Sumptuary laws were also enforced in many European countries during the Middle Ages, though they were no more effective than they had been in ancient civilizations. In France, Philip IV issued regulations regarding the dress and social lives of the different orders within his kingdom. Under later French kings the use of gold and silver embroidery, silk fabrics, and fine linen was restricted as well. In England, during the reign of Edward II, a proclamation was issued against the “outrageous and excessive multitude of meats and dishes which the great men of the Kingdom had used, and still used, in their castles.” In addition to the regulations regarding dress already being enforced, in 1336 Edward III tried to restrict merchants and servants from eating more than one meal per day (“Sumptuary law”). The first recorded use of standardized dress in education may have been in England in 1222, when the Archbishop of Canterbury declared that students wear a robe-like outfit called the "cappa clausa." The origin of the modern school uniform, however, can be traced to 16th Century England, when impoverished children attending the Christ's Hospital boarding school were assigned to wear blue cloaks and yellow stockings. In later centuries, school uniforms became associated with the upper class. At one of England's most prestigious schools, Eton, students were required to wear black top hats and tails both on and off campus. This rule was enforced until 1972, when the dress code finally became more relaxed (“School Uniforms”).
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