In our second installment on 1890s street style, we’re going to shift focus away from outerwear to more warmer weather outfits. To get us started here’s some images from the same source as the ones in Part 1:
In the above image, the two women are more casually dressed than the women seen in most of these pictures. They appear to be wearing either loose two-piece or one-piece dresses along the lines of the “Mother Hubbard” style, a style that was also popular in dress reform circles. It definitely raises some interesting questions.
This image is interesting in that the skirt and jacket appear to be made from a striped fabric, much like an Ottoman. Although the woman is caught in rapid movement, the horizontal striping is still very visible and creates an interesting texture.
In the above two pictures, the women are wearing variations on the standard waist and skirt combination that became popular during the 1890s. What’s also interesting is that in some instances, you see the waist/skirt combinations being worn with a light jacket (at least lighter than the jackets being worn in the pictures shown in Part 1) It’s definitely a practical style. Below are some examples of the the variety of waists that were available:
The woman in the above picture appears to be wearing a waist done in the style of a sailor middy blouse, a style that was popular in the Mid to Late 1890s. Below are a couple examples of this style:
Two-Piece Day Dress w/ Middy Blouse, c. 1895; The Museum at FIT (P84.25.2)
These two posts of 1890s street style provide a tantalizing glimpse into what was common everyday wear back then, free of the artificialness of posed portrait pictures or fashion plates and bring back to life what surviving original artifacts that we see today. As we find further examples, we’ll be sure to post them here.