Long-term listeners to this podcast will remember a wonderful early episode on Henry VIII's

Close with Professor Maria Haywood. We talked about what elements made up a man's outfit

in the early Tudor period. Why Henry VIII was described as the best dressed sovereign in the world

and how much he spent on his wardrobe. But we left untouched the whole question of how to close

a Tudor Queen. So I invited Professor Haywood back onto the podcast to share her great knowledge with

us about the fashions of Henry VIII's wives. And I'm delighted to say she said yes.

Professor Maria Haywood holds a chair in early modern history at the University of South Hampton

and is the author of many books including the absolute gorgeous and vital book Dress at the

Court of Henry VIII. And today she joins me to answer such questions as how did Femar fashion change

over Henry's reign? Did foreign queens influence English fashion or adopt it? And did women wear

underclothes? Maria, it is always a treat to see you and to chat with you. Let's have a think then.

When you talked to us about male clothing you talked about the layers and items that made up a

male outfit in the early Tudor period. Do you think you could do the same for women please?

Certainly and I think the first thing to say is that the female wardrobe contained less sort of

specific items. So the variety that we can see in the portraits is created by a small

number of garments so it's then very much determined by the cut the color, the choice of fabrics.

But in terms of layers you would start off with your smock or your shift which would be the linen

layer that was closest to the skin. And that was designed very much to protect your skin from the

other layers on top but also to protect those layers from your sweat and everything else. So it was

the launderable layer. So over the smock and for women the neckline of that and also the

cuffs at the end of the sleeves, long sleeves would be visible. So there was a hint of that and if

you look in portraits you can see it. Over that we would then have some sort of garment that would

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