Abstract

VASCONCELOS, Rafaela. Women’s Clothing in Portugal and Goa in the 16th Century: A Comparative Study. Vista [online]. 2025, n.15, e025004.  Epub June 30, 2025. ISSN 2184-1284.  https://doi.org/10.21814/vista.6275.

This paper adopts a comparative approach to 16th-century sources concerning the perception of women through their clothing. It focuses on women in Portugal and Goa within the context of 16th-century Catholic society, using male-authored accounts. Understanding fashion as a marker of cultural belonging, this study examines how religious beliefs and practices influence women’s modes of dress. While Portugal maintained its Christian identity throughout this period, Goa - at the time of the Portuguese arrival - was home to a diversity of religious traditions, particularly Hinduism, which this study emphasises due to the greater availability of sources. As part of the broader Portuguese maritime expansion, Goa experienced processes of cultural exchange that shaped the roles and clothing of women in both territories. Foundational reference works include Fernando Oliveira (1993), who analyses the composition of various garments. However, due to the limited academic focus specifically on women's clothing in this context, the study also draws on recent academic theses, such as that of Pedro Castro Cruz (2023), which examines sumptuary dress across the early modern period. The research follows a historical methodology, using comparative analysis of previously studied documentary sources to pose new interpretative questions. Primary sources include the travel accounts of Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1596/1885a, 1596/1885b) and François Pyrard de Laval (1944), as well as the Leis Extravagantes (Extravagant Laws) compiled by Duarte Nunes de Leão (1569). This study is original in comparing female clothing at two geographic and cultural extremes of the Portuguese empire, as interpreted through male perspectives.

Keywords : fashion history and culture; Iberian colonial societies; gendered gaze; early modern period; religion.

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