I attended this fascinating workshop on the basis that in a time of hand sewing, Tudor garments had developed from Medieval principles. Pictures from both periods show layering against temperatures which look colder than 21st century Britain. Clothes were secured with pins, laces and brooches instead of zips. For hundreds of years, ladies’ underwear was a voluminous smock, gathered at the wrists. This was the one garment which could be easily laundered, and it was also worn to bed. Lady Mary’s smock protected her skin from the laces and bones of her stays, which kept her straight-backed and pushed her breathing into her upper chest.
There is no evidence of Tudor or Medieval stays. What looks uncomfortable is the weight of wool and linen layers hanging from the shoulders and waist secured with cord or ribbon. Stockings were gartered with the same. Keeping the whole ensemble from slipping must have meant moving carefully.
Moreover, an anchoress would have had a coif and veil for modesty - and to reduce heat loss from her scalp. She would also have worn a robe – fur lined if she had a generous patron. Managing all this as she knelt, rose and prostrated herself must have intensified her desire to be free of the material world.