Below you will find a cartoon that appeared in an 1894 magazine called "The Clothier and Furnisher" I selected the cartoon for two reasons. One to share the sense of humor. Two to show the style of clothing depicted as well as the hair style of the tailor.
The 19th century was full of innovation, exploration and is one of the most popular eras for writing historical fiction. This blog is dedicated to tiny tidbits of information that will help make your novel seem more real to the time period.
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Fashion Harper's Bazar
Harper's Bazar began publishing in 1867 and is still a leading magazine regarding fashion. What is extremely valuable, to people like me, is the images that produced in their magazine whether they were clothing or hair styles. It gives folks like me a visual of what they are referring to. So, I'm going to share one of the most valuable resources I've found for Harper's Bazaar Magazine with images of the entire magazine from 1867 to 1900. I believe you'll also find this a valuable resource.
Hearth Home Page
Enjoy!
Hearth Home Page
Enjoy!
Monday, May 1, 2017
Fashion History
I stumbled on this little gem of fashion history and thought I'd share it with all of you. The Chronicles of Fashion from Elizabeth to the early part of the 19th century ©1845 I believe this little book gives great insight into the development of the Victoria era and why fashion played such an important part during that period.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Fashion
Below is the first chapter from "FASHION: The Power that Influences the World" by George Fox ©1871 I find it insightful to read the way in which people thought at that time about fashion.
THE PHILOSOPHY OP MODERN DRESS AND FASHION.
" Only because I wore a threadbare suit,
I was not worthy of a poor salute.
A few good clothes put on with small ado,
Purchase your knowledge and your kindred too."
—Heywood's Royal King.
A Great modern writer has no less profoundly than pointedly observed that " In the one universal subject of clothes, rightly understood, is included all that men have thought, done and dreamed. The whole external universe and all that it contains is but clothing ; and the essence of all science lies in the philosophy of clothes.'"
We regard dress not merely as an envelope of broadcloth,
cassimere, silk, satin, or velvet, wrought up in more or less
taste after the model of a prevailing pattern, but as one of
the most significant expressions of character, and sustaining
an intimate relation with manners and morals.
It is universally admitted that nothing marks the gentleman more than the style of his dress. The elegance, propriety and good taste which are conspicuous in that, at once create a presumption in his favor. They form a perpetual letter of recommendation whose validity is everywhere acknowledged. A rich and becoming costume answers as a passport to the traveller; opens the door of hospitable courtesy to the stranger ; gives the citizen a free ticket to the best places in society; forms a decorous ornament to wealth, and where wealth is wanting, in many respects supplies its place. You notice the well dressed gentleman in the streets; in the most crowded thoroughfares he is conspicuous above the throng; he challenges your admiration even at a distance. " Far off his coming shines."
As he approaches, you are struck with the exquisite contour of his dress, the tasteful harmony of its colors, the charming smoothness and supple undulation of its fit; and you instinctively pronounce its wearer to be a gentleman. He has received justice at the hands of his tailor, and you cannot mistake the seal of his gentility.
Nor is the dress a less important indication of the personal taste of the wearer. It often marks the distinction between vulgarity and refinement; it shows the disposition no less clearly than language or conduct A mind imbued with a love of elegance, devoted to the beautiful harmonies of form, of color, of motion; inspired with a passion for the becoming, the lovely, and the graceful, will not fail to manifest itself in selection and arrangements of dress. You see its innate love in its outward surroundings. Good taste is, in fact, like good music—it harmonizes and marks the whole man. It extends to the cut of a garment, no less than to the construction of an epic. We have always noticed that a polished mind was attached to graceful and elegant attire. We judge of the good taste of a man, not merely by his air and bearing, his speech and gesture, or his love of art and literature, but also and in a great measure by his dress. We have often been deceived by the one, seldom or never by the other. The character of the dress, moreover, is important as a sign of social position. The moralists say, a man is known by the company he keeps. We say he is better known by the clothes he wears. The air of good society cannot be given except by education, aided by the artistic hand of a genuine tailor.
The relation of dress to manners and morals is too obvious to be insisted on. The first condition of good manners is ease and self-confidence. If you have no self-respect, your manners cannot win the respect of your associates. If you are not easy with yourself, you can never make them easy with others. But can a man be at ease in a coat out at elbows, a coat which hangs like a meal-bag upon his shoulders, a coat which reminds you of a specimen of fossil remains, or an heirloom from one of the company in the ark, a coat which is a badge of contempt, a sign of. vulgarity, an expression of a dilapidated purse, a careless disposition or an uncultivated and barbarous taste ? No, an ill-dressed man must be ill at ease. His manners must be forced and ungraceful. He never can show that delightful suavity, that fascinating union of spirit and sweetness, that enchanting harmony of expression and movement which distinguish the finished gentleman unless he feels perfectly at home in his clothes, unless they have been fitted to his person, his character, and his physiognomy, with that exquisite skill , which is essential to the style of manners, so finely described by the great orator Edmund Burke as the " unbought grace of life."
Our great American statesman, the late Daniel Webster, was no less distinguished for the graceful and imposing dignity of his manners than for his diplomatic skill and his commanding eloquence. But as he was the most able of constitutionalists, so was he one of the best dressed of gentlemen.
In the favorite costume, blue and buff, of an illustrious namesake of the author, the British commoner, Charles James Fox, no man appeared to more trandscendent advantage in a legislative hall or a fashionable drawing-room, than did the eminent expounder of the constitution; while on more solemn occasions these colors were doffed, to give place to the more sombre black mingled with white. We will not undertake to say in what degree he was indebted to the perfection of his dress for his imposing presence; but we do say that his dress gave an additional power to the majesty of his demeanor, and the weight of his eloquence.
We may quote his own words to this effect, when on donning a suit from the once celebrated emporium of Milton's (a retired tailor) he exclaimed, "Ah, I now breathe easier than I have done for a long time; indeed, I feel as if I were in Milton's Paradise regained."
The influence of dress on morals presents a theme for the pen of a philosopher; a merchant-tailor, however experienced, can scarcely hope to do it justice. We will, however, venture to submit, that no civilized man is apt to commit a crime in a good suit of clothes. An easy and graceful garment is incompatible with a deed of violence. The serenity produced by a perfect fitting suit puts one in good humor with all mankind. Arrayed in a fine and elegant costume,. with the consummate polish of appearance which it isequally the duty and the pride of the conscientious artist tailor to impart, a man feels his responsibilities as a citizen, is inspired with a love of order, becomes refined and elevated in his tastes, is filled with respect for law, decorum and propriety, and finds in his own character a guarantee against temptation. Indeed, out of the immense number of customers who have honored the author with their patronage, we do not know of one who has ever been convicted of a crime.* Many we have seen raised by that influence to exalted stations. Not one has been brought before a court of justice ; not one but who sustains a fair and estimable character, as an American citizen. Is it not evident that the secret of virtue is often found in the wardrobe—that a good dress is a great preservative of good morals ?
But we must not omit to mention the connection of dress with commerce, the importance of which cannot be overlooked in our mercantile community. The tailor and the dressmaker are indispensable media between the importing merchant and the consumer. They distribute the commodities which are furnished by commerce. Until the goods of the merchant have passed iihrough their hands, their value is in a dormant state, and they contribute nothing to the embellishment or the utility of life. Patronize the tailor, you give an impulse to commerce; you help to keep open the great highway of nations ; you lend your support to the most efficient and most indispensable agency of civilization. In seeking the taste and elegance of your own personal appearance, you not only contribute to the interests of the profession, but promote the welfare of our common country and universal fashion.
Such, fellow-citizens, is the importance of a wise devotion to this branch of social economy. We maintain that you cannot overrate the value, and hence you perceive the necessity of availing yourselves of the aid of such artists as you can rely on for strength and fineness of fabric, elegance of fashion, color, perfection of fit and of finish.
We are actuated, by a noble ambition, to elevate the uniform dress and costume of the age to its true place, in the unfathomed interest of the world of fashion; to make the American citizen as renowned for his garment as for his institutions; to cause Paris, London and Berlin to hide their diminished heads as arbiters of gentility ; and to adorn the Doric simplicity of American principles by the inimitable grace and elegance of an appropriate cosmopolitan costume. While in no way anxious to curtail, but, on the contrary, wishing to increase the business of our fellow-citizens, our sole desire is to establish a style of fashion commensurate with the growing importance and dignity of this national Union.
THE PHILOSOPHY OP MODERN DRESS AND FASHION.
" Only because I wore a threadbare suit,
I was not worthy of a poor salute.
A few good clothes put on with small ado,
Purchase your knowledge and your kindred too."
—Heywood's Royal King.
A Great modern writer has no less profoundly than pointedly observed that " In the one universal subject of clothes, rightly understood, is included all that men have thought, done and dreamed. The whole external universe and all that it contains is but clothing ; and the essence of all science lies in the philosophy of clothes.'"
We regard dress not merely as an envelope of broadcloth,
cassimere, silk, satin, or velvet, wrought up in more or less
taste after the model of a prevailing pattern, but as one of
the most significant expressions of character, and sustaining
an intimate relation with manners and morals.
It is universally admitted that nothing marks the gentleman more than the style of his dress. The elegance, propriety and good taste which are conspicuous in that, at once create a presumption in his favor. They form a perpetual letter of recommendation whose validity is everywhere acknowledged. A rich and becoming costume answers as a passport to the traveller; opens the door of hospitable courtesy to the stranger ; gives the citizen a free ticket to the best places in society; forms a decorous ornament to wealth, and where wealth is wanting, in many respects supplies its place. You notice the well dressed gentleman in the streets; in the most crowded thoroughfares he is conspicuous above the throng; he challenges your admiration even at a distance. " Far off his coming shines."
As he approaches, you are struck with the exquisite contour of his dress, the tasteful harmony of its colors, the charming smoothness and supple undulation of its fit; and you instinctively pronounce its wearer to be a gentleman. He has received justice at the hands of his tailor, and you cannot mistake the seal of his gentility.
Nor is the dress a less important indication of the personal taste of the wearer. It often marks the distinction between vulgarity and refinement; it shows the disposition no less clearly than language or conduct A mind imbued with a love of elegance, devoted to the beautiful harmonies of form, of color, of motion; inspired with a passion for the becoming, the lovely, and the graceful, will not fail to manifest itself in selection and arrangements of dress. You see its innate love in its outward surroundings. Good taste is, in fact, like good music—it harmonizes and marks the whole man. It extends to the cut of a garment, no less than to the construction of an epic. We have always noticed that a polished mind was attached to graceful and elegant attire. We judge of the good taste of a man, not merely by his air and bearing, his speech and gesture, or his love of art and literature, but also and in a great measure by his dress. We have often been deceived by the one, seldom or never by the other. The character of the dress, moreover, is important as a sign of social position. The moralists say, a man is known by the company he keeps. We say he is better known by the clothes he wears. The air of good society cannot be given except by education, aided by the artistic hand of a genuine tailor.
The relation of dress to manners and morals is too obvious to be insisted on. The first condition of good manners is ease and self-confidence. If you have no self-respect, your manners cannot win the respect of your associates. If you are not easy with yourself, you can never make them easy with others. But can a man be at ease in a coat out at elbows, a coat which hangs like a meal-bag upon his shoulders, a coat which reminds you of a specimen of fossil remains, or an heirloom from one of the company in the ark, a coat which is a badge of contempt, a sign of. vulgarity, an expression of a dilapidated purse, a careless disposition or an uncultivated and barbarous taste ? No, an ill-dressed man must be ill at ease. His manners must be forced and ungraceful. He never can show that delightful suavity, that fascinating union of spirit and sweetness, that enchanting harmony of expression and movement which distinguish the finished gentleman unless he feels perfectly at home in his clothes, unless they have been fitted to his person, his character, and his physiognomy, with that exquisite skill , which is essential to the style of manners, so finely described by the great orator Edmund Burke as the " unbought grace of life."
Our great American statesman, the late Daniel Webster, was no less distinguished for the graceful and imposing dignity of his manners than for his diplomatic skill and his commanding eloquence. But as he was the most able of constitutionalists, so was he one of the best dressed of gentlemen.
In the favorite costume, blue and buff, of an illustrious namesake of the author, the British commoner, Charles James Fox, no man appeared to more trandscendent advantage in a legislative hall or a fashionable drawing-room, than did the eminent expounder of the constitution; while on more solemn occasions these colors were doffed, to give place to the more sombre black mingled with white. We will not undertake to say in what degree he was indebted to the perfection of his dress for his imposing presence; but we do say that his dress gave an additional power to the majesty of his demeanor, and the weight of his eloquence.
We may quote his own words to this effect, when on donning a suit from the once celebrated emporium of Milton's (a retired tailor) he exclaimed, "Ah, I now breathe easier than I have done for a long time; indeed, I feel as if I were in Milton's Paradise regained."
The influence of dress on morals presents a theme for the pen of a philosopher; a merchant-tailor, however experienced, can scarcely hope to do it justice. We will, however, venture to submit, that no civilized man is apt to commit a crime in a good suit of clothes. An easy and graceful garment is incompatible with a deed of violence. The serenity produced by a perfect fitting suit puts one in good humor with all mankind. Arrayed in a fine and elegant costume,. with the consummate polish of appearance which it isequally the duty and the pride of the conscientious artist tailor to impart, a man feels his responsibilities as a citizen, is inspired with a love of order, becomes refined and elevated in his tastes, is filled with respect for law, decorum and propriety, and finds in his own character a guarantee against temptation. Indeed, out of the immense number of customers who have honored the author with their patronage, we do not know of one who has ever been convicted of a crime.* Many we have seen raised by that influence to exalted stations. Not one has been brought before a court of justice ; not one but who sustains a fair and estimable character, as an American citizen. Is it not evident that the secret of virtue is often found in the wardrobe—that a good dress is a great preservative of good morals ?
But we must not omit to mention the connection of dress with commerce, the importance of which cannot be overlooked in our mercantile community. The tailor and the dressmaker are indispensable media between the importing merchant and the consumer. They distribute the commodities which are furnished by commerce. Until the goods of the merchant have passed iihrough their hands, their value is in a dormant state, and they contribute nothing to the embellishment or the utility of life. Patronize the tailor, you give an impulse to commerce; you help to keep open the great highway of nations ; you lend your support to the most efficient and most indispensable agency of civilization. In seeking the taste and elegance of your own personal appearance, you not only contribute to the interests of the profession, but promote the welfare of our common country and universal fashion.
Such, fellow-citizens, is the importance of a wise devotion to this branch of social economy. We maintain that you cannot overrate the value, and hence you perceive the necessity of availing yourselves of the aid of such artists as you can rely on for strength and fineness of fabric, elegance of fashion, color, perfection of fit and of finish.
We are actuated, by a noble ambition, to elevate the uniform dress and costume of the age to its true place, in the unfathomed interest of the world of fashion; to make the American citizen as renowned for his garment as for his institutions; to cause Paris, London and Berlin to hide their diminished heads as arbiters of gentility ; and to adorn the Doric simplicity of American principles by the inimitable grace and elegance of an appropriate cosmopolitan costume. While in no way anxious to curtail, but, on the contrary, wishing to increase the business of our fellow-citizens, our sole desire is to establish a style of fashion commensurate with the growing importance and dignity of this national Union.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
1868 Fashions
This is taken from Arthur's Home Magazine ©1868
Below is an example of two dresses from Jan issue of that same year.
FASHIONS
FURNISHED BY MME. DEMOREST FOR THE HOME MAGAZINE.
No. 1.—MAPONAIRE SUIT. No. 2.—LACROSSE DRESS.
No. 1.—A young lady's carriage or walking suit of Humboldt purple Biarritz cloth. Double jupe, both gored so as to be without fulness at the top. The lower one is trimmed with satin bands stitched upon each edge, and satin buttons. The upper jupe is festooned at each side with a pyramid of cloth bound with satin and studded with buttons. The basque is fancifully shaped, attached to a "sntin zone, and finished at the bottom with embroidered points. The basque, body, and sleeves are trimmed with satin bands and buttons. Duchesse bonnet of gray royal velvet, trimmed with purple pansies; gray tulle Duchesse veil and satin ties. Purple cloth boots.
No. 2—This is appropriate for a young lady as an attire for school or a walking dress. It is made of mosaic cloth, and trimmed with dark blue velvet, cross-barred upon the skirt about a foot in width. A basket bodice is formed upon the waist; the wrists of the sleeves are also trimmed. A little satchel of cloth, ornamented with velvet, is attached to the riant side of the body by a mosaic button. Mosaic buttons down the front of the w»i»t Bonnet of blue velvet, with a small coron«t of blue satin; velvet ties, and cluster of frosted roses at the ear.
Below is an example of two dresses from Jan issue of that same year.
FASHIONS
FURNISHED BY MME. DEMOREST FOR THE HOME MAGAZINE.
No. 1.—MAPONAIRE SUIT. No. 2.—LACROSSE DRESS.
No. 1.—A young lady's carriage or walking suit of Humboldt purple Biarritz cloth. Double jupe, both gored so as to be without fulness at the top. The lower one is trimmed with satin bands stitched upon each edge, and satin buttons. The upper jupe is festooned at each side with a pyramid of cloth bound with satin and studded with buttons. The basque is fancifully shaped, attached to a "sntin zone, and finished at the bottom with embroidered points. The basque, body, and sleeves are trimmed with satin bands and buttons. Duchesse bonnet of gray royal velvet, trimmed with purple pansies; gray tulle Duchesse veil and satin ties. Purple cloth boots.
No. 2—This is appropriate for a young lady as an attire for school or a walking dress. It is made of mosaic cloth, and trimmed with dark blue velvet, cross-barred upon the skirt about a foot in width. A basket bodice is formed upon the waist; the wrists of the sleeves are also trimmed. A little satchel of cloth, ornamented with velvet, is attached to the riant side of the body by a mosaic button. Mosaic buttons down the front of the w»i»t Bonnet of blue velvet, with a small coron«t of blue satin; velvet ties, and cluster of frosted roses at the ear.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Fashions
Hi all,
I have found a few websites that are useful. So, enjoy the links for as long as they are available.
Wikipedia has a nice article for the earlier part of the century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1795-1820_in_fashion
Regency period extended into the first part of the century. In fact for 37 years of it. Here's a link with some neat resources. http://www.regencyreproductions.com/
Victorian Era Fashion, excellent site. But limited to Victorian era. http://www.fashion-era.com/the_victorian_era.htm
Limited site but useful information http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/fashion/ 19th century Paris women's fashions
Ladies Fashion was highly affected by the periodicals of the time period as well. Godey's Lady's Book was quite popular, not just for the color plates of ladies fashions but also for their fictional stories.
Another thing to keep in mind, is what were the fashions of the area you're writing about. For example, in the mid century in Key West, FL. There was a mixture of NY fashion, Southern and Spanish. Corsets didn't last long there, or at least the women didn't wear them too often during the heat of the day. Different cultures brought different fashion attire.
I have found a few websites that are useful. So, enjoy the links for as long as they are available.
Wikipedia has a nice article for the earlier part of the century. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1795-1820_in_fashion
Regency period extended into the first part of the century. In fact for 37 years of it. Here's a link with some neat resources. http://www.regencyreproductions.com/
Victorian Era Fashion, excellent site. But limited to Victorian era. http://www.fashion-era.com/the_victorian_era.htm
Limited site but useful information http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/fashion/ 19th century Paris women's fashions
Ladies Fashion was highly affected by the periodicals of the time period as well. Godey's Lady's Book was quite popular, not just for the color plates of ladies fashions but also for their fictional stories.
Another thing to keep in mind, is what were the fashions of the area you're writing about. For example, in the mid century in Key West, FL. There was a mixture of NY fashion, Southern and Spanish. Corsets didn't last long there, or at least the women didn't wear them too often during the heat of the day. Different cultures brought different fashion attire.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
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