Turn of the Century Fashion United States

Double-breasted frock coat, unknown maker, 1871. Museum no. T.47-1947. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Men's Dress

By the early 19th century men'southward fashions had also undergone a radical change. The glaze still finished in long tails at the back simply was cut higher in front. The waist-length square-cut waistcoat showed beneath it. The lining of the shoulders and upper breast of the glaze was sometimes quilted to meliorate the fit. In the early on 19th century some dandies wore boned corsets to requite them a minor waist.

Gradually men adopted long trousers rather than knee breeches. Trousers became increasingly fashionable in the first quarter of the 19th century. At get-go they were only worn for day and informal clothes but by the 1820s they were acceptable for evening wear. Breeches connected to exist worn at court.

The tall lid from the late 18th century was yet worn and developed into the top hat which was worn for solar day and formal dress throughout the 19th century. Hair was carefully styled into a windswept look or worn short and curled.

During the second half of the 19th century men retained the white waistcoat and black tail-coat and trousers of the early 19th century for evening wear. For twenty-four hour period vesture they wore a frock coat with directly trousers, a short waistcoat and a shirt with a high stiff neckband. The single- or double-breasted frock coat fitted quite closely to the torso and had a waist seam. The skirts were direct and finished at mid-thigh or below. The front of the coat was square cutting. Hair was still styled simply by the late 19th century it was curt and cut close to the head. Many men had beards and moustaches.

Women'south Dress

As the 19th century progressed women's dress gradually revealed the actual class of the torso. In the 1820s and 1830s the waistline deepened, returning to its natural position. As the natural waist returned the bodice required a tighter fit and in contrast the skirt became fuller and bong-shaped. In that location were several dissimilar sleeve styles but brusque puffed sleeves were mostly worn for evening and long sleeves for day. Corsets continued to be worn. These were lightly boned and quilted, with a deep busk. Several layers of petticoats with frilled hems, sometimes of horsehair, were worn to support the full skirts. Some petticoats of the 1840s were feather-quilted. Later examples of the 1850s and 1860s were made of 'crin' and steel hoops. The term 'crinoline' is derived from the French word crin which ways horsehair.

This fashion plate from 'Ladies' magazine of 1801 shows the characteristic high waistline of the time. Museum no. East.249-1955. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Dress with a pattern that complements the shape created by the cage crinoline worn underneath information technology. Museum no. T.702-1913. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Bonnets or hats were worn outdoors and linen caps indoors. During the 1820s pilus styles became very elaborate with raised summit knots and the crowns of bonnets or hats were designed to accommodate them. By the middle of the century, by contrast, hairstyles had become smooth with a cardinal departing finished with ringlets on either side of the face and a modest bun at the dorsum or simply swept back from the face to a chignon (a mass of hair bundled on a pad at the back of the caput and held in place with a net or snood). Bonnets and hats continued to be worn until the 1860s when minor, elegant styles appeared which but perched on elevation of the head. Even smaller hats appeared in the 1870s when hairstyles rose in the form of elaborate chignons. In the 1880s and 1890s hairstyles remained `up' simply did not retain the heights or bulk of the 1870s styles. Small hats decorated with birds and feathers and artificial flowers were fashionable.

In the 1860s the brim was very full and worn over a cage crinoline, a petticoat supported by a frame of steel hoops that held it away from the legs. A boned corset was worn over a chemise. Large shawls were sometimes worn indoors or outdoors instead of a coat or cloak.

The 1870s to 1880s introduced styles that revealed the natural silhouette. A popular style was the `princess line' apparel, which was fabricated without a waist seam to reveal the figure. Skirts fitted tightly and required streamlined all-in-i underwear combinations. Corsets became longer and were more than rigidly boned. The busk, known as the spoon busk because of its shape, extended to the stomach. Sleeves were tight. In the 1880s a bustle pad, or a tier of stiffened horsehair or fabric frills, was introduced. Subsequently 1887-1888 the bustle went out of fashion. Pilus was curled on tiptop and taken into a bun at the back. Oft a ringlet was brought forrard over the shoulder as a finishing impact.

By the 1880s an elite group of women began to adopt simpler and easier styles that were known equally `artistic' apparel. Artistic wearing apparel was cut much more loosely than conventional attire and did not require restrictive corsetry to be worn.

During the concluding years of the 19th century information technology was stylish for women's hair to exist arranged on the top of the head in a bun and puffed out around the face. A large-brimmed hat would be fastened on with chapeau pins unless a simpler, smaller hat, such every bit the straw boater, was required for informal dress. The skirt was floor length with a slight train. The waist remained modest and a corset which either laced upwards or fastened with clips was generally worn. A small-scale pad was worn at the back of the waist to support the skirt. In the 1890s the tiptop of the sleeves were sometimes puffed into an enormous leg of mutton' shape which required lightweight stiffening or padding. The neckline for day wear was very high featuring a stand-up collar in a lightweight fabric which was boned or wired around the edge to hold it upward nether the chin. Women adopted a elementary and rather masculine-looking shirt, jacket and brim for day wear.

Towards the end of the 19th century the rate at which the stylish silhouette changed quickened. The increasing popularity of paper patterns and the growth of women'southward mode periodicals encouraged home dress-making during the second half of the 19th century. The withdrawal of the newspaper taxation in the middle of the 19th century had stimulated the growth of publications, particularly magazines aimed at women. It was during this period that magazines introduced paper patterns.

By the 20th century the stride of change in the stylish silhouette became ever more rapid equally the expanding style industry, in conjunction with the media, became more effective at stimulating demand for a constant menstruation of new styles.

Photograph of William Morris' daughter May wearing an artistic wearing apparel, Frederick Hollyer, 1884. Museum no. 7816-1938. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Corset, (front), 1883. Museum no T.84-1980. © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

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