Coat Length and Hems

Most over-coats are depicted as ankle length, or just above floor length, obscuring somewhat the layers underneath, though some are hemmed shorter, calf length or in rare instances higher. In the picture left we see a lady in waiting with a shorter, knee-length over-coat with short sleeves. (A longer over-coat is more commonly depicted.) Note also the veil and headband style headdress on this late 15th century Persian maid. I’ve found a few sources¹ which show short under-coats with a longer over coat that’s been hitched up.

There are also instances where a long over-coat is paired with a short coat beneath such as the lovely ladies pictured left and right. Notably all of the women I have seen with shorter coats have been in some sort of active or serving role. It is likely the short hems are for practical reasons, and should be avoided if one is trying for a more upper class presentation.

Note also how light blue overcoat on the lady pictured left is slit down the front and from the hem to her waist, but has no indication of a closure or slit between the neckline and hem. I suspect that this is an artists convention of not drawing the tightly closed (by lacing? Buttons?) front seam. Again, take that with a grain of salt, I have no way of being sure without an extant garment!

The hems appear to be, for the most part, unadorned. An exception would be the sleeves (See the lady with a short over-coat above). Though in some pictures they appear to have a scalloped edge (though this may be an artifact of the coat being gathered up into the belt.) See an exsample of this pictured right from a 16th century bowl in Canby.

Some depictions (such as the textile fragment pictured right²) show a slit in the seam at the side of the over-coat showing the layers underneath. This most likely marks a seam line. It is interesting to note how such slits will be depicted in artwork with no sign of a continuation of the opening or seam above (or below in the case of necklines) leaving the viewer with a lack of evidence to make a judgement on if the coat is fully open along the front seam or not. In most instances I believe the coats are slit down the front, but again I have no way to proove that.