(FASHION SOURCE BOOKS)
pg19
C O L O R S
Colors tended to the bright and cheery for the young, especially red,
bright green, and blue, while rich russets, brown, and black were worn by
the older generation. The popularity of red, green, blue, and gold—the
colors of heraldry—is not surprising, given the importance of heraldry in
society at large. It was also the origin of the craze for particolored
clothing—the two halves of a tunic or hose in contrasting colors—which
recalled the painted lozenges on the surcoats of crusading knights.
However, colors depended on the availability of dyes, and while many of
the plant-based ones were freely available, some—such as saffron for
yellow and the crushed shells of seasnails for purple—were prohibitively
expensive. Colors are a minefield for the costumer, and it goes almost
without saying that characters should always be dressed according to
their status.
pg45
D Y E I N G F O R C O L O R
Medieval dyeing was done in rudimentary fashion in pots over an
open fire, so subtlety of color was difficult to achieve. Bright primary
shades were much easier to produce, which explains why medieval
illustrations often show working people wearing brightly colored
clothing. Browns, grays, solid blacks, and pastels—much more difficult
to achieve—were the province of the aristocracy. Most dyes were made
from plants growing freely in the countryside or garden, such as
madder (red) and woad (indigo), and were accessible to all classes,
although the very poor left their homespun “natural.”
This book has more (almost too much) info on colours (specifically black) in Medieval times but it's quite a read so I'll give a summary.
(but if you're bored, click above and have a read, there's some really interesting stuff hidden in there)
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