Sir John Eliot

Breaking my rules again here, but there are few images of anyone just wearing a shirt from the seventeenth century. Sir John Eliot was a prominant politician who found himself imprisoned in the early 1630s due to the Tonnage and Poundage arguments with King Charles. This portrait was painted by an unknown artist whilst Sir John was imprisoned and rather ill in the Tower of London in 1632. He is shown just in his shirt, which is made to the same basic pattern that shirts were made from the beginning of the seventeenth century right up until the 1800s. It is however a rather nice example with a lace edged neckband and strips of bobbin lace inserted into the shirt along parallel diagonal lines all over the garment. Notice also that the shirt reaches well past his knees. The painting hangs in the Plymouth Art Gallery

Robert Rich Earl of Warwick

Robert Rich Earl of Warwick was a prominent parliamentarian officer on land and sea during the Wars. There are several portraits of Rich from various periods, usually dressed in his finest clothes, but this one is exceptional. Painted in 1633 by Daniel Muytens, possibly a little early for this period, but a style that probably was worn in the 1640s by those who didn’t move as quickly with the times as those at court. Warwick’s doublet is a typical style for the 1630s and is covered with embroidery and edged with braid in a very similar style to the Layton Jacket in the V&A Museum on London. The ribbon bow points around the waist may be holding his breeches up or may just be decoration as the fashion was moving to the use of hooks and eyes for this purpose. His breeches and cloak don’t match the doublet, but the colours are picked out in the embroidery design. Picture hangs in Hardwick Hall Derbyshire

Charles Cavendish

Born at Chatsworth in Derbyshire, Cavendish was a the second son of William Cavendish second Earl of Devonshire and served as prominent officer in the royalist army. He was killed in battle in 1643. He is painted by an unknown artist as very much the high status officer with buffcoat and breastplate armour. His breeches and doublet sleeves are almost completely covered in braid, and although he has a very plain falling band and shirt cuffs, the tassels on his bandstrings are very fancy. His red scarf is tied horizontally across his waist, the standard manner for buffcoat and armour. The original hangs in Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.