With few major exceptions, the process of fashion evolution tends to be gradual and it doesn’t always happen evenly or in a straight-forward manner. In fact, much of the dating used in fashion history tends to be arbitrary and represented more of an approximation than a precise moment when a fashion changed. During the late 19th century, fashion change came at a much slower pace than what we’re used to today in an era of fast fashion and social media and sometimes it defies neat categorization.

In our last installment, we attempted to identify some signs that the shift from the bustle silhouette to something different was happening in the years from 1889 through 1890 but our conclusions are by no means the only ones possible. Our goal is to shine a light on some of the more obscure aspects of late 19th Century fashion and provide a starting point for further study. With that, let’s proceed… 🙂

As the 1890s moved on, the bustle had almost disappeared except for perhaps a small pad in some instances. Essentially, the basic silhouette was taking on a more upright appearance with an emphasis on a less structured flowing skirt ending in a narrow waistband. Moreover, as the 1890s progressed, we being to see the emergence of the “wasp waist” silhouette where the skirt and the bodice were emphasized while the waist was minimized, an effect achieved through corseting; the iconic leg of mutton sleeves contributed to this by emphasizing the upper torso.

This style began to manifest itself by 1892 and here are a few examples or at least the idealized version:

Journal Des Demoiselles, 1892

Journal Des Demoiselles, August 1893

The Delineator, 1894

Le Mode Illustree, 1894

Journal Des Demoiselles, August 1894

The above fashion plates pretty much capture the shift in styles during the early to mid 1890s characterized by a narrow waist and exaggerated fullness to the skirt and bodice. The full upper sleeves (often termed gigot or leg of mutton sleeves) also served to emphasize the bodice size and these came in a variety of shapes and configurations. Compared to the 1880s, 1890s style seemed to be relative unstructured with flowing skirts and seeming emphasis on a free-flowing “natural form.”

The fashion plate below provides an excellent visual summary of the early to mid 1890s silhouette where we see a narrow “wasp waist” combined with a voluminous skirt and bodice: broadly speaking, the silhouette was now of an “X” shape.

When viewing these fashion plates, it would seem that dresses had become more loose (i.e. natural) with much less of the sculpted structure that characterized the 1880s. However, 1890s style was just as structured but in a different way. Whereas the 1880s skirts were characterized by draping and bustled trains, 1890s skirts were characterized by gored skirts that were wide at the bottom and culminated in a narrow waist, emphasizing free movement. To balance the wide skirts, bodices were also cut full. Of course, there was a variety in the individual details but the ultimate silhouette was still there.

Fashion plates can be informative but only go so far in helping to understand style. As with the 1870s and 80s, there were several basic styles that could be worked in a seemingly infinite combination of fabrics and trims. As with all late 19th Century styles, while the overall silhouette tended to remain the same, choices in fabrics, cut, and trim often varied, ranging from the very plain and utilitarian to the elaborate on a scale suitable for the most formal of day affairs.

Below are a few different examples:

Day Dress, c. 1894; Metropolitan Museum of Art (35.134.13a, b)

Close-Up Of Bodice Front

Side Profile

Rear View

Detail Of Sleeve And Cuff

Naturally, the one is first attracted by the striking effects of the silk overskirt with its pattern of waving stripes in light and dark gray (or light and dark silver, depending on your interpretation); it’s an incredible weave. What is also interesting is the juxtaposition of velvet sleeves and collar and bodice trim, all in brown- you have the cold grays combined with a warm brown. The center is the bodice is a bit busy with a lace front but is framed by more light gray silk that matches the light gray stripes. Finally, the bullion soutache adds further embellishment that further adds to the dress’s overall effect. The use of fabrics and trim all combine to create a three-dimensional effect of various textures.

In terms of silhouette perspective, the use of the over and under skirt combination would seem to be a throw-back to the 1880s (it wasn’t for the the sleeves and bodice which are definitely characteristic of the 1890s). It’s an interesting anomaly and one can see a few examples in fashion plates- perhaps this is more of a transitional style but definitely not the norm.

Now for a something more plain:

Day Dress, c. 1893 – 1894; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.58.2a, b)

1890s style for day dresses was often relatively simple with little trim and often monochromatic. Here we see a more developed set of gigot or leg-of-mutton sleeves, narrow waist and full, untrained skirt with multiple gores. The bodice is designed to mimic the waist and jacket combination only all in one color.

Finally, here’s another common style based on the jacket/waist combination:

Walking Dress, c. 1893; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1979.163a, b)

Close-Up Of The Bodice

Side Profile

Rear View

 Here are a few more views:

Close-Up Of Bodice

Close-Up Of Rear Bodice

View of Skirt

Another Skirt View

The walking suit was a popular style and features a wool check pattern skirt and outer jacket combined with a navy blue waist complemented with wide lapels in the same color. Often, the jacket featured wide lapels which carried over in to the early 1900s, the lapels growing even more extravagant in size.

From the above examples and those in the previous post, we can see the emergence of the classic wasp waist or “X” silhouette of the Mid-1890s. In the next installment, we’ll take a closer look of this classic 1890s style and especially the “leg-of-mutton” sleeve style so stay tuned. 🙂

When it comes to 1890s fashion, images of Gibson Girls with big hair, leg-of-mutton sleeves, and wasp-waists instantly come to mind. By now,  with the exception of the occasional vestigial pad, the bustle had disappeared and fashion was once again re-defining itself. While in many respects traditional Victorian standards of feminine aesthetics remained in force (especially when it came to evening wear and ball gowns), new social forces were at work undermining this established aesthetic. The role of women in society was beginning to change and with it, fashion.

The 1890s is an interesting time for fashion in that we see the introduction of clothing styles intended for women working outside of the home and participating in sporting activities; it was an acknowledgement that women were becoming increasingly involved in public life outside of the traditional women’s roles.

In the next few posts, we will attempt to trace some of the style trends of 1890s day wear and hopefully gain some insight into this decade of change.

The leading trend of 1890s style was the move away from bustled/trained silhouette which had dominated the fashion world since the late 1860s. The mid to late 1880s has seen the bustle silhouette reach its most extreme form but by 1889, it was now giving way to a more upright, cylindrical silhouette and this was especially the case with day wear (although one can occasionally vestigial bustle pads). Of course, this shift did not take place overnight but its progression can definitely be seen during from years from 1890 through 1893.

Broadly speaking, 1890s styles for daywear can be broken into three periods:

1890 – 1894: Dresses are cylindrical and relatively plain (as compared to the 1880s), bodice sleeves have a slight pouf or “kickout” at the top. In some instances, there was a vestigial bustle in the form of a pad.

1894 – 1897: Sleeves begin increasing in size developing into the distinct “leg-of-mutton” style that comes to characterize 1890s style.

1898 – 1900: Sleeve size begins to reduce although there is often some pouf at the top as with the early 1890s.

In this post, we will be focusing on the early 1890s with an occasional nod to 1888 – 1889 where the first signs of the transition to the new silhouette can be seen. First, let’s take a look at a few of the many extant fashion plates documenting the transition:

Le Mode Illustree, 1889

Peterson’s Magazine, April 1889

Peterson’s Magazine, June 1889

Peterson’s Magazine, August 1889

In the above plates, one can see that the models (or croquis) have been created so as to emphasize a more slender, upright silhouette (aided by some tall hats) while minimizing the bustle (although there are still some examples of a pronounced bustle mixed in). Here is another good example from Godey’s Lady’s Book:

Godey’s Fashions, September 1890

 So are we simply going on the basis of idealized fashion plates? No, further evidence can be found in the pages of the fashion press itself. The following is a passage from the March 1889 issue of Peterson’s Magazine in regard to fashions:

Of course, the straight falling lines, so suitable for heavy clothes, the cashmere and other woolens, are not appropriate for the thinner summer gowns, so a little more drapery will be used for softer materials, yet the straight effects will be retained as far as possible, skirts will be narrower, and the tournure or bustle will be very small indeed.

To further follow up, we see the following comments from the June 1889 issue of Peterson’s Magazine:

Skirt-draperies will retain the straight narrow look. For stuff dresses, the coat appearance , opening in front over a plaited [pleated], gathered, or fancy front, is popular; while at the back of the skirt falls in long lines without looping…Bustles, cushions, and dress-stiffeners are very much reduced in size, some women dispensing with them altogether.

Finally there’s this interesting comments in regard to modifying dresses from the October 1889 issue of Peterson’s Magazine:

Some persons dispense altogether with a bustle; but most persons look better with a small one. An excellent idea in making thick dresses is to fasten a small pad right at the waist; you can either buy it or make it out of hair and muslin. You will like it much better than wearing a separate bustle…this year, on account of the dispensing with reeds and large bustles, many of last season’s dresses are too long and can be shortened without taking them out the bands.

Continuing, for 1890, we see much of the same thing going on:

Peterson’s Magazine, March 1890

Peterson’s Magazine, April 1890

The styles in the above two plates continue to emphasize the cylindrical silhouette and especially with the dresses on the far left and right of the April 1890 plate. What is especially striking is that the reception dress on the far left is very similar to styles found in the 1900 – 1905 time frame, all that’s needed is the s-bend corset. 🙂

And finally, just to round out things, here’s September and October, 1890:

Peterson’s Magazine, September 1890

Peterson’s Magazine, October 1890

Besides, the silhouette, some other interesting style details are beginning to emerge to include semi-open bodices simulating a jacket and underlying waistcoat or waist. Also, many of the sleeve tops have small poufs or “kick-outs.” Finally, one can also see that the skirts themselves are becoming smooth with few or no pleats, draping, or trim. These changes were noted in regard to Paris fashions by Lucy H. Hooper’s “Paris Letter” column in the October 1890 issue of Peterson’s Magazine:

I do not remember a season marked by such a pronounced change of the fashions since the year that witnessed the final disappearance of hoops, than has been that which we have just traversed. The last vestiges of loopings and puffings and plaitings have disappeared, and a lady’s streetgown, to be in the height of the style, must resemble an umbrella-cover as nearly as possible…

Sleeves are worn much less elevated on the shoulders than tiny were last season, and are now only sufficiently puffed to do away with the look of an actual coat-sleeve…

And now for some extant examples:

Day Dress, c. 1890 with label: “Mme. Chamas, 66 rue des Petits Champs, Paris, France,”; Kent State University Museum (1983.1.178 ab)

The above dress definitely embodies much of the style shifts that were going on. The bodice-jacket style combined with a smooth skirt gives a large “canvas” for the asymmetrical floral embroidery design.

Walking Dress, John Redfern, c. 1889; Kerry Taylor Auctions

Side Profile

Rear View

This walking dress by John Redfern is representative of this shift towards a simplified cylindrical silhouette. The lines of the dress are clean and well-sculpted with little in the way of draping and pleating. Although the staging of dresses by museums and  auction houses is often suspect, we believe that it’s safe to say that there is a minimal train and not much room for an extensive bustle. Below are some more views:

Back Shoulders

Accompanying Bonnet

Label

Close-Up, Front Bodice

Close-Up, Side Profile

Our survey is admittedly brief, limited by the available pictures of extant garments- there’s simply not a lot out there and of what there is, a high percentage is misidentified. However, we believe that fashion plates and the writings in the fashion press go a long way to filling in the gaps. In our next post, we’ll continue the story forward a bit into the mid-1890s where we see the “90s” style come into its own.