A wee fashion exclusive – the first sketches of sumptuous 16th-century costumes designed for ladies, lairds and court servants. The designs follow extensive research into the clothes worn at the castle’s Renaissance court. The sketches are now being used to create fabulous period costumes for the staff who will chat to visitors when the refurbished royal palace opens next year. They will each take on the role of a character from the period and talk about that person’s experience of court life. Exactly who the characters will be has not been decided, but we have some possibilities in mind.

One costume is for an important lady, someone of the status of Janet Douglas, James V’s seamstress and wife of the poet Sir David Lindsay of the Mount. Lady Janet would have known everything that was going on at court and would have enjoyed open access to the royal apartments. The costume is a gown of satin and damask. There is gold embroidery on her kirtle (skirt) and the clothing is black – a very expensive colour in that period.

Another costume features a satin or velvet doublet and coat worn over a linen shirt and hose. This is the type of outfit worn by John Ross, the Laird of Craigy, Usher of the Inner Chamber Door. The usher had a vital role as he controlled access to the king or queen.

Finally, and rather lower down the pecking order, is an outfit which still includes a doublet and coat but this time they are made of wool rather than satin. This is the sort of apparel worn by someone like the assistant to the keeper of the king’s tapestries. He would have been very familiar with all the royal apartments, as he had to see to the hanging, cleaning and repair of the magnificent collection of tapestries. Unlike the others, his outfit was part of his uniform and would be paid for by the royal household.