Changes in the shapes of breastplates in the 16th century Main Page Previous Page Next Page

The First Book of Fashion Page 170 Manuscript page 125 Verso	The First Book of Fashion Page 171 Manuscript page 12C Recto	Breastplate circa 1550-60 inv. num. A-158

The other common shape in the third quarter of the century hints toward the common shape that will follow. The central point has dropped down closer to the waist and the waist line has a consistent, pronounced dip at the center.

As a side note, the left image illustrates an uncommon style of face protection for a burgonet where the buffe is secured to the breastplate. The rectangular hole at the top of the breastplate on the right shows that it was originally designed in the same way.