The Best Men’s Renaissance Costume

Buying Guide

The Renaissance period of history began around 1400 and lasted well into the early 1600s, ushering a period of intellectual, cultural, artistic, political and economic rebirth into Europe following the Middle Ages. It is a time associated with the rediscovery of classic philosophy and the development of art and humanism.

Renaissance-style clothing is popular for costumes, but can also be worn everywhere at festivals, clubs, plays, concerts and cosplay shows. Planning to buy a men’s Renaissance costume? It’s important to understand what was typical at the time and what costume elements you’ll need to be authentic.

Both women and men from that time period wore oversized clothes with wide, billowy sleeves; the larger and more flamboyant the clothing, the higher the social status. Other trends of the time included laced-up vests and doublets, laced-up but loose-fitting pants,  knee-length pants with wide hips, decorative buttons and capes.

Men also wore tights back then because their pants were often shorter, so they needed additional leg coverage. Wide-toed shoes were popular, as were buckled boots. Many also wore carefully styled hair and brimmed hats adorned with large feathers to top off their looks (hats were mandatory in public in some areas). Hair was cut below their ears at chin length, and many paired this with bangs.

Towards the latter part of the Renaissance, some men started cutting their hair shorter and began sporting trim, well-kept (often pointed) beards. Today, we can see a blend of Renaissance, pirate and peasant styles in many costumes, since they share similar features. Look for anything that is laced up, has ruffles or puffy arms or legs and accessorize accordingly.

Prefer the pirate look? Every day pirates used to wear woolen breeches tied at the knee, round knit caps and loose collarless linen shirts with buttons on the wrists. They topped these with buttoned vests and fitted waist-length jackets. These sailors also wore woolen stockings and low-heeled, buckled leather shoes. Pirate captains, on the other hand, wore richly colored velvet waistcoats, shiny boots and those memorable tri-cornered hats.

• You don’t want your clothing to be too tight and uncomfortable, so look for drawstring waists on your costume.
• Lace-up vests and tops should not be too tight, either. Otherwise, they will not be comfortable or look like they fit suitably.
• Read the product descriptions to check the sizing and take your own body measurements to determine whether a clothing item runs large or small.
• Men definitely wore lots of jewelry during the Renaissance period. Add some statement jewelry to complete your look, like a large, heavy brooch on a thick chain, or some impressive rings.
• Feel free to make your Renaissance costume outlandish, because doing so makes your costume even more authentic. Jewelry, velvet, large capes and even codpieces were worn to increase the wearer’s status back in the day.