The seventeenth century

With the Restoration the wheel of fashion turned full circle. Released from the repressions of the Protectorship, people indulged in the wildest extravaganzas of dress. Every frippery and flummery found a place. At the same time dyeing achieved a new status through the publication, in 1662, of the first English book on the subject, sponsored by the newly created Royal Society. This recognition of a struggling craft was the first stage in a process of evolution out of which emerged the great dyeing industry.

Cromwellian England was a land of violent contrasts. The Protector ruled with sword in one hand, Bible in the other. The sumptuous fashions of the Cavaliers clashed with the simple dress of the Puritans, and this sectarianism also found expression in colour. The Cavaliers flaunted the gayest hues attainable, while the Puritans adopted dark and sombre shades. These were all laboriously produced from naturally occurring dyestuffs, most of which now have little more than museum interest.