The Baroque and Rocaille style
Dresses from the period of 1700 - 1790
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Dress with plis Watteau and children's vest (1720/1750) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
BAROQUE PERIOD
During the Baroque period, women’s dress mostly comprised three items: the fitted bodice, the skirt and the overskirt. Large necklines, makeup and perfumes were essential elements of seduction.
1740 AND 1770
Between 1740 and 1770, within plain Rocaille period, a new and buoyant dress is introduced, composed of bodice, skirt and the well-known plis Watteau.
Dress and Men's suit (1770/1780) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Empire Style
Dresses from the peroid 1796-1820
Empire dress (1804) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Dresses were made of light and diaphanous materials, such as cotton and were cut in straight lines, with high waists and short puff sleeves accompanied.
The Romantic style
Dresses from the period of 1825 - 1865
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Cream and red silk taffeta dress (1850/1860) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
ROMANTICISM
The publication of the poems Camões (1825) and D. Branca (1826) by Almeida Garrett marked the beginning of Romanticism in Portugal, which would endure for 40 years.
Green taffeta dress (1840/1850) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
CORSETS AND THE WAISTLINE
Women recovered the use of corsets and the waistline returned to its natural place, since fashion demanded delicate waists.
Lilac silk taffeta dress and shawl (1850) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE 1850'S
In the 1850’s skirts reached its maximum expression with the introduction of the crinoline.
FEMALES IN ROMANTICISM
The feminine ideal of Romanticism praised delicate, fragile and pale women, consumed by melancholia. The favourite fabrics were silk and cotton muslin with leaves, flowers, checkered and stripes patterns.
The Belle Époque style
Dresses from the period of 1870 - 1914
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Red silk satin dress (1870/1880) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
19TH CENTURY
The second half of the 19th century was an era of great eclecticism both in arts and in fashion with a clear influence of other periods’ styles. Women wore two-piece dresses, comprising bodice and skirt made of heavy fabrics.
FEMALE DRESS
Women’s dress featuring this frame was made fashionable by the couturier Charles Worth.
White and gray silk taffeta dress (1870) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
VOLUMINOUS FRAME
Silhouette was provided by a voluminous internal frame called tournure (bustle) on the backside of the skirt.
CORSET AND BODICE
The corset underneath the bodice remained in fashion. The skirt was long, with an array of drapery, passementerie, trinkets, ribbons, bows, pompoms and fringes.
Brown dress (1890) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
HEALTH CORSETS
In 1890 women witnessed the emergence of the so-called health corsets, which shaped an “S” undulated silhouette.
Black silk satin dress (1895/1905) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
TURTLEDOVE BREAST
Women’s bust was elevated and emphasized in such a way that it was called "turtledove breast". The long skirts suggested bell jars and usually exhibited a small train.
From styles to trends
Dresses from the period of the 20th century.
Evening dress (1913) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE LEAN SILHOUETTE
Women promptly followed the new slender and lean silhouette proposed by Paul Poiret, who dictated fashion in Paris.
STRAIGHT LINE
Dresses were straight lined and high waisted, enabling women to free themselves from the corset.
Evening dress (1925) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE ROARING TWENTIES
The 1920’s, or the Roaring Twenties, was a decade of prosperity, pursuit of pleasure, nightlife enjoyment and artistic renovation.
Pink dress (1920/1930) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
STRAIGHT LINES
The dresses were cut in straight lines, had low waists and showed the legs above the knees.
Cream silk taffeta dress (1930/1940) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
In the 1930’s, women’s dress returned to more curvy lines, skirts were longer and the waistline returned to its natural place.
Long red dress (1930/1935) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Madeleine Vionnet created the bias cut, which al¬lowed clothes an appreciated flexibility and fluidity, giving the body a sensual shape.
White silk dress (1944) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Second World War (1939/1945) imposed exten¬sive restrictions and several Haute Couture houses closed down in France. Wartime rationing meant shorter and tighter clothing. Women wore tailleurs with trimmed waistline, straight and mid-length skirts, padded shoulders and wide ample pockets, granting their silhouette a masculine and almost military figure.
Black wool jacket and black wool twill frock coat and trousers (1947) by Jacket: Edward MolineuxNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
After the end of Second World War, Christian Dior met women’s yearnings when he created a feminine and luxurious silhouette. His style was named New Look since it appeared as a reaction to the functional fashion of the 1940’s. It was pre¬sented in Paris in 1947 with the aim of restoring sensuality to women’s look.
Paper dress (1965/1970) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
NONCONFORMIST ATTITUDE
The 1960’s typified a new change in dress. Youth became the model to take after, conveying a nonconformist attitude and opposing politics and mentalities of the time. Fashion movements came from the streets and influenced Haute Couture.
Nappa dress (1965) by Attrib. Paco RabanneNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE AVANT-GARDE
Paco Rabanne, André Courrèges and Pierre Cardin embodied the avant-garde tendencies of the 1960’s and were associated with the futuristic fashion.
Light blue evening dress (1970) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE MAXI-SKIRT
Young fashion trends in the seventies included the maxi-skirt, hot pants and long trousers.
Paper dress (1965/1970) by Unknown authorNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
RETURN TO NATURE
Defiance to the establishment with a non-violent, utopian ideology defending the return to nature.
Velvet dress (1979/1980) by Yves Saint LaurentNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE SEVENTIES
Yves Saint Laurent was the couturier who represented the height of chic in the seventies and his name became a synonym for elegance.
READY TO WEAR
Yves Saint Laurent was the man who set the image of the 1970s, although he had launched in 1966 the trouser suit and the Haute Couture smoking for women. His ready-to-wear creations issued fundamental articles for the modern women clothing.
Dress inspired in the portuguese tiles (1986) by José CarlosNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
THE EIGHTIES
Dress, 1986
José Carlos
Blue coat and multicolour skirt (1985) by AugustusNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Dress, 1985
Augustus
Nylon Dress (1996) by Fátima LopesNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
PORTUGUESE FASHION
A large number of portuguese fashion designed have emerged and been successful since 1980s.
Long dress with marine motifs (1997) by Nuno GamaNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
In the nineties the ecological consciousness is emphasized and news forms of spirituality emerge, and there are new ideas coming to the fore based on a broad, global humanitarian outlook.
THE MINIMALIST
Fashion developed in two major directions: the minimalist and the spectacular.
Flower dress (2005) by Paulo AzenhaNational Museum of Costume in Portugal
Dress, 2005
Paulo Azenha
Texts: Madalena Braz Teixeira
Translation: Márcia de Brito
Online exhibition: Cândida Caldeira
Collection: National Costume Museum in Portugal
Photos: ©DGPC/ADF
Bibliography:
- PORTUGAL. Museu Nacional do Traje; TEIXEIRA, Madalena Braz Teixeira; Trad. Márcia de Brito - Moda do Século : 1900-2000. Lisboa : Museu Nacional do Traje, 2000. ISBN 972-9261-54-7
- PORTUGAL. Museu Nacional do Traje; TEIXEIRA, Madalena Braz Teixeira; trad. Márcia de Brito - National Costume Museum: guide. Lisboa : Instituto Português de Museus, 2005. ISBN 972-776-274-3
- PORTUGAL. Museu Nacional do Traje - [Texts from the Permanent exhibition of the National Museum of - Costume in Portugal. From the XVIII century to the present day.], 2011.
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