skirt of a dress would be full, with various underskirts or petticoats beneath it. A bolster or "bum roll" was a roll of padding tied around the hip and worn under the skirt to help support its weight. Dresses were always long because "a lady's legs were not seen," Mathes said. Men, however, did show off their legs by wearing short, puffy "pumpkin pants" with hosiery. "A well-turned man, he'd have sexy legs," Bedore quipped. • Undergarments. All women, no matter their class, wore a linen chemise or smock underneath their dress. For poor women, the chemise would often double as a nightgown, Bedore said. Mathes added, "It was worn close to the skin and therefore laundered more often (than outer garments)." Corsets were worn by the aristocrats but Mathes said, "A person of common status seldom if ever wore a corset." Instead, her dress bodice might be stiffened with extra fabric or with leather. • Hats. With the exception of young girls, women didn't wear their hair loose and most ladies kept their heads covered, Mathes said. Muffin caps — like the one atop her own head — or flat caps were two fashionable options. Also popular was the snood, a net-like head covering. A peasant woman's snood would be made of sturdy wool to keep her hair out of the way while she was working and to keep her head warm without adding extra weight, Mathes said. Snoods for noble women would be fancier, BRIANASCROGGINS/Standard-Examiner A 32 pound leather pauldron was for sale during the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire. perhaps crocheted out of gold thread or lace. • More headgear. Bedore, as Queen Elizabeth, was sporting jewels in her hair that dangled down onto her forehead. "It was a fashion statement to have a very high forehead," Bedore said, and the real queen actually plucked her brow back to create what was considered a look of intelligence. Wigs were also popular with some women, the costume expert said. Due to problems like lice or bed bugs, it was more comfortable to shave off the hair and wear wigs, which could be more easily washed, or, if necessary, thrown away. • Jewelry. "Pearls were extremely popular for Elizabeth; she loved pearls," Bedore said. Gold could only be worn by the queen, Mathes said; various polished gems were also in vogue, as were miniatures, or tiny painted portraits worn as jewelry. Ordinary women wouldn't wear much jewelry, and never anything fine, Mathes said. One had to remember one's station, she explained, adding there's a tale of the real Queen Elizabeth "boxing the ears" of a common woman "who deigned to wear jewels like that of the queen." • Accessories. Although Bedore's outfit included an ornate gold-embellished purse, Mathes' bag was more utilitarian, a leather pouch worn on a belt around her waist, for safety's sake. Inside such a pouch, Lady Elysabeth Ashby might keep coins, keys or a sewing kit. A real lady didn't require a purse because her attendants would carry her things for her, Mathes said. But, she added, "If I have need of anything, I would have to carry it on my person because I do not have any servants." • Foot work. For a peasant woman, "a sturdy, flat shoe would have been worn, something one could slog in the mud with if necessary," Mathes said. Shoes were made of leather or even wool, and most of them were not very comfortable, said the secretary-treasurer of the Order of the Azure Rose. The real Queen Elizabeth was known to own some fancy and bejeweled dancing shoes, and some wealthy women of the era did wear some "crazy cool heels," Bedore said, adding, "I think we (women) have always been a little strange that way." Contact reporter Becky Cairrls at 801-625-4276 or bcairns@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at ©bccairns or like her on Facebook at www.face- book.com/SEbeckycairns.