A classic cardinal with excellent detail on the mozzetta and buttons. I like this design: three buttons on top, with pairs running down the front. Looks like watered silk, or moiree. Also note that no shirt is visible beneath the mozetta. The early Italian shirts were generally worn much lower on the neckline.

The arms of the rochetta fall in horizontal folds. This is particularly common in the earlier portraits. Pleating or pressing is my guess. The biretta, which developed from a three-cornered lay person's hat, has this rounded shape in these early portraits. Rings on first and third fingers.

This is a very luxurious mozzetta: longer and fuller than the others. I was fortunate enough to have seen this painting in person. From what I could tell, the horizontal seam line is actually a decorative pleat. Again, the rochetta arms fall in horizontal folds. A great collection of rings worn on the first, third and pinky fingers.

Not a typical Cardinal portrait, but good for comparison to the more formal costumes. He has on at least two layers, as evidenced by the black cuffs under the red gown. He wears a very rounded biretta, and a thumb ring. And at last, we have a view of the girdle. This was another item in the cardinal's wardrobe which functioned as a belt: it gathered in the cassock's excess fabric and/or train.

The rare side and back view. Nice image of the pointed, tiny hood. Notice no horizontal seam lines on the back of the mozzetta. It also seems to be pieced as there are small diagonal seams across the arm. There's a slit or side opening, on the rochetta. Here are details of this one.

Titian did several portraits of his friend Bembo. This one was the inspiration for Aaron's Cardinal costume. Interestingly, I found more paintings of Bembo than any other cardinal from the era. Here are detail images of this painting, and the next several are portraits of him as well.

In the mid-16th century, the corners of the hat are more pronounced. The hat itself seems to have more structure (probably a stiffer base). The rochetta arms, in this case, are not pleated, but gather into cuffs. What I believe can be seen at the neckline is the collar of the shirt.

Nice view of the tiny red hood. The white collar is probably the shirt or the rochetta. No hat is worn for this portrait, which is rare.

The fabric of this Cardinal costume is more elaborate than any I've seen, even from later eras. It's lighter, pink or rose colored, and has a whirly pattern or texture. He wears a ring on the third finger.

Giulio di Antonio Bonasone, between 1531 and 1574: Pietro Bembo

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California

Another great illustration of the tiny hood. No hat. And what an impressive beard.

During this era, the linen rochetta falls quite far past the knees, probably to mid-calf. His hood is lined with a much lighter fabric, a nice contrast. He wears a large ring on the first finger.

Sebastiano del Piombo, 1545-46: Portrait of Cardinal Reginald Pole

Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia

An English cardinal. This rochetta is extremely full: the fabric is barely contained by the chair. The garment is very finely pleated, as are the arms. Good view of the layers at the wrist: there is a small ruffle on the bottom layer, presumably on the shirt's cuff, then the cassock's cuff, then the rochetta. Large red rings on the first fingers.