“Vivid new differences between male and female dress characterize the first developments of true fashion, and are emphasized by the artists of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Male fashion is based on the brilliant bodily articulations of plate armor (left), while female fashion exaggerates the enveloping skirt below with a very small tight bodice above. Men now have flowing curly hair and visibly shapely legs, feet and genitals; women cover the hair and have no visible shape below the waist, but they expose the neck and chest.” –Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits
(Images via Wikimedia)
#mediaviewer/File:Theodora_mosaik_ravenna.jpg){kind=link}