In today’s and in historical societies clothing is and was an important aspect of visual communication. Clothing has the power to express wealth, rank, power, feelings, and believes. It differs between the sexes and reflects norms and values. The fashion sense of any society involves sexuality, signs, rituals, hygiene, and the law. Furthermore, clothing embodies social class, which is important to a society’s sense of itself. It is impossible, to look at the history of any costume related topic without coming across sumptuary laws. According to the dictionary, "sumptuary laws were a set of laws that prevented extravagance in private life by limiting expenditure for clothing, food and furniture." This paper focuses on sumptuary laws in regards to clothing only. Laws that regulated clothing were enforced in every known time period. One could even argue that today’s uniform requirements are the sumptuary laws of the twenty-first century. In some career fields uniforms are necessary to identify ones occupation, for instance a nurse. Furthermore, uniforms are used to emphasize authority such as police uniforms. In the past, sumptuary laws were enforced to regulate habits of consumption, and to regulate and reinforce social hierarchies. Throughout times, societies have used sumptuary laws for a variety of purposes. Clothing restrictions attempted to regulate social rank, but were mostly used for social discrimination. Female dress, suppose to indicate women’s social status, and morality. In an effort to distinguish the honorable women from the prostitutes, specific sumptuary laws were enforced.
Some of the ancient sumtuary regulations still effect women of today. For instance: the tramp stamp, a term referring to a tattoo some women, nowadays, have on their lower back. The tramp stamp also identified ancient Egyptian women as prostitutes. Several mummies of dancers and concubines have been found with geometric designs tattooed on their bodies. Amunet the goddess of love, an Egyptian Mummy, was found inked up with parallel lines that graced her arms, thighs, and her navel (Sherrow250). It is interesting to see that such an old fashion trend made it onto the lower backs of so many of today's modern women. If they were aware that ancient prostitutes wore tattoos to present their occupation, I bet, there be a lot of less tramp stamps. The ancient Greece prostitute used a less permanent way to get customers attention. Those liberated Greek women wore shoes and/or clothing imprinted with messages. Some prostitutes wore sandals that had the words follow me, with small metal studs, inscribed on the bottom of the shoes.These sandals left impressions in the unpaved earth and for that reason prostitutes became known as Streetwalkers. The Greek writer Asclepiades writes of a prostitute named Hermione who wore a girdle embroidered with, "Love me always, but do not be jealous if others do as you do”(Vern38). In Athen, prostitutes used temporary body modifications to enhance their facial and body features as in stuffing their shoes with cork to appear taller, or use bustles to increase the size of their hips and breasts. Today’s women use wonder-bra’s to make their bosom look larger. That being said, it is safe to say that no woman in the western hemisphere will pad her hips to make them appear bigger. Here is an interesting thought" I am pretty sure no ancient prostitute would starve herself to death to be super-skinny either! Ancient prostitutes used a lot of make-up and layers of white lead, a lot of rouge, and soot to emphasize eyebrows. The effect was that prostitutes were easier to spot due to the fact that respectable Greek woman refused to paint their faces because they promoted a more natural looking face (Sherrow250). There, where not many sumptuary laws in ancient Greece, and the few the greeks had were not enforced. For instance, prostitutes had to dye their hair blond, which they did anyway, so they could distinguish themselves further from a boring housewife.
Even though prostitutes in ancient Rome played an equal important role in society, they never reached the social heights of the divine like Greek prostitute called Heritea. Prostitutes in ancient Rome had a unique style as well so potential customers would recognize them for what they are and pay good money for their service. This form of self presentation was considered an art, called artes meretriciae. Artes meretriciae was passed on from prostitute to prostitute and it covered social rules, sumptuary laws, safety measures, and beauty-advise. While, respectful roman woman were not permitted to wear anything sexy while walking the streets of Rome, for prostitutes it was a necessity to dress seductive to engage men. Clothing regulations were first introduced to Rome in the form of a flame-colored toga. As a result, prostitutes emphasized brighter colors to further distinguish themselves from matrons. The prostitute’s toga had to be short, like a man’s toga, “she was denied the use of purple, sandals, and flowered cloth, and could not put up her hair the way the Roman matrons,” did (Ringdale 93). There is no source that specifically talks about what kind of female hairstyles men preferred during ancient times, but today’s men like women with their hair down. Again, the costume restrictions worked not against but in favor of the prostitute. However, these clothing regulations gradually relaxed and “some of the more popular courtesans became the fashion leaders of Rome,”which led to an increase in even more sumptuary laws (Vern55). New restrictions required liberated women to identify themselves by wearing a blonde wig, or dye their hair blond, but again the rule backfired, as it happened in the case of Empress Messalina. Messalina was the wife of Roman Emperor Claudius, and she was always looking for extra attention. She was rumored to sneak out to Rome’s red light district, to spice up her life, hidden beneath a blonde wig. Some nights she returned home without her wig, only to have it disgracefully returned the next day. Eventually Messalina's night adventures left her blonde head a tad shorter because after she seduced Roman Senator Gaius, Messalina’s husband had enough and ordered her death (Pitman26-28).
The late middle ages in Europe created even more dilemma, especially in regards to sumptuary laws for prostitutes. Every city had different costume restrictions, there were so many different laws that one could not know them all. For instance; Zurich, Switzerland in 1319 prostitutes had to wear a red cap; Mainz, Germany in 1403 prostitutes were forbidden to wear belts and veils; Vienna, Austria, fourteenth Century prostitutes had to wear a yellow cloth under their arm, and they were not allowed to wear silk or fur; 1417 in Basel, Switzerland prostitutes had to wear a had with yellow balls on it; and in Hamburg, Germany they had to wear a red hat with very large wings on each side. These hats wear so large that even in a crowd a man could easily spot the "unrespectable woman." On the image, (“Huren Tour”) one can see replications of a typical outfit worn by prostitutes in Hamburg during the late middle ages. The purpose of these restriction where to spot a prostitute quicker so one could discriminate against her, but in reality it helped potential customers to find a prostitute quicker. Either way, it worked for both parties. However, compared to other historical liberated women, during different time periods, prostitutes in the middle ages could not rise in class and become as popular as a Greek Hetaera. Prostitutes during the dark ages were for the most part restricted to certain areas and where not allowed to wear any luxury items. “In Bristol, England the hoods of prostitutes had to be made with a striped fur, different from the type worn by respectable women” (Vern124). In England, “the city of London, for example, specifically forbade prostitutes from ‘parading’ anywhere except in certain regulated districts,” and those women who did were thrown out of the city (Vern125). Laws banning prostitutes to brothels in designated areas, to prevent these women from rising in class. Every metropolitan area in Europe required prostitutes to live in a certain section of town and confined them in their activities. Most prostitutes lived in brothels, and if a prostitute serviced a customer outside that location she was confined to special quarters. Prostitutes who lived “in these quarters, wore clothes specified items such as armbands or other attire to distinguished them from respectable society matrons” (Vern 125).
Sumptuary laws during the Renaissance were, for the most part, ignored by upper class gigololas. The only prostitutes that followed these restrictions where the lower class. In Piedmonth, prostitues had to decorate their hats with horns. 1490 in Bergamo, prostitutes had to wear a colored scarf. In Florence, prostitutes were required to wear gloves, bells on their hats and high heels. In Milan, prostitutes were required to wear white in 1492, black in 1498, and white again in 1541. An again, prostitutes had to dye their hair blond or wear blond wigs. (Killerby 113- 131) One can see how all this different regulations can be confusing, and how much money it took to keep the Cortigianas costume up to regulations. Today’s women, find inspiration and fashionable dresses in fashion magazines like the Vogue, but during the Renaissance prostitutes were the fashion trendsetters and clothing restrictions had little to no effect. The fifteenth century Italy was the golden age for courtesans. Wealthy courtesans rode through the streets of Rome throwing golden eggs to their admirers. Rome was not the only city where prostitution was a respectable profession. The "ruling" Cortigianes of Venice became celebrated for their classical beauty, their conversational skills, and their intelligence. Estimates vary, but it is said that there were around 11,000 prostitutes servicing 300,000 venetian residents. With so many courtesans, it was tough for a man to tell the difference between a puttana and a married woman. The puttana, a lower class prostitute, was usually easier to spot. Some dressed like men wearing codpieces, and others wore dresses cut so low that it revealed more then it covered up. But most incredible of all, Venetian prostitutes wore shoes that would have intimidated Alexander McQueen. The Venetian Chopines, platform shoes, which were made of wood and elevated the wearer as much as a foot or more of the ground. One can imagine that it must have been difficult to cross an unpaved road without the assistance of helpers. Prostitutes dressed so fashionable that it was difficult to tell the difference between them and an upper class woman which caused major issue, not just in Venice, all of Italy. Especially, when the prostitutes attended Sunday mass, the fashion runway of the Renaissance. Compare to respectable women the costumes of courtesans were extremely luxurious. Their dresses were made of silk brocade and were often lined with gold or silver cloth. Most of the prostitutes received costly gifts of clothing or jewelry from their admirers. Their spending on lavish costumes was a habit, which led to visual attention, and demonstrated their possession of wealth. (Griffin 98-101) Consequently, respectable women got furious that liberated women twinkled brighter then Christmas trees and new sumptuary laws were passed in an attempt to control prostitutes. These new restrictions forbid prostitutes to wear any jewelry or shiny fabric, for instance: silk, or fur. Additionally, Florence’ prostitutes were forced to wear a veil with a yellow stripe on it known as “the whore’s mirror” (Leon 110). The result was the opposite of what was intended, and prostitutes where even easier to spot in the crowd. Anyway, most courtesans just ignored the many clothing restrictions, or called in favors to get exemptions to dress as they pleased. However, costume laws persisted and new ways were found for prostitutes to show how fashionable they are. In the early seventeenth century, costume books appeared showing prints of courtesans. One of the first examples of this early fusion of sex and fashion was the Miroir. In the foreword, Crispijn de Passe states that the book is meant as a fashion guide for the stay at home mother. The author apologizes for using courtesans as his subject matter, but he writes that prostitutes simply adopt new fashion much quicker (Rare books).
Throughout historic times sumptuary laws showed little to no effect. In most time periods clothing regulations worked against their intended prupose. In ancient times prostitutes where so high valued that nothing could stop them from earning respect and power. As a matter of fact, sumptuary laws often helped support the oldest profession of the world because the laws helped liberated women to got even more attention from potential customers. The use of bright colors had a positive effect, the hues were much better to recognize. It was always the same colors that regulate fashion of liberated women. Most of these restrictions where emphasizing woman’s attributes, and therefore helped the ancient olf business to flurish. Furthermore, due to the obvious paradox effect sumptuary laws had on social classes, one can conclude that these laws were created to paint the picture of a good moral world, when in fact such a world never existed. During the Renaissance sumptuary laws may have controlled the lower class street whore but never the life of an upper class cortigiana. Another attribute, worth mentioning is the trend that sumptuary laws have created. Many times, sumptuary laws required prostitutes to either dye their hair blond, or to wear a blond wig. People of both sexes have always been attracted to blond hair. It is interesting to see that the association of blonde hair with sexual allure has held over so many years, even today Blonds are being seen as seductive.

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Further readings:
Bullough, Vern L., and Bonnie Bullough. Women and Prostitution: a Social History. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1987. Print.
Faraone, Christopher A., and Laura McClure. Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 2006.
Griffin, Susan. The Book of the Courtesans: a Catalogue of Their Virtues. New York: Broadway, 2002. Print.
Killerby, Catherine Kovesi. Sumptuary Law in Italy 1200-1500. Oxford: Clarendon, 2002.Print.
"Passe the Younger, Crispijn De."Forum Rare Books|Home. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.
Pitman, Joanna. On Blondes. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003.Print.
Ringdal, Nils Johan. Love for Sale: a World History of Prostitution. New York: Grove, 2004. Print.
"Shoe of the Month Podcast: Chopine." Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. Mar. 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2010.