1870s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing A feature of nearly all human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the elements. Clothes enhance safety during activity by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Clothing also is characterized by a gradual return to a narrow silhouette after the full-skirted fashions of the 1850s 1850s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by an increase in the width of women's skirts supported by crinolines or hoops, and the beginnings of dress reform and 1860s 1860s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by extremely full-skirted women's fashions relying on crinolines and hoops and the emergence of "alternative fashions" under the influence of the Artistic Dress movement.

Contents

Women's fashions

Overview

Day dress of the later 1870s Countess Brownlow in artistic dress, 1879 [1].

By 1870, fullness in the skirt A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs had moved to the rear, where elaborately draped overskirts were held in place by tapes and supported by a bustle. This fashion required an underskirt, which was heavily trimmed Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as gimp, passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament with pleats, flounces, rouching, and frills. This fashion was short-lived (though the bustle would return again in the mid-1880s Fashion in the 1880s in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by the return of the bustle. The long, lean line of the 1870s was replaced by a full, curvy silhouette with gradually widening shoulders. Fashionable waists were low and tiny below a full, low bust supported by a corset. The Rational Dress Society was founded in 188), and was succeeded by a tight-fitting silhouette with fullness as low as the knees: the cuirass bodice In common usage, bodice refers to an upper garment that has removable sleeves or no sleeves, often low-cut, worn in Europe from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, either over a corset or in lieu of one. To achieve a fashionable shape and support the bust, the bodice was frequently stiffened with bents , or whalebone. The bodice was, a form-fitting, long-waisted, boned bodice that reached below the hips, and the princess sheath dress. Sleeves were very tight fitting. Square necklines were common.

Daytime dresses had high necklines that were either closed, squared, or V-shaped. Sleeves of day dresses were narrow throughout the period, with a tendency to flare slightly at the wrist early on. Women often draped overskirts to produce an apronlike effect from the front.

Evening dresses had low necklines and very short, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and were worn with short (later mid-length) gloves A "glove" is a type of garment which covers the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes. Other characteristic fashions included a velvet Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinct feel ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of flexible material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, which most commonly includes silk, are often used in connection with dress, but also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes; cultures around the world use this tied high around the neck and trailing behind for evening (the origin of the modern choker A choker is a close-fitting necklace, worn high on the neck. This type of jewellery can consist of one or more bands circling the neck. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, beads, metal and leather. They may or may not be adorned with sequins, studs or some kind of pendant and usually have a basic gothic theme necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery which is worn around the neck. Necklaces are frequently formed from a metal jewellery chain, often attached to a locket or pendant. Necklaces can also be manufactured with cloth, and they sometimes contain rocks , wood, and/or shells with different shapes and sizes).

Tea gowns and artistic dress

Under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The three founders were soon joined by William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner to form a seven member "brotherhood" and other artistic reformers, the "anti-fashion" for Artistic dress The Artistic Dress movement and its successor, Aesthetic Dress, were fashion trends in nineteenth century clothing that rejected the highly structured and heavily trimmed Paris fashion of the day in favour of beautiful materials and simplicity of design with its "medieval The Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christianity in the Reformation, the rise of humanism in the Italian" details and uncorseted lines continued through the 1870s. Newly fashionable tea gowns Every one knows that a tea-gown is a hybrid between a wrapper and a ball dress. It has always a train and usually long flowing sleeves; is made of rather gorgeous materials and goes on easily, and its chief use is not for wear at the tea-table so much as for dinner alone with one's family, an informal fashion for entertaining at home, combined Pre-Raphaelite influences with the loose sack-back styles of the eighteenth century The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system [2].

Leisure Dress

Leisure dress was becoming an important part of a women's wardrobe. Seaside dress [3] in England had its own distinct characteristics but still followed the regular fashions of the day. Seaside dress was seen as more daring, frivolous, eccentric, and brighter. Even though the bustle was extremely cumbersome, it was still a part of seaside fashion.

Hairstyles and headgear

In keeping with the vertical emphasis, hair Hair is a protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class. Although was pulled back at the sides and worn in a high knot or cluster of ringlets, often with a fringe (bangs) over the forehead. False hair was commonly used. Bonnets were smaller to allow for the elaborately piled hairstyles and resembled hats A hat is a head covering. It may be worn for protection against the elements, for religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status. In the military, they denote rank and regiment except for their ribbons tied under the chin. Smallish hats, some with veils A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space, were perched on top of the head, and brimmed straw hats were worn for outdoor wear in summer.

Style gallery 1870-74

1 - 1870

2 - 1870

3 - 1871

4 - 1872-3

5 - 1874

6 - c. 1874

7 - 1874

8 - 1874

9 - 1873
  1. Walking dress of 1870 has a tiered and ruffled skirt back.
  2. 1870 fashion plate shows jacket-bodices with draped and trimmed skirts in back. Ruffles and pleated frills are characteristic trimmings of the 1870s.
  3. French day dress of 1871 features a narrow red ribbon at the low neckline and a large matching bow with streamers at the back waist.
  4. Artistic dress of the early 1870s. Portrait of Mrs. Frances Leyland by Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger for a tail. The symbol was apt, for it.
  5. Jennie Jerome Lady Randolph Churchill, CI, DStJ (January 9, 1854 – June 9, 1921), born Jennie Jerome, was the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill and the mother of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill photographed in 1874, the year of her marriage to Lord Randolph Churchill. She wears a newly-fashionable bodice tailored like a man's jacket (the forerunner of the cuirasse bodice). Her tall hat-like bonnet has a pouf of veiling, and she carries a muff.
  6. Outdoor dresses of 1874 feature overskirts caught up with buckled ribbons. Jacket-bodices (very like the one worn by Jennie Jerome) have cuffs and high necklines. Small straw hats with flat crowns and long ribbons (similar to men's boaters) are worn tipped forward.
  7. Backview of a gown of 1874 shows the draping of the overskirt and the slight train on the underskirt. France.
  8. Gown of 1874 with draped overskirt and ruffled underskirt.Overskirtes are a thing of the pst

Style gallery 1874-79

1 - 1874-76

2 - 1875-6

3 - c.1875

4 - c.1877

5 - 1878

6 - 1878

7-1876
  1. Tight gowns with long trains of the mid-1870s are trimmed with pleated ruffles, bows, buttons, and braid, and are worn with hats with ribbon streamers.
  2. French evening gown is festooned with flowers and is worn with mid-length white gloves and a black neck ribbon. The high-knotted hairstyle is typical of the mid-1870s.
  3. Day dress of c. 1875 has a trailing overskirt and is trimmed with a profusion of ruffles and ribbons. Hair is braided into a crown high on the head.
  4. Semi-sheer gowns of c. 1877 show back fullness beginning at hip-level rather than the waist as in 1874-5. The tight, princess-line dress on the right fits smoothly to the body from the shoulders to the lower hips.
  5. Evening gown of 1878 has a long train and a squared neckline. It is worn with opera-length gloves.
  6. Jacket and skirt costume of 1878 features a long train trimmed with pleated frills and ruching. Matching ruching trims the cuffs of the sleeves.
  7. Wedding gown of 1876 features a train.

Caricature gallery

1 - late 1870s

2 - 1871

3 - 1876

4 - 1878
  1. Cartoon "Veto" by George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British author and cartoonist from Punch, satirizing the tight dress styles of the late 1870's.
  2. An extreme class contrast: "Young lady of fashion, 1871" vs. "London Dairywoman".
  3. From the Danish Punch, satirizing the general fashion in 1876
  4. Cartoon by George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British author and cartoonist from Punch, May 25th 1878, satirizing both impractical women's fashions and men's formal military uniforms.

Men's fashion

Paris fashion of 1878 features a coat with a contrasting collar, a waistcoat decorated with a watch chain, wide Ascot tie, square-toed shoes, and a top hat. Canadian legislator John Charles Rykert wears a narrow ribbon necktie and a collarless waistcoat. His coat has wide lapels. 1873.

Innovations in men's fashion of the 1870s included the acceptance of patterned or figured fabrics for shirts A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become in American English a catch-all term for almost any upper-body garment other than outerwear such as sweaters or coats, or undergarments such as bras. The term "top" is sometimes used in ladieswear. In British English, a shirt and the general replacement of neckties The necktie is a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders, resting nowadays under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Men and boys wear neckties as part of regular office attire or formal wear. Neckties can also be worn as part of a uniform (e.g. military, tied in bow knots with the four-in-hand and later the Ascot tie An ascot tie, or ascot, is a narrow neckband with wide pointed wings, traditionally made of pale gray patterned silk. This wide, formal tie is usually patterned, folded over, and fastened with a stickpin or tie tack. It is usually reserved for wear with morning dress for formal daytime weddings and worn with a cutaway morning coat and striped grey.

Coats and trousers

Frock coats A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features unusual in post-Victorian dress. These include the remained fashionable, but new shorter versions arose, distinguished from the sack coat by a waist seam. Waistcoats A waistcoat , sometimes called a vest or a vestee in Canada and the US, is a sleeveless upper-body garment worn over a dress shirt and necktie (if applicable) and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear, and as the third piece of the three-piece male business suit. Once a virtually mandatory article of men's clothing, it has become (U.S. vests) were generally cut straight across the front and had collars and lapels, but collarless waistcoats were also worn.

Three-piece suits consisting of a high-buttoned sack coat with matching waistcoat and trousers Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and the United States. Additional synonyms include slacks, kegs or kex, breeches (sometimes pronounced /ˈbrɪtʃɨz/) or, called ditto suits or (UK) lounge suits, grew in popularity; the sack coat might be cutaway so that only the top button could be fastened.

The cutaway morning coat A tailcoat is a coat with the front of the skirt cut away, so as to leave only the rear section of the skirt, known as the tails. The historical reason coats were cut this way was to make it easier for the wearer to ride a horse, but over the years tailcoats of varying types have evolved into forms of formal dress for both day and evening wear was still worn for informal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere. Frock coats A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features unusual in post-Victorian dress. These include the were required for more formal daytime dress. Formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers. The coat now fastened lower on the chest and had wider lapels. A new fashion was a dark rather than white waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with the new winged collar.

Full-length trousers Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately . Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants in countries such as Canada, South Africa and the United States. Additional synonyms include slacks, kegs or kex, breeches (sometimes pronounced /ˈbrɪtʃɨz/) or were worn for most occasions; tweed or woollen breeches were worn for hunting and hiking.

Topcoats had wide lapels and deep cuffs, and often featured contrasting velvet collars. Furlined full-length overcoats An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment. Overcoats usually extend below the knee, but are sometimes mistakenly referred to as topcoats, which are short coats that end at or above the knees. Topcoats and overcoats together are known as outercoats. Unlike overcoats, topcoats are usually made from lighter were luxury items in the coldest climates.

Shirts and neckties

The points of high upstanding shirt collars In clothing, a collar is the part of a shirt, dress, coat or blouse that fastens around or frames the neck. A collar may also be a separate or detachable accessory worn around the neck were increasingly pressed into "wings".

Necktie fashions included the four-in-hand and, toward the end of the decade, the Ascot tie, a tie with wide wings and a narrow neckband, fastened with a jewel or stickpin. Ties knotted in a bow remained a conservative fashion, and a white bowtie was required with formal evening wear.

A narrow ribbon tie was an alternative for tropical climates, and was increasingly worn elsewhere, especially in the Americas.

Accessories

Top hats Top Hat is a 1935 screwball musical comedy in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) to win her affection. The film also features Eric Blore as Hardwick's valet Bates, Erik Rhodes as Alberto remained a requirement for upper class formal wear; bowlers The bowler hat was devised in 1849 by the London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfil an order placed by the firm of hatters Lock & Co. of St. James's, a company established in 1676 which is still in business. Lock & Co. had been commissioned by a customer to design a close-fitting, low-crowned hat to protect his gamekeepers' and soft felt hats in a variety of shapes were worn for more casual occasions, and flat straw boaters were worn for yachting and other nautical pastimes.

Style gallery

1 - 1870s

2 - 1872

3- 1872

4 - 1875

5 - 1876

6 - 1879

7 - 1879

8 - 1879

9 - 1870's

10-1870s
  1. 1870s photo of President Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the 19th President of the United States (1877–1881). Hayes was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed election of 1876. Losing the popular vote to his opponent, Samuel Tilden, Hayes was the only president whose election was decided by a. His coat and shawl-collared vest or waistcoat have covered buttons. Note functional buttonholes all the way up his coat lapel.
  2. Gentleman in a railway carriage wears a dust-colored coat, trousers, and collar-less waistcoat with a dark red necktie. He wears a fur-lined overcoat and tan gloves. Britain, 1872.
  3. Plate from The Gazette of Fashion shows a fur-lined overcoat (left) and double-breasted topcoat (right) with braid trim and decorative topstitching, 1872. Checked trousers were quite fashionable.
  4. Photographer Mathew Brady wears a coat with braid trim on the collar and lapels over a matching waistcoat. His turned-down collar is worn over a four-in-hand necktie. 1875.
  5. Major-General The Hon. James MacDonald is drawn by James Tissot in a slightly fitted, double-breasted In clothing, double-breasted refers to a coat, jacket, or similar garment having a very wide overlapping of the front flaps, and two parallel columns of buttons or snaps; . In most double-breasted coats, one column of buttons is decorative, the other functional; yet only the buttons at the overlap’s outer edge fasten the two flaps (layers) topcoat with a diagonally positioned breast pocket and a contrasting collar. His shirt collar is pressed into flat wings and is worn with a wide, dark tie. He wears a top hat and gloves. 1876.
  6. 1879 photo of American lawman Bat Masterson William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a figure of the American Old West known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, U.S. Marshal, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph. He was the brother of lawmen James Masterson and Ed Masterson wearing a three-piece suit and a bowler hat The bowler hat was devised in 1849 by the London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfil an order placed by the firm of hatters Lock & Co. of St. James's, a company established in 1676 which is still in business. Lock & Co. had been commissioned by a customer to design a close-fitting, low-crowned hat to protect his gamekeepers'. His cutaway sack coat has a high front closure and is worn buttoned only at the top, over a vest or waistcoat cut straight across at the waist and decorated with a prominent watch chain.
  7. Vanity Fair sketch of 1879 shows Sir Albert Abdallah David Sassoon in "morning dress" (formal daywear): grey trousers, dark cutaway coat, white waistcoat, wing-collared shirt and dark tie.
  8. British statesman William Gladstone wears conservative clothing; his tall collar is still upstanding, and he wears his tie in a bow knot. 1879.

Necktie gallery

1873 portraits of members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario illustrate the variety of fashionable neckwear (and facial hair).

Children's fashion

Infants continued to be dressed in flowing gowns, a style that continued into the early twentieth century. Gender dress changes often did not occur until a child was five or six; however, in the later decades gender dress came much sooner. Girls' ages could be depicted often based on the length of their skirt. As the girls got older, they wore longer skirts. A four year old would wear her skirt at knee length; ten to twelve at mid-calf; and by sixteen, the girls dress would be ankle length. The age of a boy could often be decided based on the length and type of trouser or how similar the attire was to that of a man’s. Boys often dressed similar to adult males, as they too wore blazers and Norfolk jackets.

Much influence on the styles of children's dress came from artist Kate Greenaway Kate Greenaway (London, 17 March 1846 – 6 November 1901) was a children's book illustrator and writer. Her first book, Under The Window (1879), a collection of simple, perfectly idyllic verses concerning children who endlessly gathered posies, untouched by the Industrial Revolution, was a best-seller, an illustrator of children’s books. She strongly influenced styles of young girls' dress, as she often showed girls dressed in empire styles in her books. The idea of children’s dress being taken from books is also found is styles such as the Little Lord Fauntleroy suit which was worn by the hero of a children’s book.

1870 fashion plate

Summer dress with sash, 1872-73

Two year old William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was a Canadian lawyer, economist, university professor, civil servant, journalist, and politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921, to June 28, 1926; September 25, 1926, to August 6, 1930; and October 23, 1935, to November 15, 1948. With over 21 years in the office, he, c. 1876

Alexandra Kitchin, 1876

See also

References

  1. ^ For commentary on the clothes in this portrait, see Jane Ashelford, The Art of Dress
  2. ^ At Home at Tea Time: Tea Gowns for Distinction and Comfort, 1870-1920, Kent State University Museum Exhibit, April to August 1997, Anne Bissonnette, Curator
  3. ^ The Girls in Green: Women's Seaside Dress in England, 1850-1900, Deirdre Murphy, The Costume Society, Vol. 40, 2006

External links

History of Western fashion The history of Western fashion is the story of the changing fashions in clothing for men and women in Western Europe and other countries under its influence from the 12th century to the present
Ancient Ancient World in General The clothing used in the ancient world strongly reflects the technologies that these peoples mastered. Archaeology plays a significant role in documenting this aspect of ancient life, for fabric fibres, and leathers sometimes are well-preserved through time. In many cultures the clothing worn was indicative to the social status achieved by various · Roman Clothing in ancient Rome generally consisted of the toga, the tunic, the stola, brooches for these, and breeches
Medieval Byzantine Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. The Byzantines liked colour and pattern, and made and exported very richly patterned cloth, woven and embroidered for the upper classes, and resist-dyed and printed for the lower. A different border or trimming round the edges was very · Early Medieval · Anglo-Saxon · 12th century · 13th century · 14th century
Renaissance and Reformation 15th century · 1500-1550 · 1550-1600 · 1600-1650 · 1650-1700
Enlightenment to Regency 1700-1750 · 1750-1795 · 1795-1820 · 1820s
Victorian 1830s · 1840s · 1850s · 1860s · 1870s · 1880s · 1890s
Edwardian 1900s · 1910s
Between the World Wars 1920s · 1930-1945
Cold War 1945-1960 · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s
Contemporary 1990s · 2000s

Categories: 1870s | History of clothing (Western fashion)

 

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Info on Girls Fashion of 1870s!?!?
Q. I need to do a report that includes information on girls clothing in 1876. ive searched for many sites but couldn't find anything please help!
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A. Victorian clothing? it's extremely interesting.
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