De civilitate morum puerilium libellus

Transition from different matters.

In short, we have spoken of the body; now, briefly of dress, because clothing is in a way the body of the body, and from it one may also conjecture the state of the mind. Although a fixed rule cannot be prescribed here, because not everyone's fortune or dignity is equal, nor are the same things considered decorous or indecorous among all nations, and finally, because the same things do not please or displease all ages. Whence, as in many other matters, so here too, something must be attributed, according to the proverb, to νόμω καὶ χώρα custom and place, and also to καιρῶ opportune time, which the wise command us to serve.

Dress that is or is not becoming.

Yet in these varieties, there is that which is by itself honest or otherwise, such as that which has no use for which the garment is prepared. To drag long trains is mocked in women and disapproved in men; whether it becomes Cardinals and Bishops, I leave to others to judge.

Luxurious finery.

Luxurious finery has never not been considered a disgrace both to men and women, since this is the other use of clothing, that it may cover those things which...