 German shirts and chemises were decorated with wide bands of gold trim at the neckline, which was uniformly low early in the period and grew higher by midcentury.Silk brocades and velvets in bold floral patterns based on pomegranate and thistle or artichoke motifs remained fashionable for those who could afford them, although they were often restricted to kirtles, undersleeves and doublets revealed beneath gowns of solid-coloured fabrics or monochromatic figured silks.Yellow and red were fashionable colours.