broidered material decked with a trellis-work of braid ornamented with beads, the wide band in front being set with precious stones, which again
THE HOUPPELANDE.
took the form of a heart as they rested upon the forehead. The women of the middle classes wore cloth caps and bands of material twisted round the head, with wings on either side.
Early in the fifteenth century the scolloped sleeves were introduced, and the dresses were cut in one in front, and separated at the back with a sort of basque.
To France we owe the houppelande worn alike by men and women, and seemingly obsessed by the virtue of comfort. It bears close kinship to the dressing-gown of to-day, and had at its best a battlemented border outlined by some contrasting stuff or trimming. It developed various extravagances of decorations and breadth, but you may see it well shown in its earliest form in the picture on this page.
At the end of the fifteenth century the dresses,
