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| Cantigas de Santa Maria |
"Your clothing should be pleasing and fine, cut to your figure. If you have no expensive cloth to make clothing, then have it cut nicely from something less than the best, so that it looks good and you appear well dressed. If you lack good clothing, you should accept this: but let your shoes and footwear, belt, purse, and knife be the finest you can have... Be very careful not to wear unkempt clothing, for anything torn is lovelier by far: one appears ill-bred when wearing unkempt clothes, but torn ones simply cannot be helped. It never takes great skill to make something lovely look nice, but one who knows how to wear well what is not lovely appears pleasing and courtly."
Amanieu de Sescás, Enssenhamen de l'escudier (Instruction for a Squire), c. 1280Stretch your fashion budget in a "distressed" tunic! The courtly look is all in the accessories.
This is still good advice. Keep yourself neat and tidy, even with old clothes you can have self-pride. Oh, and get the best shoes and purse you can afford! I like that.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent example of the transformation of the word "nice."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nice&allowed_in_frame=0