Fashion Era From 1880-1890 - Research Paper Example

Fashion Era From 1880-1890 Introduction The late 19th century’s fashion is marked by bustle silhouettes. The first bustle silhouette prevailed from 1870 to 1875. The second bustle silhouette became popular from 1883 to 1890. The second bustle silhouette was introduced in 1880 in Paris, so it actually showed up in French fashion plates a while before people started wearing it. Aesthetic dresses evolved in the last two decades of the 19th century in the form of antithesis of the modern fashion. This paper discusses the fashion prevailing in 1880-1890. Influence of socioeconomic circumstances and movements on fashion The socioeconomic circumstances prevailing in the late 19th century particularly affected the way women dressed. People in the late 19th century generally felt frustrated with the social injustice and widespread corruption that was ascribed to the rigidity of Victorianism. This led to evolution of the ideas of reform, causing women to raise their concerns against the ridiculousness of the modern fashion that were inconsistent with the natural human figure. “Any costumes which impair or contradict the natural lines of the human frame are to be rejected as ugly, injurious, or both; for they are the abuse of dress, not its proper use” (Haweis 33). The famous writer Oscar Wilde was one of the frontline proponents of the movement of Aesthetic dress. Wilde commented upon the inconsistency between the fashion of the 1980s and the natural human figure in these words, “...all the most ungainly and uncomfortable articles of dress that fashion has ever in her folly prescribed, not the tight corset merely, but the farthingale, the vertugadin, the hoop, the crinoline, and that modern monstrosity the so-called "dress improver"[i.e.bustle] also, all of them have owed their origin to the same error- the error of not seeing that it is from the shoulders, and from the shoulders only, that all garments should be hung” (Wilde and Cooper). Women’s fashion in 1880-1890 A jutting out bustle style like a shelf surfaced in 1883. It emerged from Paris in 1880 and from there spread elsewhere. From 1883 onwards, the second bustle silhouette was worn with a narrower width at a lower placement. This new frame made the dresses worn over it look sturdier and constructed in such heavy fabrics as satin, wool, and velvet. Dark colors including navy blue, bottle green, black, and deep wine were commonly worn. Drapery on these dresses was more rigid and harder than the way it was during the 1870s. In the hard shape larger than before, this style gave women a silhouette similar to a horse’s hind legs. Below is the image of the 1883 second hard bustle style: 1883 Second Hard Bustle Style (Thomas). 1880-1890 was a time when people wore severely restrictive and tight corsetry under dresses with high necks, tight sleeves, and long boned bodices. This developed a very prudish and modest look at the surface so that one could easily notice the natural figure of a woman, which made this line very defining with respect to torso. Dresses weighed anywhere between 15 and 20 pounds (“1880 to 1890”). Women wore draped and layered skirts with trained backs and apron fronts. Both the trimming and the skirt had pleating on it. The new bustle dress’s look was different. Its drapery was minimal in comparison to the slimmer princess bodice that preceded it and had a much flatter front. The drapery was arranged tidily in the dress’s front like a small apron. It did not take long for even that drapery to disappear. Image below shows Georges Seurat’s La Grande Jatte from the Art Institute Chicago. It was a bustle fashion quite moulded with the body. Its corsetry was heavy and lent the silhouette the rigidity of armour. The pointed bodice gave a tailored look. In the year 1874, tailored garments were introduced. These tailored garments’ impact on the design was elusive. In the 1890s, it eventually led to the realization of the tailor made suits as fashionable. Sleeves were plain, close fitting, and slimmer in 1887. Georges Seurat’s La Grande Jatte (Thomas). Aesthetic dresses rejected the lavishly trimmed, brightly colored, and firmly corseted gowns that originated in the period of second bustle. Aesthetic dress did not have such dress improvers as petticoats and bustles and instead, boasted noncorseted and free-flowing gowns. Aesthetic dress made quality and simplicity in dress their motto. Men’s fashion in 1880-1890 Victorian Era also influenced men’s fashion in 1880s and 1890s. The Victorian Era that had been in charge of the society as well as fashion since 1830s started to wane in the 1890s. As the 20th century drew nearer, optimism and excitement could be felt. Men’s fashion also reflected a slight relaxation. Although men’s clothes had a fairly relaxed feel with respect to that time, yet they were still very formal as per the contemporary standards. The suits men wore at daytime in the 1890s would be suitable for the most formal occasions even today. Men wore either waistcoats or vests of different materials, prints, and colors. Pants with high waist were worn whereas the flat front was cut slim without pleats. Men mostly wore shades of grey and brown patterned with checks or stripes. Image below shows a couple from the 1890s: “Photograph of Couple, circa 1890” (“Unique Embellishments”). The Sack jacket was liked by men in the 1890s. Men in the Victorian Era dressed formally very often during the evening. They would be in full formal attire in the cultural events, dances, and dinners. Men wore tuxedos to dinners. Knee-length jackets and frock coats were commonly seen. Some men wore tail coats with long backs and short fronts. Men wore waistcoats beneath to hold their pocket watches. They covered their hands with white gloves at formal occasions. In cold weather, men wore long overcoats any time of the day. Men also commonly wore cummerbunds from 1893 onwards that was “A wide sash of colored silk or drill wound twice round the body by men in lieu of a waistcoat, and fastened on one side sometimes by ornamental buttons, or tucked in” (Cumming, Cunnington, and Cunnington 62). Image below shows the way American men dressed in 1880-1890. American men’s fashion in 1880-1890 (“Men's Fashion”). Children’s fashion in 1880-1890 The clothing of children from 1880s to 1890s was slightly different from the way it was in the 1870s. Boys and girls were similarly dressed in short dresses till they reached five years of age. Boys beyond that age wore knickers or short trousers whereas girls wore frocks like their mothers. The waistline of their dresses were beneath the natural waistline. The princess style dresses were gathered in the polonaise style or were belted at the waist. Boys over eight years of age wore the sporting suits with four buttons from the first bustle period. Young men wore the Norfolk suit that was a jacket with yolk front, a belt, and pleats. The Little Lord Fauntleroy suit was amongst the most popular styles of clothing for children in the 1880s. This suit derived its name from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book Little Lord Fauntleroy published in 1885. Aesthetic dress for children typically comprised a black velvet jacket, a wide lace collared white blouse, and knickers. This style of clothing was very famous in America between 1885 and 1920. Illustrator and writer Kate Greenaway was another literary figure that had much influence on the aesthetic dress movement of the children. The illustrations of Greenaway showed children in free flowing and loose fitting styles similar to the ones that prevailed in the early 19th century. Greenaway reincarnated bonnets, skeleton suits, and pantalettes in children clothing through her illustrations. One of Greenaway’s illustrations is shown below: “Greenaway Illustration from A Apple Pie, 1886” (Jarrett). Works Cited: “1880 to 1890.” Vintage Fashion Guild. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. . Cumming, Valerie; Cunnington, C. W.; and Cunnington, P. E. The Dictionary of Fashion History. Berg, 2010. Print. Haweis, Eliza J. The Art of Beauty and The Art of Dress. Garland Pub, 1978. Print. Jarrett, Susan. “History of Fashion and Dress.” Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. . “Men's Fashion - 1880s & 1890s.” n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. . Thomas, Pauline W. “Mid-Late Victorian Fashion and Costume History 1860-1901.” N.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. . “Unique Embellishments and Passementerie Through the Centuries: 17th Century Swag.” The Pragmatic Costumer. 17 May 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. . Wilde, Oscar, and Cooper, John. Oscar Wilde on Dress (ebook): Including –The Philosophy of Dress– by Oscar Wilde. CSM Press, 2013. Print. Read More