Breeches: one detail from the Retable (Calvary), Jorge Afonso's workshop, and another from Genealogy of the Virgin, by Gregório Lopes, 16th century AD

In 16th-century Portugal, men all wore breeches (close-fitting leggings running to the knee) beneath all the other garments, but the quality, fit and appearance of these varied in accordance with wealth.

Clothing was conditioned by social position, and specific laws existed defining who could or could not use certain fabrics and accessories.

The common people sewed their own clothing with rude wool and linen of Portuguese production, and normally used plain or dark colours, as seen on the figure of a man giving alms to beggars in the panel showing the Genealogy of the Virgin.

The breeches of the rich courtiers from the Calvary panel, by contrast, are of fine and colourful fabrics ornamented with imported silk fringes and tassels.