Jules Benoit-Lévy (1866-1952), ‘Femme dans un atelier’ 1890
If you are interested in the fashions of the 19th and early 20th Centuries, it’s a good idea to have a familiarity with fashion terms of the period. For your convenience, we have just the thing! Click on Fashion Glossary for an electronic file that should serve as a good starting point. Enjoy!
When people think of fashion, they think of France and Paris in particular. However, while Pars may have reigned as the fashion center of the Western world during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, the designers themselves were not necessarily French. Of these designers, Charles Worth is probably the most well-known of these non-French designers and his influence on fashion was undeniable.
One “foreign” designer who is not so well-known was Gustave Beer. Gustave (or Gustav, spellings vary) Beer was born in Germany about 1875 and first established himself as a designer in Vienna. Later, he relocated to Paris where he opened a fashion house in 1905. Beer’s approach tended to be conservative, emphasizing exquisite construction and fine materials over daring designs.
Below are just a few examples:
Opera Cape, c. 1895 – 1905
Day Dress, c. 1904 – 1905; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1999.135a–e)
Some more views.
Moving a bit later:
Evening Dress, c. 1905
And the evening gown as it was worn…
And a few detail pictures:
Unfortunately, the years have not been kind to this dress and there’s serious deterioration, especially in the interior:
Below is an ensemble c. 1905 consisting of skirt and two bodices allowing a quick change from day to evening dress:
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot out there about Beer but from what I’ve gathered, his fashion house continued until 1929 when it merged with the House of Drecoll to exist as Drecoll-Beer. Subsequently, Drecoll-Beer merged with the House of Agnes in 1931 and the Beer name was dropped.
We’ll be doing some more on Beer in the future as we unearth further information. 🙂
Races at Longchamps, Manet, 1867
In contrast to our posts of the past few days, today we go to France to take a look at Haute Couture, how it was publicized, and the start of “street style”. By no means is this an exhaustive review but merely an attempt to show some of the high points.
“Fashion” as we know it today began to take form during the late 19th Century. Essentially, fashion was something that was entering the public consciousness on a scale broader than anything ever seen before. The industrial revolution played a major role in the development of fashion in a rising standard of living combined with the development of new methods of manufacturing textile goods made clothing more affordable for more people. Along with this was the rise of the middle class who now had the money and the leisure time to be able follow fashion more closely.
Where once fashion was limited to a monarch and his court, now fashion was far more defuse. Also, just as important, fashion and clothing manufacturing were developing into larger business enterprises and business concerns often drove fashion. This is similar to what we see today but only on a more limited scale with a smaller clientele.
Along with the commercialization of fashion by Couturiers such as Charles Worth, Jacques Doucet, Paul Poiret, and a host of others, was the need to more effectively market their fashions. Where word-or-mouth was sufficient, more direct methods of getting fashion styles (i.e., product) before the public were needed and thus developed advertising, fashion journals, fashion plates, and later, fashion photography.
With the development of the fashion industry and marketing, those who followed fashion wanted to see these fashions “live”. The concept of the runway show as a public spectacle was still years off but other ways to show off the latest styles were employed.
If it’s seen at Longchamps, then you’re OK… As is the case today, being seen in a public place with the just the right outfit could make all the difference. 🙂
Once such method was dressing up models with the latest styles and sending them to various public social gathering such as the horse races at Longchamps and in particular, the Grand Prix de Paris which was held every year in July. More than just a horse race, it was a day-long affair that provided a venue for people to see and been seen and that of course meant what they were wearing. Naturally, the press covered these events and end was result was free publicity.
Below are just a few of the examples of the styles worn at Longchamps during the period from 1900 to 1914.
Les Modes, July 1904
The women in the above pictures are wearing versions of the lingerie dress and one can see the influence of the s-bend corset although the silhouette is somewhat muted by the fluffy layers of fabric on the dresses. These definitely fall in the 1900 – 1910 time frame, probably more towards 1902 – 1905.
And sometimes, fashion at Longchamps could cause a sensation…below is a picture from 1908 of three models wearing designs by Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix (known simply as Margaine-Lacroix) and dubbed by the press “Les Nouvelles Merveilleuses”:
c. 1908, “Les Nouvelles Merveilleuses” as dubbed by the press- these three models caused a furor at Longchamps when they arrived- these dresses, designed by Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix were considered scandalous at the time.
The above three dresses definitely got public attention, in part because they completely did away with the conventional corset while at the same time creating a skin-tight silhouette by utilizing stretch fabrics in the dresses themselves to create the form-fitting silhouette. Susie Ralph, a fashion historian, described it in an introduction that opened an exhibit on Margaine-Lacroix in 2013:
In 1908 Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix sent three mannequins to the Longchamp race-course clad in her form-revealing robes-tanagréennes. These corsetless dresses caused a sensation among Paris’ fashionable crowd – a riot according to some newspaper reports. Worn without corsets and slit to the knee on one side over the most transparent of underskirts, their impact on the fashion world was instantaneous and resulted in major press coverage not only in Paris but around the world. In today’s parlance the style immediately “went viral”….It was Margaine-Lacroix’s daring vision that brought to an end the ideal of the rigidly corseted hour-glass figure, and ushered in the new, slim twentieth century silhouette.
Margaine-Lacroix is an interesting designer in her own right although she is relatively unknown today. Hopefully we’ll be writing more about her in the future. Here, is where the above picture originally was featured:
Controversy is no stranger to the world of fashion then or now and the debate over what exactly is too “revealing” still rages on. Moving on, fashion photography becomes ever more pervasive during in the years from 1910 – 1914. Here are some more examples:
1912, Watching the races standing on chairs. The lines on these two dresses reflect the moved towards a more sleek, upright silhouette. Goodbye s-bend!
1914, Here is an interesting design incorporating a waistcoat and cutaway coat.
Public spaces like Longchamps provided a venue for people to see “fashion in action” and for us, it provides a fascinating archive of fashion history that helps us to see fashion that is alive. We can see just how garments were worn, how they fit, and even gain some insight into the people who wore them.
Postscript:
Originally I set out to write this blog post about the development of fashion and how it was publicized on public places. However, along the way I also discovered the Les Nouvelles Merveilleuses controversy and the work of the a relatively now forgotten designer Margaine-LaCroix. It just goes to show that you learn something new everyday! 🙂
Untergang der Titanic (“Sinking of the Titanic”) by Willy Stöwer, 1912
And now Dear Readers, we come to our third installment of “The Titanic Era” and I want to thank you all for enduring my somewhat lengthy posts regarding the evolution of fashion from 1900 through 1912. I will admit that perhaps I restated the obvious a bit but I also believe that it never hurts to get an idea of the proverbial “big picture” and how one tragic, yet fascinating episode of history fits in.
In many ways, the sinking of the RMS Titanic was a microcosm of both the good and not-so-good elements characteristic of the era from 1900 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. To many, it represented beauty, decadence, and opulence perched on the brink of disaster and a preview of the social, economic, and political forces that were to be unleashed by that war, a war that ultimately saw an almost near-complete rearrangement of the political, economic, and social landscape of Europe, then the center of the Western World. So profound were the effects of the First World War, that its effects are still felt today in 2015.
Of course, much of the above observations are neither new or original on our part; commentators were saying much of the same back in the early 20th Century, some almost as soon as the first survivors were arriving in New York on board the RMS Carpathia on April 18, 1912, some three days after the disaster. However, this is still thought provoking and holds a fascination up to this day.
One of the primary manifestations of this era of opulence was in its fashions and this in turn has been a constant feature in the numerous dramatic films and documentaries that have been turned out over the years. Watching a compelling story about an historical event is fascinating in that one is viewing the past being brought back to life and costume plays a key role in this. Done correctly, it can enhance the experience immeasurably; done wrong, it can seriously compromise a production (of course, in some cases the best wardrobe/costuming in the world can’t save a production from a poor script and/or poor direction).
Now, one movie that does an excellent job of production design and wardrobe/costuming is Titanic that came out in 1997. Starring Leonard DiCaprio and Kate Winslett, this movie works the disaster angle by way of an Romeo and Juliet type of story of mismatched lovers from two vastly different social classes. The plot itself is somewhat improbable with the characters acting more like people of the 1990s than the 1912. Also, it demonstrates an almost complete lack of understanding of social classes during the period and relies on the usual modern day stereotypes to move the story along. In the end, it borders on a schmaltzy sentimentality approaches the simply irritating. But, as with all things, you be the judge. 🙂
Poster advertising the movie “Titanic”, 1997.
All right, now that I’ve savaged the movie’s plot, let’s move on to one of the movie’s best aspect: the costuming. The costumes were designed by Deborah L. Scott and she won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1997 for her work on Titanic.
Starting with day wear, the most notable dress is, of course, the “boarding dress” which Rose, the main female lead, wears when she boards the RMS Titanic early in the movie:
The Boarding Dress- From a travelling exhibit of movie costumes sponsored by the Victoria & Albert Museum. This picture provides a pretty decent view of the boarding dress along with the costume sketch that it’s based on.
A costume sketch of the boarding dress from the production.
From the Hollywood Costume Exhibit in Los Angeles. This is an “official” picture since the viewing public was not allowed to take pictures.
On the left, one major source of inspiration for the boarding dress side-by-side with the costume from the movie., designed by Deborah L. Scott. The original is pictured in Les Modes (Paris) for Linker & Company, 1912.
The original source, Les Modes, 1912, for Linker & Company.
In comparing the original dress with the movie version, one can see that they both use the stripes on the fabric to emphasize the vertical lines of the dress. The silhouette is decidedly slender and tubular, its shape being created by the draping of the fabric itself. There is little hint of a corset or any other structural underpinnings (although there is little doubt that there was a corset present, at least on the model wearing the 1912 dress).
What is also striking is that both dresses not only utilize vertical stripes, but that they’re also integrated with horizontal stripes on the front of the jacket and each set of stripes intersects at a precise 90 degree angle. Also, to add further accent, large buttons are used. Interestingly enough, the buttons used on the movie dress are significantly smaller than those on the original. Finally, the one major difference between the two dresses is that the 1912 dress is also fur-trimmed on the cuffs and around the neck which gives the dress a more heavy look/feel- basically it’s a winter day dress. The movie version reads much lighter and as such, I think it just works better.
Both dresses are geometrical with their use of precise lines but the 1912 version works better because the lines are more wide and well defined. The lines on the movie version almost wash out, depending on the light. When I viewed this dress in person at the Hollywood Costume Exhibit, the lighting was very dark with bright spotlights illuminating the garments. Under the harsh light, the striped lines on the dress were somewhat washed out and when viewed from more than a few feet away, they disappeared. In the end, I do not believe that it affects the overall effect but it’s still interesting to note (plus it really detracted from the overall exhibition).
Detail shots of the dress and hat.
Finally, it’s interesting that the designer chose to use a dark purple velvet to highlight the lapels and the collar. In the absence of the dark fur trim, some sort of dark accent is needed and highlighting the lapels and collar was a good design choice; they help to offset the thin lines in that and the eye tends to be drawn to them rather than the lines.
In terms of style, the boarding dress definitely captures the fashion trends that were going on at the time, especially in terms of the silhouette. The only quibble there might be is with the exaggerated bow on the hat but it’s not a deal-breaker by any means. Overall, it definitely captures a moment in time.
In the next installment, we’ll look at some more of the wardrobe from Titanic how it fits into fashion during the years from 1900 to 1912.
We continue our discussion on the “Titanic Era”, or more properly, “Fashions that were in style in 1912” with some more compare and contrast. So you think that the past post was overly concentrated on evening wear? Well, yes, guilty as charged. So, we are going to show some “practical” examples drawn from day wear. 🙂
To begin, the 20th Century opened up with styles structured around the infamous S-bend corset which was developed around 1901 (ironically enough, the S-bend corset was originally marketed by Inez Gaches-Sarraute, a corsetiere with a degree in medicine, as a “hygienic” corset intended to counter the ill-effects of previous models). While discussion of the characteristics and fit of the S-bend corset is beyond the scope of this article, it is safe to say that created a distinct silhouette that in turn influenced the style and cut of women’s clothing.
And just to refresh your memories, here are some images of the S-bend corset:
French Advertisement
Advertisement, c. 1903
Summary of corset silhouettes.
And now for some pictures of the S-bend corset in action:
Arlette Dorgère, c. 1906.
The above two examples are probably somewhat extreme in that they portray the “ideal” figure. The top image is of Arlette Dorgère, a French actress who posed in a number of portraits in which she is wearing dresses with S-bend corsets that seem to defy the laws of physics.
The bottom fashion plate is a bit less extreme but it still amply demonstrates the pigeon breast (aka “mono-bosom”) characteristic of the body shape created by the S-bend corset. Now we continue our story showing some examples of early Edwardian day dresses:
Day Dress, c. 1903 – 1905; Galleria del Costume di Palazzo.
Day Dress, c. 1905, British; Crisp-looking blue and white dresses such as this were popular for boating and seaside wear. This dress was worn by Miss Heather Firbank (1888-1954), daughter of the affluent Member of Parliament Sir Thomas Firbank and sister of the novelist Ronald Firbank. Victoria & Albert Museum (T.21 to C-1960) For more about this fascinating dress, click HERE.
Day Dress, c. 1904 – 1905, Gustave Beer; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1999.135a–e)
The above examples are only a small sample of the wide variety of day dresses that existed and were available in a variety of fabrics and trims. The earlier day dresses tended to have a lot more lace and trim that tended to obscure the curve of the breast (or pigeon breast) but as the century progresses, the lines tend to become more clean. In terms of the influence of the S-bend corset, day dresses were a bit less extreme in their silhouette but the general line still exists.
However, at the same time, there are those who argue that the S-bend corset was by no means as extreme and uncomfortable as what the popular conception is and in fact were no worse than their predecessors. We will leave that debate for another time but you may find this article from Foundations Revealed presents some compelling arguments in this regard.
However, the reign of the S-bend corset did not last long and as early as 1905, styles began to shift towards a more upright “barrel”-shaped silhouette. Below are a few examples:
First, some illustrations from the September 1911 edition of the Parisian fashion magazine La Mode:
And let’s not forget Vogue Magazine:
Vogue Magazine cover, c. 1912
Day Dress, c. 1912; Augusta Auctions
Look familiar? Day Dress, American, c. 1912 – 1915; Constructed of cotton; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.245a–c)
So from the above, we see the silhouette in transition away from the “pigeon breast,” returning to the straight, flowing lines characteristic of the empire line, a style last seen nearly a 100 years earlier with the Regency Era. The years from 1900 through 1912 saw an ever-accelerating process of fashion change, pushed along by designers like Paul Poiret, which was the elimination (or at least reduction) of the corset and a major fashion influence. Of course, it could also be argued that while the influence of the corset was waning, the advent of the hobble skirt seemed to make up for it. However, the hobble skirt was merely a small bump in the fashion continuum having no lasting influence. On the other hand, the gradual elimination of the corset as a major fashion influence had far more profound an effect on fashion.
Garments, and their attendant underpinnings, were becoming less restrictive to the point where outerwear was no longer got its structure and form from the corset but rather relying more on the cut and drape of the garments themselves. The end result was the nearly seemingly formless fashions of the 1920s (although it must be noted that foundation garments were still employed but in a more muted manner).
I will stop with this survey here in 1912 and while one can easily point out many exceptions to the above, it is safe to say that the styles as worn by the female passengers (at least the more upper class ones) on the RMS Titanic were not static but rather, represented a single snapshot of a moment in fashion history that only lasted for a brief moment.
To be continued…in the next installment, we’ll actually look at some at “The Titanic Era” and film. Stay Tuned! 🙂
Afterward:
For an excellent treatment of this “moment in time”, I would highly recommend the book Titanic Style: Dress and Style on the Voyage by Grace Evans:
