Dressing for the Tudor Court: Power, Beauty & Influence with Eleri Lynn

The Tudor monarchs and their courtiers are some of the best-known figures in history. Even today, their stories continue to spark our curiosity and imagination. Their enduring popularity is partly due to the iconic portraits in which they are depicted in magnificent style: in farthingales and elaborate ruffs, covered in furs and jewels, and clothed in vast expanses of velvet and silk. Far from being decoration, at that time fashion was pivotal in communicating the status and power of the wearer. Tudor dress was used as a tool in securing and holding a tenuous Tudor throne, as well as a competitive “weapon” in the factions, intrigues, and love affairs of the court. In this talk, Eleri Lynn, will explore the changing fashions of the Tudor wardrobe and explain the elaborate process of dressing. Using rare surviving garments and textiles, original documents, and archaeological records, she will explain how fashion was central to the Tudors’ mindset and their very understanding of royalty and power.

Eleri Lynn is a fashion and textiles historian, curator, and author. She gained her curatorial experience within the Textiles and Fashion Department of the V&A Museum before becoming Curator of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at Historic Royal Palaces, and thereafter Head of Exhibitions at National Museum Wales. She is a Trustee of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace.

ALL TICKET HOLDERS WILL RECEIVE A LINK TO THE RECORDING OF THIS LECTURE