Fashion in the 1880s in European Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and 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 A corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes . Both men and women are known to wear corsets, though women are more common wearers. The Rational Dress Society was founded in 1881 Year 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar) in reaction to the extremes of fashionable corsetry.

Contents

Women's fashion

The fashionable corseted figure of 1883. Hair is swept up to the top of the head, and the front hair is frizzled over the forehead. Princess-line walking dress (left) and hunting costume (right) from La Mode Illstrée, 1880. Summer dresses of 1882 show Aesthetic influence in the small-scale floral prints. The straw hat frames the fashionable frizzled hair. Front and back views of a traveling coat, c. 1880-81 Portrait of an Irish couple in 1880. The woman is wearing a dress with a tight-fitting 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 which is buttoned up to the high collar. The man wears a bow-tie

Overview

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, commonly known as Madame X, in this Sargent portrait, painted in 1884

As in the previous decade, emphasis remained on the back of the skirt, with fullness gradually rising from behind the knees to just below the waist. The fullness over the buttocks was balanced by a fuller, lower bosom, achieved by rigid corseting, creating an S-shaped silhouette.

Skirts were looped, draped, or tied up in various ways, and worn over matching or contrasting underskirts. The polonaise A polonaise is a woman's garment of the later 1770s and 1780s or a similar revival style of the 1880s, consisting of a gown with a fitted bodice and cutaway, draped and poufed overskirt, worn over an underskirt or petticoat was a revival style based on a fashion of the 1780s, with a fitted, cutaway overdress caught up and draped over an underskirt. Long, jacket-like fitted bodices called basques A basque is an item of women's historical apparel. The term, of French origin, can mean either a long corset or jacket characterised by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistline over the hips. Probably so called because this fashion of dress came from the Basques, and adopted by the French and then the English were also popular for daywear.

Evening gowns were sleeveless and low-necked (except for matrons), and were worn with long over the elbow or shoulder length gloves of fine kid leather or suede.

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 necklaces 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 and jewelled collars were fashionable under the influence of Alexandra, Princess of Wales Alexandra of Denmark was queen consort to Edward VII of the United Kingdom during her husband's reign, 1901 to 1910, who wore this fashion to disguise a scar on her neck.

Bodices were very tight fitted as a result of darts and princess seams.In the early 1800’s dropped waists were common; creating a very long torso. Most ended in a point just below the waist. Collars that were very high and banded were very popular. These types of collars were called “officers collars’.-Landis1234

Underwear

The bustle returned to fashion and reached its greatest proportions ca. 1886-1888, extending almost straight out from the back waist to support a profusion of drapery, frills, swags, and ribbons. The fashionable corset created a low, full bust with little separation of the breasts.

The usual undergarment Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by perspiration, urine, semen, feces, shape the body and provide support for parts of it. When the weather is cold, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Some undergarments are intended for was a combination, a camisole Nowadays, a camisole or cami is a loose-fitting sleeveless woman's undergarment which covers the top part of the body but is shorter than a chemise. A camisole normally extends to the waist but is sometimes cropped to expose the midriff, or extended to cover the entire pelvic region. Camisoles are manufactured from light materials, commonly cotton- with attached knee- or calf-length drawers, worn under the corset, bustle, and petticoat. Woolen combinations were recommended for health, especially when engaging in fashionable sports such as riding or tennis.

Outerwear

Riding habits had become a "uniform" of matching jacket and skirt worn with a high-collared shirt or chemisette, with a top hat 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 and veil. They were worn without bustles, but the cut of the jacket followed the silhouette of the day.

In contrast, hunting costumes were far more fashionably styled, with draped ankle-length skirts worn with boots or gaiters Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and lower pant leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats. Gaiters used in equestrian riding are known as riding-gaiters.[citation needed].

Tailored Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers, and similar garments, usually of wool, linen, or silk costumes consisting of a long jacket and skirt were worn for travel or walking; these were worn with the bustle and a small hat or bonnet. Travelers wore long coats like dusters The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback. At the turn of the 20th century, both men and women wore dusters to protect their clothes when riding in open motorcars on to protect their clothes from dirt, rain, and soot.

Aesthetic dress

Artistic or Aesthetic 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 remained an undercurrent in Bohemian circles throughout the 1880s. In reaction to the heavy drapery and rigid corseting of mainstream Paris fashion, aesthetic dress focused on beautiful fabrics made up simply, sometimes loosely fitted or with a belt at the waist. Aesthetic ideas influenced the tea gown 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, a frothy confection increasingly worn in the home, even to receive visitors.

Hairstyles and headgear

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 usually pulled back at the sides and worn in a low knot or cluster of ringlets; later hair was swept up to the top of the head. Fringe or bangs remained fashionable throughout the decade, usually curled or frizzled over the forehead.

Bonnets 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; both had curvy brims.

Style gallery 1880-1884

1 - 1880

2 - 1881

3 - c. 1882

4 - 1882

5 - 1882

6 - 1883

7 - 1883

8 - 1884
  1. Leona Barel of New Orleans wears a long, fitted jacket with three-quarter-length striped sleeves over a matching striped skirt. A nosegay of flowers is pinned at her waist, c.1880.
  2. A rather impracticable-looking tennis costume.
  3. Georgiana Burne-Jones wears a princess-line gown trimmed with ruched panels and ruffles, c. 1882
  4. August 1882 fashion plate shows the return of the bustle: the tight overdress is looped up behind.
  5. Whistler's Portrait of Lady Meux (1881-1882) shows the fashionable full bosom.
  6. Misses' Polonaise has fitted bodice with a low point in front. The front of the skirt is cutaway and the back is looped up after the fashion of 1780s. It is shown over a gored skirt with ruffles. Throughout the century, younger teenage girls ("misses" in fashion plates) wore their skirts just above their ankles.
  7. Bathing dresses of 1883 show fashionable rear fullness.
  8. The Empress of Austria in a riding habit, 1884. Her habit has the fashionable corseted silhouette, with a simpler skirt suited for riding, tall shirt collar, and top hat.

Style gallery 1885-1889

Fashionably dressed Cuban couple, 1888: the woman's hair is worn up with bangs, and she wears a bustle and brooch, while her husband wears a cravat The cravat is a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie. From the end of the 16th century, the term "band" applied to any long-strip neckcloth that was not a "ruff." The ruff, a starched, pleated white linen strip, started its fashion career earlier in the 16th century as a neckcloth , as a bib, or.

1 - c. 1885

2 - 1885

3 - 1886

4 - 1887

5 - 1887

6 - 1888

7 - 1888

8 - 1889
  1. Mid-1880s fashion plate shows the "back shelf" bustle. The gown is draped up at both sides and worn over a matching underskirt.
  2. Madame Paul Poirson wears the fashionable neckline of mid-decade, wide at the bust and narrower at the shoulder. Flowers trim her bodice, hair, and draped skirt, 1885.
  3. Outfit which is both strongly influenced by menswear and bustled. Hair is upswept, with bangs. Elbow-length gloves meet the shorter sleeves.
  4. Hairstyle of 1887 is swept up into a knot, with the front hair curled and frizzled over the forehead.
  5. Fashions from La Mode Illustrée show gowns made of contrasting fabrics worn with "shelf" bustles and opera-length gloves, 1887.
  6. Fashions of 1888 feature full busts, large "shelf" bustles, and wide shoulders. Gloves reach the elbow or slightly above.
  7. Eleanora Iselin wears a high-necked black satin costume trimmed with beaded passementerie Passementerie or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings, 1888.
  8. Vicomtesse De Montmorand wears an evening gown fastened in back, without a bustle, signalling the styles of the next decade. Her hair is twisted into a small knot on top of her head and is worn with a curly fringe or bangs, 1889.

Atypical high-fashion

1 - second half of decade

2 - 1887
  1. The 1880s idea of practical women's attire is seen in this poster showing Annie Oakley Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar wearing shorter skirts and a complete lack of a bustle (acceptable for poorer rural frontier women and/or paid public performers).
  2. Japanese print showing two young ladies dressed according to the latest Western fashions of time — except that the colors and designs of the fabrics are to Japanese tastes.

Men's fashion

Vanity Fair sketch of John Delacouur shows the formal evening dress of 1885.

Coats, jackets, and trousers

Three piece suits, "ditto suits", consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat 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. vest) 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 in the UK a "lounge suit") continued as an informal alternative to the contrasting frock coat 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, waistcoat and trousers.

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 formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with a dress shirt and an 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. The most formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar.

In mid-decade, a more relaxed formal coat appeared: the dinner jacket Black tie is a dress code for semi-formal evening events, and is worn to many types of social functions. For a man, the major component is a jacket, known as a dinner jacket , smoking (France) or tuxedo (Canada and the U.S.), which is usually black but is also seen in midnight blue. A woman's corresponding evening dress ranges from a conservative or tuxedo Black tie is a dress code for semi-formal evening events, and is worn to many types of social functions. For a man, the major component is a jacket, known as a dinner jacket , smoking (France) or tuxedo (Canada and the U.S.), which is usually black but is also seen in midnight blue. A woman's corresponding evening dress ranges from a conservative, which featured a shawl collar with silk or satin facings, and one or two buttons. Dinner jackets were appropriate when "dressing for dinner" at home or at a men's club.

The Norfolk jacket was popular for shooting and rugged outdoor pursuits. It was made of sturdy tweed or similar fabric and featured paired box pleats over the chest and back, with a fabric belt.

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 other outdoor pursuits.

Knee-length topcoats, often with contrasting velvet or fur collars, and calf-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 worn in winter.

By the 1880s the majority of the working class, even shepherds adopted jackets and waistcoats in fustian and corduroy with corduroy trousers, giving up their smock frocks.

Shirts and neckties

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 turned over or pressed into "wings". Dress shirts had stiff fronts, sometimes decorated with shirt studs Shirt studs are small, usually metal objects used to fasten the front of pleated or stiff-front shirts in lieu of buttons. They often have inlays of pearl, onyx or similar materials. While originally both daywear and eveningwear, they are now only worn with formal evening dress, and buttoned up the back.

The usual necktie 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, was the four-in-hand and or the newly fashionable 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, made up as a neckband with wide wings attached and worn with a stickpin.

Narrow ribbon ties were tied in a bow, and white bowtie was correct with formal evening wear.

Accessories

As in the 1870s, 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.

Shoes A shoe is an item of footwear evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself. The foot contains more bones than any other single part of the body, and has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in relation to vastly varied terrain and climatic conditions. Together with the proprioceptive of the 1880s had higher heels and a narrow toe.

Style gallery

1 - c.1880

2 - c.1880

3 - 1881

4 - 1881

5 - 1882

6 - After 1882
  1. British traveler wears a grey frock coat and matching trousers with a grey top hat, 1880. The coat has two covered buttons at the back waist.
  2. Painter John Singer Sargent wears a formally pleated 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. His shirt collar has softly curled wings, c. 1880.
  3. Hermann von Helmholtz wears a dark coat, waistcoat, and trousers with a stiff-fronted and stiff-collared shirt, German, 1881.
  4. Theodor Mommsen wears a narrow necktie tied in a bow with his dark suit, German, 1881.
  5. Vanity Fair sketch of agricultural scientist John Bennet Lawes Sir John Bennet Lawes, 1st Baronet FRS was an English entrepreneur and agricultural scientist. He founded an experimental farm at Rothamsted, where he developed a superphosphate that would mark the beginnings of the chemical fertilizer industry portrays him in walking clothes. His coat with a waist seam and skirts cutaway in a smooth curve is worn with matching trousers and collared waistcoat, 1882.
  6. George Etiene Cartier wears a dark frock coat, a decorative double-breasted waistcoat and, and a narrow bow tie. Montreal, after 1882.

Children's fashion

Young girls wore dresses with round collars and sashes. Fashionable dresses had dropped waists. Pinafores Pinafores may be worn by girls as a decorative garment and by both girls and women as a protective apron. A related term is pinafore dress, which is British English for what in American English is known as a jumper dress, i.e. a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a top or blouse. A key difference between a pinafore and a jumper dress is were worn for work and play. When going out, especially in the winter, girls wore lots of layers to keep warm. A warm coat was worn with kid leather gloves. A muff hand warmer was worn over the gloves, so when the girl removed her hands her gloves would keep them warm. Just like ladies, all upper-class Victorian girls wore gloves when going out. A hat or bonnet was worn as well, along with long, knee-length button-up boots or shorter boots with gaitors to give the appearance of wearing long boots.

Older boys wore knee-length breeches and jackets with round-collared shirts.

France, 1881

1882

1882

Paris, 1883

France, 1885

1885-1886

Bustled fashions for girls. 1886

Boy 5 years old in skirt. 1887

Bustled fashions for girls. 1887

1887

Russia, 1888

See also

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References

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
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Categories: 1880s | 1880s fashion

 

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