Fashions in the early seventeenth century continued the trends of the previous century: men's doublets and women's bodices were worn tight and stiffened with rigid stays or padding; women's skirts were given full, rigid shapes with the help of farthingales, or hoops; and the garments of both sexes were laden with ornamentation, from jewelry to lace to the showiness of multiple contrasting fabrics.

Fashion in Europe in the 17th century can be divided into two styles of dressing – excessive and ornate dressing style of the Cavaliers who were a majority in England, France, Spain, and Italy and the simple yet elegant way of dressing style of the Roundheads and almost spartan way of dressing of Puritans of Protestant countries of England, Scotland, Germany, and Flanders.

M en wore a three-piece silk or wool suit (coat, or justaucorps, waistcoat, and breeches), which changed in details of cut and fit over the course of one hundred years; women wore a silk or cotton gown, generally open down the front but sometimes closed, over a matching petticoat that was an integral part of the ensemble.

The everyday dress of women was a short gown of durable material, with a full skirt over a homespun petticoat, covered by a long apron of white linen. The more stylish dress was longer and made of finer material.