Two great movements during these centuries had dramatic effects on the costume fashion. First was the crusades, which allowed those involved to be exposed to costumes of many lands. The crusader's exposure to costumes of the Eastern cultures resulted in the addition of very lavish detailing to Western culture.
The second movement was the beginning of the Gothic Architecture. The Hennin, a hat that was worn during the fifteenth century, was very popular and took various shapes. One of the most popular shapes was cone-like, a reflection of the spires on the Gothic Cathedrals. These were extreme times and the hennin was an example. To compete for status, women would lengthen their hennins until it was necessary for a servant to hold the hennin from behind with a pitch fork-like apparatus.
Finally, a law was passed that stated the length of a woman's hennin would be determined by the husband's profession. Also during this time, footwear was an issue. Woman donned chopines (sho-peez) shoes with thick soles that enabled them to keep their clothing above the dirty streets. Women competed with each other by requesting their chopine soles be built higher and higher until the shoes were so high that women could not walk without the help of a servant. The bliaud was a two piece dress with a fitted bodice very full skirt, long, full sleeves, and a low waistline. This was the common costume of women in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This particular garment was often adorned with fine lace and smocking. Men of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries wore tunics with cyclas (sik-las) on top. The cyclas were a tunic-like garment with deep armholes and side seams.