Lower Class: How Did Farmer's Dress?

Farmers and other agricultural workers during this period probably didn’t have too many spare sets of clothes, if they had any spare sets at all. Though fashion changed considerably throughout this time period for the upper classes, the outfits of the common people would have remained much the same. Men probably wore linen undergarments, woolen hose or breeches, a linen shirt or smock, and a woolen coat or tunic. On his feet he would have worn leather shoes, around his waist, a leather belt from which he could hang a bag or other tools. In an effort to protect the domestic wool trade, a 1571 law required that all men over the age of six own a woolen cap for wear on Sundays, so he would have had won of those as well during the latter half of the Tudor period.

Women would have also worn linen undergarments. Over that, they would have worn a kirtle, like a long gown, made of either wool or linen. A belt at the waist would have enabled her to carry a purse or other tools. She probably would have also worn an apron, perhaps with decorative patterns, to protect her kirtle, as well as to give her a place to carry items such as hot pans or bundles of wood. Her shoes would also have been made of leather.

These clothes would have been good for working outdoors, and kept their wearers comfortable and warm in the wintertime. They may have been the color of natural wool or linen, or they may have been dyed with plants into shades of many different colors.

Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03pmlbm