Peascod belly

Charles, Archduke of Austria, wearing a peascod bellied doublet in 1569

A peascod belly is a type of exaggeratedly padded stomach that was very popular in men's dress in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The term is thought to have come from "peacock,"^[1] or from the form of contemporary plate armour.^[2] Sometimes it was called a 'goose belly.'^[3]

In the late 16th century the stomach of the doublet was padded to stick out,^[4] however, by 1625, the padding had become more evenly distributed over the chest area.^[5]

References

1. Tortora, Phyllis G.; Eubank, Keith (2005). Survey of Historic Costume (4th ed.). New York: Fairchild. p. 175.
2. Boucher, Francois (1987). 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H. N. Abrahams. p. 228.
3. Bradley, Carolyn G. (2001). Western world costume : an outline history (Dover ed.). Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. p. 174. ISBN 9780486419862.
4. Harvey, Sara M. (2008). "The Seventeenth Century". In Condra, Jill. The Greenwood encyclopedia of clothing through world history. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. p. 125. ISBN 9780313336645.
5. Harvey, Sara M. (2008). "The Northern Renaissance". In Condra, Jill. The Greenwood encyclopedia of clothing through world history. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780313336645.