Contents: Preface; Introduction: signs of self definition: textiles in Henry VIII's England; Part I Sumptuary Legislation and the Tudor Social Structure: Costly array: the Henrician sumptuary laws; The body politic: the Tudor social structure. Part II Cloth and Clothing: Production: the English textile and clothing trades; Consumption: material choices; Rich apparel: clothing and accessories; Livery: symbol of royal, noble and military service. Part III Living Within the Law: the Landed Hierarchy: Defining the House of Tudor: the king and his family; The nobility: dukes, earls, marquesses and lords; The gentry; knights, esquires and gentlemen; The middling and lower sort: yeomen, husbandmen and labourers. Part IV Living Beyond the Law: the Exceptions: Women: wives and spinsters, vowesses and widows; The ecclesiastical elite: cardinals, archbishops and bishops; The parish clergy: priests, parsons, curates and chantry priests; Living by the rule: the regular clergy; Entertainers: players of interludes and minstrels; The secular professions; academics, lawyers and doctors; The urban elite: civic livery and the mercantile community; Conclusion: the Acts of Apparel: clothing choices and social definition; Documents; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.