---
title: "Medieval Clothing"
description: "What people wore in medieval times: peasant clothes (wool, linen) vs noble clothes (silk, fur, bright colours); no zippers or buttons; how clothes showed your place in society"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-clothing-mt_R1xLS1c2Pg
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-clothing-mt_R1xLS1c2Pg.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Medieval Clothing

What people wore in medieval times: peasant clothes (wool, linen) vs noble clothes (silk, fur, bright colours); no zippers or buttons; how clothes showed your place in society

Subject: History · Area: Medieval Times · Ages 5 to 7
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-clothing-mt_R1xLS1c2Pg

## Ready when they can

- Describe what a medieval peasant would typically wear
- Explain how noble clothing was different from peasant clothing
- Give one way that what you wore showed your place in society

## Lesson: Medieval Clothes: Rich and Poor

Peasants wore simple clothes. They used wool and linen. Wool comes from sheep, and linen comes from a plant called flax. If you touched their clothes, they would feel rough and plain.

**Example.** Tom is a peasant boy. He puts on a wool tunic. It is brown and scratchy. He has no buttons, just a belt. The belt holds his tunic closed.

Nobles wore fancy clothes. They used silk and soft fur. Silk cost a lot because it came from far away. If you saw bright red or purple, you knew someone was rich.

**Example.** Lady Anne is a noble girl. She wears a silk gown. It is bright purple with soft fur trim. Purple dye was very costly to make. Only rich people could wear it.

*(drawing: Plain wool was cheap. Bright silk cost so much that only rich people could wear it.)*

**Tip.** Medieval clothes had no zippers. Buttons were new and cost a lot, so most people used laces, pins, and belts instead. You could look at someone's clothes. Then you could tell if they were rich or poor.

**Recap.** Peasants wore plain wool and linen. Nobles wore bright silk and soft fur.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Village Life](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/village-life-mt_PThM5P7Umd)

## Opens up

- [Medieval Pyramid of Power](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-pyramid-of-power-mt_bjlY5TE1y-)