Nobilis Femina Francica

Engraving, part of 'Habitus variarum orbis gentium' (Costumes of the various peoples of the world), representing the costumes of men and women from various parts of the world, engraved after designs by Boissard and published by Rutz in 1581.

This engraving represents three French noblewomen. The first, on the left, wears a dress with open ruff collar and long puff sleeves with ruff wrists and trimmed with bows on the shoulders, and the outer skirt tied at the sides of the waist to lift the front part in order to reveal a long underskirt. The bustline is marked with strips of pearls. A necklace is around her neck, and she holds a pair of gloves in her right hand. Her hair is tied up and covered by a headdress with two horns on the sides and a veil on the back.

The second noblewoman, on the center, wears a dress with long, wide slit sleeves over long puff sleeves, trimmed with overlapping rows of teardrop shapes on the shoulders, and a long skirt, draped at the sides of the waist, and with fastenings made of double shuttle shapes down the front. She wears a short necklace with jeweled quatrefoils and pearls and a longer double-stranded necklace with shuttle shapes and pearls. Her hair is tied up and covered with a sort of hood, framed by the open ruff of her shirt.

On the right, the third noblewoman wears a sort of mantle with long puff sleeves trimmed with bows on the shoulders, over a long dress with train, made with a brocaded fabric with a floral pattern. The ruff of her shirt is partially covered by the 'tail' of her headdress, which covers the back of her head and most of her hair.