Mantle (clothing)

“ The modern French form manteau is used in English chiefly as a dressmaker’s term for a woman’s mantle. “Mantua,” much used in the 18th century for a similar garment, is probably a corruption of manteau, due to silk or other materials coming from the Italian town of that name, and known by the trade name of “mantuas.” The Spanish mantilla is a covering for the head and shoulders of white or black lace or other material, the characteristic head-dress of women in southern and central Spain. ”

“ The men are much tattooed, their only clothing being a piece of native cloth round their loins, but the women wear a petticoat and a mantle over the shoulder. This cloth is made of the fibre of a sort of mulberry tree—not woven, but beaten into a consistency of paper. When torn the rent is mended by beating on a fresh piece. ”

“ In the south, under the sunshine, dress is for the greater part of the year only needed for decency and beauty. The flowing and delicate cottons and silks and fine woollens, are shaped to cover and adorn the beautiful forms, which for entire isolation take refuge in the never-failing mantle. The mantle was the great opportunity for the embroiderer’s craft. ”

“ Many garments were parti-coloured, i.e., one side was one colour and the other side of another colour. It is interesting to note that black came into use as a mourning colour during the fourteenth century. A mantle was worn by men over the côti-hardi, reaching to the ankles and fastened on the right shoulder by several buttons, while the hood was fastened to the mantle. In this reign the chausses were made like trunk hose, and fitted tightly to the limbs. Pointed shoes were worn, and a curious form of hat with turned-up brim and tall feathers was introduced. ”

“ It is a pathetic custom of the race not to show upon their costumes the slightest hint of color. Over a short black skirt they wear a sort of mantle, which resembles in its appearance, as well as in its use, the manta that is worn by the ladies of Peru, and the mantilla of Spain. It is drawn over their foreheads and across their chins, and pinned between the shoulders. This sombre costume gives them a nun-like appearance, which is heightened by the stealthy, silent way in which they dart through the streets. ”

“ The appearance of the hood is very graceful. When the mantle is worn in walking in private grounds, or going to a place of amusement, the hair can be arranged in any style, without danger of being disturbed, or with a bonnet. ”

“ At length, however, she took a turn for the better; and the first thing she did was to beg the king to allow her to wear grown-up dresses, and to put on the mantle which in those days meant that a young lady had 'come out.' Her interest in her new clothes did as much to cure her as the medical treatment of the time, which was so severe that it was a miracle that anyone ever lived through it; and as soon as she could stand she ordered her maids to dress her hair high over a cushion, and to put on her gown of white silk heavy with embroidery, and the much coveted purple velvet mantle. ”

“ Inscrutable and steadfast in regard, with a hint of mockery and cynicism, coupled with an abiding alertness, they seemed to penetrate the very core of matter.
He wore a black mantle reaching almost to his feet. Of his features, shaded by a hood, little was to be seen, save his glittering minx-eyes. These he kept alternately fixed upon the crowds that surged around him and on his companion, a hunchback garbed entirely in black, from the Spanish hat, which he wore slouched over his face, to the black hose and sandals that encased his feet. ”

“ Her vestments were rich, and highly ornamented with pearls and diamonds. She wore a light snowy mantle made of swan skins, on which a portion of the fleecy down remained. Beneath, the dress was composed of skins of the finest finish, descending midway between her knees and ankles, where it was met by the tops of the buckskin moccasins, that confined her small and delicately-formed feet. ”

“ The hands, which are bare, are joined on the breast in a devotional attitude. Over the gown or super-tunic is worn the mantle, fastened together in front of the breast by a large and rich lozenge-shaped morse, raised in high relief. The mantle, of a buff colour, is covered all over with rondeaux or roundels connected together by small bands, whilst in the intermediate spaces are fleur de lis: all these are of raised work, and deserve minute examination. ”

“ An opportunity was afforded, while in camp, to see some specimens of their tailoring or mantua-making achievements;—either term is appropriate, as the male and female dress do not differ in form, and but slightly in the mode of adjustment. The mantle or blanket is worn around the shoulders; those of the women are fastened together by the corners under the chin with a stick for a pin; the men hold theirs around them with their hands, except that when hunting they tie a string around the waist. ”

“ The Manufacture of Mantles from Artificial Silk. —Whilst the fabrics made by the various processes outlined above are more expensive than the cotton and ramie formerly exclusively used in the mantle industry, they have the advantage, in addition to the fact that they produce better and more lasting mantles, that they do not need the laborious and troublesome process of washing which is so essential in the case of the vegetable fibres. From the nature of the methods used in its manufacture, artificial silk can contain no mineral residue; hence the fabric is immediately ready for impregnation. ”

“ A pair of stays made of merely a strip of crimson velvet on a gold ground, and fastened at the sides with silver buckles and buttons, and a mantle of exceedingly fine woollen stuff, very long and very large, in which she wraps herself, and with one corner of it covers her head. ”

“ Would, at least, that either painter or mirror could convey to us some faint idea of a garment already noticed in this legend—the Lady Eleanore’s embroidered mantle, which the gossips whispered was invested with magic properties, so as to lend a new and untried grace to her figure each time that she put it on! Idle fancy as it is, this mysterious mantle has thrown an awe around my image of her, partly from its fabled virtues and partly because it was the handiwork of a dying woman, and perchance owed the fantastic grace of its conception to the delirium of approaching death. ”

“ The rest of the costume of these figures is equally characteristic of the thirteenth century; the loose robe confined at the waist by a narrow strap and buckle, and falling so low as to envelope the feet entirely in its folds, the mantle kept in its place by a narrow strap crossing the breast and held in the left hand, the square cushion under the head, are all fashions observable in the monuments of that period. ”

“ A terrible shape, seven feet high at the very least, the face rather that of a wild beast than of a man; the strong, stubbly beard, the connected eyebrows, the flat nose, the broad projecting lips and the huge shapeless muscles, which run along the broad shoulders and the thick arms, indicate enormous brute strength. The whole shape is terrifying. Nevertheless, gorgeous garments make this sinister apparition a splendid one. His mantle is lined with orient pearls and embroidered with gold ”

“ They wear their hair, which is almost invariably black, or a very dark brown, long on their necks, sometimes loose, and sometimes in long braids; though the married women often do it up on a high comb. Their only protection against the sun and weather is a large mantle, which they put over their heads, drawing it close around their faces when they go out of doors. ”

“ We notice with what art the painter has arranged the draperies. From the right shoulder the garment falls in delicate, radiating folds across the figure. Over the garment is thrown a stiff, rose-colored brocade mantle, contrasting pleasantly with the former both in color and texture. ”

“ Instead of breeches and boots a man occasionally wears a pair of pantaloons or tight-fitting trousers terminating in shoes such as are worn by the women. Over the usual dress is worn in very cold weather a circular mantle of deerskin, fastened by a thong at the neck—such mantles are nowadays occasionally made of blankets—and in rainy weather both sexes wear the hooded rain frock of seal gut. ”

“ For out-of-door costume, silks of light texture, and hues accordant with those of surrounding nature, such as peach, lilac, violet, buff, green, pink, &c., are in vogue. Mantelets are much worn, and are of two different forms—the scarf mantelet, and the little round shawl mantelet. ”

“ During life, this shelly plate is imbedded in the substance of the skin of the back, a thin layer of which clothes it; so thin that it can be very readily seen and felt notwithstanding. The mantle is much developed, forming two great irregular wing-like lobes, which stand up on each side of the body, and at pleasure either arch over the gill-shield, or are depressed, and widely expose it. ”

“ Although so careless about protecting their bodies against the rigour of the weather, it was nevertheless evident that they were keenly sensible to the cold; for they were frequently to be seen with their teeth chattering, and trembling from head to foot, as the rain, wind, and spray swept over their unprotected skins. The women generally have a large skin mantle, which they wear with the hair turned outwards. ”

“ Ramie thus seemed likely to yield a cheap competitor in length of endurance to the collodion mantle, and results have justified this expectation. By treating the fibre so as to remove the objections against its use for mantle-making, and then making it into threads with the least possible amount of twist, a mantle fabric can be made in every way superior to that given by cotton. ”

“ The veil and all-enveloping mantle maintain a profound reserve, so that whether the wearer be old or young, slender or stout, attractive or repulsive, remains for ever an impenetrable mystery. Before quitting the seclusion of the Andaran, the Persian woman assumes an effective disguise. First she draws on a pair of dark green or grey trousers, one leg at a time, for there is no connection between the two, and these are fastened at the waist by a belt. ”

“ A partly draped female figure is seated upon a rock, her head turned away and resting upon her left hand, the left elbow being supported upon her right thigh. A black mantle is draped across one knee, and contrasts strongly with the flesh and a white garment which is spread upon the rock. In the background is suggested a tree trunk and a mass of foliage, and the figure is in strong effect of light from the upper right. ”

“ Notwithstanding by a Draught of the Officers in their ancient Dress, it is plainly demonstrable to be a Mantle, somewhat of a Russel colour, Faced with a Pane of blue, whereon is Embroidred a Flower-de-luce Crowned Gold, then another Pane red, thereon a Lyon Passant gardant Crowned Gold, and so they are alternately placed to the bottom ”

“ Beaded shoulder-straps and epaulettes are worn as well as ornaments at the back, and sometimes beaded braces round the join of the sleeve in the small mantles, and a strip of the same may be used to outline the seam at the back. These hints may help some of my readers to do up a last year’s mantle with some of the moderate priced bead trimmings now in vogue. Paletôts or cloaks are made both long and medium in length. They are made in plush, cloth, and rough cloths, but are not seen in the finer fancy stuffs which are made use of for mantles and jackets. ”

“ Sometimes they are printed in a bold decorative pattern, formal and conventional. Neutral and half tints at times mix in a bewildering wealth of hue, till the eye is at a loss to know whether the ground be green or pink or purple. The border may be a plain hem-stitch or a two-inch broad piece of gold brocade, sumptuously woven in the acanthus pattern or in the shape of birds and flowers. But in the draping of the mantle, so simple in cut yet of such infinite variety, consists the highest art and the true expression of personality. ”

“ Mantle. A flowing robe worn over the armour, as shown in the costume of the knights in the ivory mirror-case. (Fig. 463.)
Mantling or Lambrequin. A small mantle, of some rich materials, attached to the helmet, and worn hanging down, and ending in tassels. (See Fig. 177.) It is usually represented, in Heraldry, with jagged ends, to represent the cuts it would be exposed to in actual battle. ”

“ When travelling the mantle is secured at the waist by a broad belt ornamented with blue beads, and silver or brass studs. The boots worn by the women are similar to those described, with the exception that in their preparation the hair is left on the hide, while it is carefully removed from those of the men. The children are dressed in small mantles, but are more frequently allowed to run about naked up to the age of six or eight; their little boots are made from the skin taken from the fore-legs of the guanaco, softened- 163 - in the hand. ”

“ But since you have asked the reason why it should seem more decorous to appear before princes without one’s mantle than to wear it, it might be a more than sufficient answer to say that it is the custom wherever well-bred men appear in the presence of mighty lords to come without a mantle, and that whoever is ignorant of that custom is there called a churl. ”