And here is the second part of my 19th century fashion overview from a couple years ago! I’m scheduled to be induced starting tomorrow evening, so please be praying all goes well!
Originally posted June 2023:
See? I told you I’d come back to it! I know how you’ve been waiting with bated breath, so I’ll start right up where I left off:
Super Quick Overview Part 2
1850ish – 1860ish
- Huge skirts with multiple petticoats, eventually replaced by cage crinolines (hoopskirts)
- Bright colors and silk favored
- Natural waistline
- High necklines during the day with pagoda sleeves, bare neck and shoulders in the evenings
- Shawls, shorter-brimmed bonnets, heeled boots
1860ish – 1870ish
- Circular dress shape slowly moved to pyramid shape as the double skirt began moving toward the back to form the bustle
- Contrasting colors
- Hats replaced bonnets
- Looped up dresses showed off colored petticoats until walking dresses became shorter
- Waistline inched upward
1870ish – 1880ish
- The bustle appears, sometimes placed high, and sometimes low, as skirts begin tying back tighter and tighter
- apron-like front skirt
- Long bodices, often over hips
- Woolen materials more popular
- Narrow sleeve
- Closer to the last years of the decade, the bustle collapsed into the princess line dress, with long, vertical tucks and slim profile, the bulk of material below the hips or knees
- Coats and Jackets
- Everything heavily trimmed
1880ish – 1890ish
This was an interesting decade. Through my three main resources, information seemed relatively inconsistent, and I also had a difficult time tracking down 80s fashion plates. To me, that means that the fashions ebbed and flowed, depending on the year and the person wearing the costume. Indeed, one of my resources even quotes someone as saying “never were fashions so erratic”. However, below I’ve tried to sum it up as accurately as I have been able to make it out. (and anyone with more expertise who comes along is welcome to comment!)
- Bustle slimmed until near mid-century, at which time it grew until some compared it to a shelf, before dropping again late in the decade
- Tight, narrow sleeves
- tucked overskirts, with hem off the ground
- Front of the skirt loosened as decade progressed
- Mantles and Jackets
1890ish – 1900ish
I’ve opted to show you two images for this decade because styles changed so drastically by the end.
- The bustle entirely disappeared by 1892 (for those among my resources that thought it as still around)
- Bell-shaped skirts
- Shirtwaist style bodice
- Gigot sleeves until late, then collapsed to shoulder puff and tight down arm
- Hourglass figure for the first part of decade, then moved to S shape
- Later in decade, style decidedly moved to soft outlines, long, trailing, and clingy with loose bodices
- Bicycling popular
- THE GIBSON GIRL
And there you have it! 19th century women’s fashion in a two bites! Want to know what I’m going to cover next month? Yeah, so do I.
References
19th century | Fashion History Timeline. “19th Century | Fashion History Timeline,” n.d. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/category/19th-century/.
Peacock, John. Costume 1066 to the Present 3e: A Complete Guide to English Costume Design and History, 2006.
Cunnington, C. Willett. English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century: A Comprehensive Guide with 1,117 Illustrations. Dover Fashion and Costumes Ser., 1991.
“Https://Tessa.Lapl.Org/C03,” n.d. https://tessa.lapl.org/c03.
Wearable History – 1880 Trends. “Wearable History – 1880 Trends,” n.d. https://wearablehistory.org/1880trends.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Costume Institute Fashion Plates,” n.d. https://www3.metmuseum.org/art/libraries-and-research-centers/watson-digital-collections/costume-institute-collections/costume-institute-fashion-plates.
Forest Idylls 