Paris fashion, 1883-85.

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 1881 in reaction to the extremes of fashionable corsetry. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Bustle apparatus (1881) For other uses, see Bustle (disambiguation). ... Bustles and elaborate drapery on evening dresses of the early 1870s: Detail of Too Early by Tissot, 1873 1870s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by a gradual return to a narrow silhouette after the full-skirted fashions of the 1850s and 1860s. ... A luxury hourglass corset from 1878. ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) 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). ...

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.

Front and back views of a traveling coat, c. 1880-81

Overview

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 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 were also popular for daywear. Robe à la Polonaise, French, 1770s Misses Polonaise Costume, from Buttericks Delineator for September 1883. ... Basque is a term for an item of womens apparel, referring either to a long corset or jacket characterised by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistline over the hips. ...

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 necklaces and jewelled collars were fashionable under the influence of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, who wore this fashion to disguise a scar on her neck. A choker is a tight fitting necklace, worn high on the neck. ... For other senses of this word, see necklace (disambiguation). ... Sir Thomas More wearing the Collar of Esses as Lord Chancellor, by Hans Holbein the Younger (1527). ... This page is about the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom. ...

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. Bustle apparatus (1881) For other uses, see Bustle (disambiguation). ...

The usual undergarment was a combination, a camisole 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. A pair of mens briefs Undergarments, also called underwear or sometimes intimate clothing, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. ... A camisole or cami is a womans undergarment which covers the top part of the body. ...

Outerwear

Riding habits had become a "uniform" of matching jacket and skirt worn with a high-collared shirt or chemisette, with a top hat and veil. They were worn without bustles, but the cut of the jacket followed the silhouette of the day. Riding habits of the 1830s A riding habit is womens clothing for horseback riding. ... Chemissettes from Godeys Ladys Book 1850. ... Duke Ellington wearing a top hat. ...

In contrast, hunting costumes were far more fashionably styled, with draped ankle-length skirts worn with boots or gaiters. For other uses, see Gaiter (disambiguation). ...

Tailored 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 to protect their clothes from dirt, rain, and soot. A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... In My Merry Oldsmobile songbook featuring intrepid automobilists wearing dusters A duster is a light, loose-fitting coat. ...

Aesthetic dress

Artistic or Aesthetic dress 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, a frothy confection increasingly worn in the home, even to receive visitors. Jane Morris (The Blue Silk Dress) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. ... A tea gown or tea-gown is a womans at-home dress of the late 19th to mid-20th centuries characterized by unstructured lines, light fabrics, and frothy or feminine detail. ...

Hairstyles and headgear

Hair was usally 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. This article is about the body feature. ... Bangs Bangs or fringe in hairstyling is the front part of the hair cut to hang or curl over a persons forehead. ...

Bonnets resembled hats except for their ribbons tied under the chin; both had curvy brims. A bonnet the name of different types of headwear for men and women. ... A hat is an item of clothing which is worn on the head; a kind of headgear. ...

Style gallery 1880-1884

1 - 1880	2 - 1881	3 - 1882	4 - 1882
5 - 1882 Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1256x2625, 243 KB) Description: Title: de: Nocturne in Rosa und Grau, Porträt der Lady Meux Technique: de: Öl auf Leinwand Dimensions: de: 193,7 × 93 cm Country of origin: de: USA und Großbritanien Current location (city): de: New York...	6 - 1883	7 - 1883	8 - 1884 Image File history File links Elizabeth_of_Austrua_Habit. ...

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. Summer dresses of 1882 show Aesthetic influence in the small-scale floral prints and high neckbands with white ruffles at neck and wrist. The straw hat has a high front brim to frame the fashionable frizzled hair.
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.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1256x2625, 243 KB) Description: Title: de: Nocturne in Rosa und Grau, Porträt der Lady Meux Technique: de: Öl auf Leinwand Dimensions: de: 193,7 × 93 cm Country of origin: de: USA und Großbritanien Current location (city): de: New York... Image File history File links Elizabeth_of_Austrua_Habit. ... Riding habits of the 1830s A riding habit is womens clothing for horseback riding. ...

Style gallery 1885-1889

1 - c. 1885 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 259 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (352 × 813 pixel, file size: 401 KB, MIME type: image/png) Lady wearing a bustled dress. ...	2 - 1885	3 - 1886	4 - 1887
5 - 1887	5 - 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, 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.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 259 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (352 × 813 pixel, file size: 401 KB, MIME type: image/png) Lady wearing a bustled dress. ... Passementerie of applied gold cord and embroidery worn by Henry VIII of England (detail of a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. ... Bangs Bangs or fringe in hairstyling is the front part of the hair cut to hang or curl over a persons forehead. ...

Atypical high-fashion

1 - second half of decade Image File history File links Miss-Annie-Oakley-peerless-wing-shot. ...

2 - 1887 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (622 × 931 pixel, file size: 419 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 1887 Japanese print depicting two young ladies dressed according to the latest Western fashions of time (with bustles) -- except that the colors and designs of the...

1. The 1880s idea of practical women's attire is seen in this poster showing Annie Oakley 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.

Image File history File links Miss-Annie-Oakley-peerless-wing-shot. ... This article is about the sharpshooter. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (622 × 931 pixel, file size: 419 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) 1887 Japanese print depicting two young ladies dressed according to the latest Western fashions of time (with bustles) -- except that the colors and designs of the...

Men's fashion

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

Coats, jackets, and trousers

Three piece suits consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat (U.S. vest) and trousers (called in the UK a "lounge suit") continued as an informal alternative to the contrasting frock coat, waistcoat and trousers. A traditional waistcoat, to be worn with a two-piece suit or separate jacket and trousers A waistcoat (sometimes called a vest 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... Germanic trousers of the 4th century found in the Thorsberg moor, Germany Early use of trousers in France: a sans-culotte by Louis-Léopold Boilly. ... Formal black frock coat with silk-faced lapels, light grey waistcoat, striped trousers, button boots, gloves, ascot-knotted cravate, and necktie pin; April 1904. ...

The cutaway morning coat was still worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with a dress shirt and an ascot tie. 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. Two men wearing formal morning dress at a wedding in 1929. ... http://www. ... Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Commonwealth Prime Ministers, in the 1950s. ...

In mid-decade, a more relaxed formal coat appeared: the dinner jacket or tuxedo, 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. Black tie, known in the United Kingdom (and also in the north-eastern United States, and Canada) as a dinner jacket and in the United States generally as a tuxedo, is a dress code for formal evening events that are not formal enough to require white tie. ... Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and U.S. President Ronald Reagan wearing black tie with wives in Quebec, Canada, March 18, 1985. ...

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. Norfolk jackets A Norfolk jacket is a loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the back (and sometimes front), now with a belt or half-belt. ...

Full-length trousers were worn for most occasions; tweed or woollen breeches were worn for hunting and other outdoor pursuits. Germanic trousers of the 4th century found in the Thorsberg moor, Germany Early use of trousers in France: a sans-culotte by Louis-Léopold Boilly. ...

Knee-length topcoats, often with contrasting velvet or fur collars, and calf-length overcoats were worn in winter. A topcoat is: An overcoat The guard hairs of an animal; a conformation point in the hobby of animal fancy. ... Overcoat (left) and top coat (right) from The Gazette of Fashion, 1872. ...

By the 1880's 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 were turned over or pressed into "wings". Dress shirts had stiff fronts, sometimes decorated with shirt studs, and buttoned up the back. William Shakespeare in a sheer linen collar of the early 17th century, a direct ancestor of the modern shirt collar. ... Shirt studs are small, usually metal objects used to fasten the front of pleated or stiff-front shirts in lieu of buttons. ...

The usual necktie was the four-in-hand and or the newly fashionable Ascot tie, made up as a neckband with wide wings attached and worn with a stickpin. For the grappling position, see double collar tie. ... http://www. ...

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

Accessories

As in the 1870s, top hats remained a requirement for upper class formal wear; bowlers 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. Duke Ellington wearing a top hat. ... The bowler hat is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown created for Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, in 1850. ... Straw boater A boater is a kind of hat associated with sailing and boating. ...

Shoes of the 1880s had higher heels and a narrow toe. For other uses, see Shoe (disambiguation). ...

Style gallery

1 - c.1880	2 - c.1880	3 - 1881	4 - 1881 Image File history File links Size of this preview: 417 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (531 × 764 pixel, file size: 96 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ludwig Knaus: Portrait Theodor Mommsen, 1881 Nationalgalerie Berlin, A I 315 العربية | Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Indonesian | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski...
5 - 1882 Image File history File links Download high resolution version (798x1332, 436 KB) Caricature of John Bennet Lawes (1814–1900), English entrepeneur and agricultural scientist, from Vanity Fair, 8 July 1882. ...	6 - After 1882 Image File history File links George_etiene_cartier. ...

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. 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 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.

http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 417 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (531 × 764 pixel, file size: 96 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Ludwig Knaus: Portrait Theodor Mommsen, 1881 Nationalgalerie Berlin, A I 315 العربية | Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Indonesian | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (798x1332, 436 KB) Caricature of John Bennet Lawes (1814–1900), English entrepeneur and agricultural scientist, from Vanity Fair, 8 July 1882. ... Caricature from Vanity Fair, 8 July 1882 Sir John Bennet Lawes, 1st Baronet FRS (December 28, 1814–August 31, 1900) was an English entrepreneur and agricultural scientist. ... Image File history File links George_etiene_cartier. ...

Children's fashion

Young girls wore dresses with round collars and sashes. Fashionable dresses had dropped waists. Pinafores 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. Girl wearing a white pinafore over her dress (about 1910). ...

Nearly all Victorian girls had long hair, often past waist-length. Hair was kept straight with bangs or curled into ringlets. An upper-class girl would have worn a fringe, since she had a nanny who could look after her hair and keep it neat and tidy.

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

France, 1881	1882	1882	Paris, 1883
France, 1885	Bustled fashions for girls, 1886	1887	Russia, 1888

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

1880s fashion

• Victorian fashion
• Victorian dress reform
• Artistic Dress movement

Windsor Castle in Modern Times by Landseer depicts the Queen and the Prince Consort at home in the 1840s. ... During the middle and late Victorian period, various reformers proposed, designed, and wore clothing supposedly more rational and comfortable than the fashions of the time. ... Jane Morris (The Blue Silk Dress) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. ...

References

• Arnold, Janet: Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction C.1860-1940, Wace 1966, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. ISBN 0-89676-027-8

• Ashelford, Jane: The Art of Dress: Clothing and Society 1500-1914, Abrams, 1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5

• Black, J. Anderson and Madge Garland: A History of Fashion, Morrow, 1975. ISBN 0-688-02893-4

• Nunn, Joan: Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000, 2nd edition, A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd; Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000. (Excerpts online at The Victorian Web)

• Payne, Blanche: History of Costume from the Ancient Egyptians to the Twentieth Century, Harper & Row, 1965. No ISBN for this edition; ASIN B0006BMNFS

Janet Arnold (1932-November 2, 1998) was a British clothing historian, costume designer, teacher, conservator, and author. ...

External links

• 1880s Fashion
• Plates from Peterson's Magazine - 1883
• From Reforming Fashion, 1850-1914: Politics, Health, and Art, Ohio State University :
  • Olive wool tea gown, 1882
  • Bustle, corset and combination, 1884-1890
  • Navy wool tea gown c. 1889
• What Victorians Wore: An Overview of Victorian Costume
• 19th Century Women's Fashion. Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.

v • d • e History of fashion
Medieval	Byzantine · 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
Postwar and Cold War	1945-1960 · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s
Contemporary	1990s · 2000s