Wait, What? She Wasn’t Allowed to Wear That?

What if the law told you what colour to wear, or how many rings you were allowed to have on your fingers. And no, they did not mean it for style, but to remind everyone where you stand in society. As wild as that sounds, it is exactly what women have dealt with for centuries. These were garment rules and power plays by men deciding what women should or should not wear. We are starting from one of the earliest known legal clothing restrictions targeted at women.

Lex Oppia (Ancient Rome, 215 BC)

So apparently, in Ancient Rome, they behaved as if women wearing too much gold were a bigger problem than war. This law banned women from wearing multi-coloured dresses or anything trimmed in purple. Women were restricted in how much gold they could possess, basically to make sure they didn’t get too comfortable showing wealth or, god forbid, their independence.

(Image credit - The Generosity of Roman Women, by Louis Gauffier, Wikimedia Commons)

Sumptuary Laws (Medieval Florence, 1415)

Florence in 1415 really said, "You can dress nice but only if you're rich enough." These laws straight-up restricted women from wearing fabrics like silk or velvet, or colours like gold and silver, unless you paid a special fee. Even the number of rings worn were monitored. And if a woman of "lower" status, forget it, she was not allowed to dress anything like the elite.

(Image credit - The fresco painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli of circa 1483–1486)

Tignon Law (Louisiana, 1786)

In 1786 Louisiana, under Spanish rule, free women of colour were legally forced to wear a scarf called a tignon to cover their hair. The law intended to mark social and racial status through dress and prevent free women of colour from appearing too visually indistinguishable from white women. It was a law built entirely on insecurity and a heartbreaking racial hierarchy. But here is the part they did not expect. These women took the tignon, decorated them, and wore them with pride.

(Image credit - Creole in a Red Headdress (c. 1840) by the French-born painter Jacques Amans)

Statute Concerning Diet and Apparel (England, 1363)

Medieval England did not want women getting ideas. So in 1363, Parliament passed a law that basically told people what to wear depending on their social class. And yes, women were specifically mentioned. If you weren't born into the right family, you were banned from wearing silk, gold, silver trims, and fancy fabrics. It even pulled wives and daughters under the same rules, tying their clothing to the man's status, just to be extra sure no one got ambitious. 

(Image credit - The Betrothal (c.1470), medieval European fashion reference)

The "Inappropriate" Bloomers Controversy (1800s)

Ah yes, bloomers. Introduced by women’s rights activist Amelia Bloomer, they were simply loose trousers meant to give women comfort. There were no official bans, but they created enough outrage to feel like one. They were radical because they challenged gender norms and allowed women to wear something that looked like men’s trousers. Some men, of course, called them "unwomanly" because how dare a woman wear pants and walk as if she belongs.

Across time, women have resisted in the best way they could. These laws may have changed form, but the need to question who controls what women wear has never gone away. The social judgment and double standards still exist, and that's exactly why remembering this history matters, because women are still expected to justify what they wear.