Le Dernier Cri: 18th and 19th Century Women's Fashion

Stomacher with Decorative Lacing
England, ca. 1720

Triangular decorative pieces, so-called “stomachers,” were fastened over the corset in an open cutout.

They were preciously outfitted as shown by this stomacher.

Mitaines
Germany, ca. 1720

Mitaines are medium-length fingerless gloves that were very popular during the entire 18th century: they adorned and warmed forearms, which, as a rule, were uncovered.

The embroidery on this pair is especially fine. This includes the use of flattened silver wire over yellow silk core wrought with fancy threads of gilded silver wire, as well as silver canetilles for the detailed decoration and patterning.

Fan
France, ca. 1750

During the 18th century fans were an indispensable, stylish accessory, the leaves of which frequently depicted historical scenes.

This one shows the “Battle of Alexander at Issus”, the victory of Alexander the Great over Persian King Darius III.

Gala Dress “robe à la française”
Silk: France, gown: England, ca. 1775

During the second half of the century striped silks, so-called “pekins,” which ranged from small floral bouquets and scattered flowers in bright, pastel colours to pure striped patterns, became the essence of modernity.

The fabric of this robe à la française is particularly splendid. Flower bouquets held by bows and woven silver butterflies appear between the woven gold longitudinal strips.

A colourfully coordinated, rich trimming of frills, valances, hoops, gauze, lace and tassels became part of a fashionable dress.

Detail of a "robe à l’anglaise"
France or England, ca. 1780

This gown expresses the late 18th century preference for light fabrics in pastel tones. Printed cotton fabrics from India have been popular in Europe since the 17th century. In January 1786, the Journal des Luxus und der Moden reported from London that “in England the finest floral printed and painted muslins and East Indian chintz was in vogue and about four times more expensive than ladies silk fabrics. Nevertheless, they sold like hot cakes and up to 6000 London silk weavers became unemployed”.

New Cuts
During this time additional new types of dresses came about:

Robe à l’anglaise
France or England, ca. 1780

Interest in the English lifestyle grew within France and during this Anglomanie France adopted the cut of the English morninggown with fitted back in the 1770s and, with slight adjustments, turned it into the robe à l’anglaise.

Robe à la polonaise
England, ca. 1775

At the same time the robe à la polonaise was developed. It, too, was a two-piece dress with a manteaux and a skirt that was pulled up into three puffs.

The name of the dress refers to the 1772 triple partition of Poland.

Closed Women’s Shoes
England, 1770-1780

The narrow, tapered heel of this shoe is the Italian heel about which Gentleman’s Magazine wrote in 1776: “Heels to bear the precious charge,/ More diminutive than large,/Slight and brittle, apt to break,/Of the true Italian make” (Mackenzie 2004: 44).

Following the pattern trend for garments of the same time, two delicate flowering branches in metal and sequin embroidery adorn the front leaf with a ribbon rosette above.

Chemise with Train
England, 1795–1800

Modest chemise dresses of fine white cotton replaced the stiff silk robes in women’s fashion…

...and enveloped the body in a flowing arrangement of folds.

Red Velvet Gown with Pearl Embroidery
England, 1805–10

Unusual for its time, this narrowly cut festive gown is of dark red silk velvet. On the occasion of his 1804 coronation as Emperor of France Napoleon reintroduced courtly dress, which led to the return of laboriously embroidered silk and velvet. In so doing Napoleon deliberately supported the French silk industry.

His wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, an eager advocate of “antique fashion”, thus wore a dark red, velvet train with golden embroidery on the occasion of the coronation. That may have been the model for our festive velvet gown.

Walking Dress – Spencer and Skirt
England, ca. 1820

From 1815 on the waist slid down to its natural height, the corset made a comeback. The seams of skirts, still worn smoothly at the waist, spread more fully as a result of voluptuous dimensional trimming, affording them a triangular shape. These remained short enough for the ankles to be seen.

Short little jackets, so-called Spencers, were very popular at the beginning of the 19th century. English Lord George John Spencer, 2nd Earl of Spencer (1758-1834), who is said to have cut off the damaged tails of his tailcoat, lent his name to this fashion. Ladies fashion adopted the practical garment as an ideal supplement to the low-cut chemise dresses.

Day Dress
England, ca. 1845

After 1840 sleeves were primarily worn smooth and flat. Women’s sleeves now appeared delicate and fragile for many years, and stood in impressive contrast to the ever-wider skirts that shaped crinoline fashion from 1850 to 1869.

Boteh (paisley) motifs, coming from the Indian word bota for bush or blossom, were a central motif of the cashmere scarfs that had been popular in Europe since the late 18th century. During the 19th century they were rewoven in Europe. The patterns influenced the designs of woven and printed materials to lasting effect and these forms were also combined with European motifs.

Walking Dress
England, ca. 1855

Little jackets that were open in front and had tails that seemed to form the uppermost flounce of the dress became very popular around 1855. Already after 1845 skirts had become larger and in the 1850s achieved a consistent dome-like form that was often accentuated with ruffles.

The luxuriant trim, with silk chenille fringes that end in small ornamental wooden beads, was very fashionable.

Informal House Frock “déshabillé“
Charles Frederick Worth
Paris 1882/83

The bustle returned in 1882, and in an even more extreme form, under the name cul de Paris. The waist was now back at its original place and was very tightly laced to appear more narrow. The rear cushion stuck out almost horizontally.

The slender silhouette, displayed by this déshabillé, was a decisive influence of haute couture founder Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895). This pioneer regularly presented season-based collections and displayed them to an exclusive clientele on living mannequins.

Summer Costume with Mutton Sleeves
USA/Europe, ca. 1895

In 1894 the Bazar asserted that: “Since we know about and appreciate the value of physical activity, and since we have elevated games into sports, fashion too has created something new and sexy for this arena”.

Lawn tennis, rowing, mountaineering and horseback riding found more and more proponents, reinforcing the need for suitable clothes in which a concentration on material and the renunciation of ornament were at the forefront—as is the case with this linen costume.

Ball Gown
Jean-Philippe Worth
Paris, ca. 1895

By the end of the century, fashion abstained entirely from all voluminous substructures in skirts. The now bell-shaped cuts of skirts lay smoothly against the hip and, thanks to a new cut, enjoyed a swinging breadth from the knee downward.

After 1893 the length of the hem was balanced by the return of the mutton sleeve, displayed here by the multi-layered, tiered and gathered short cap sleeves of this evening gown.

The dress comes from the estate of Mary Goelet, who married the 8th Duke of Roxburghe in 1903. At that time she was regarded as the wealthiest American heiress.

Ball Gown with Embroidery
Madame Paquin
Paris, ca. 1897–98

This two-piece ball gown embodies the luxury of the fin de siècle. The elegant lines and the slightly S-shaped silhouette of the gown take up the curved forms popularized by Art Nouveau.

This gown is an early model by Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936), who often combined pastel tones with contrasting lace.

Black Evening Cape with Medici Collar
Jacques Doucet
Paris, ca. 1895

This elegant evening cape by Jacques Doucet (1853-1929) emphasizes the broad shoulder line typical of 1895. Like Charles Frederick Worth and Pingat, Jacques Doucet belonged to the first generation of large haute couture houses in Paris and was known for his rich, luxurious style.

Only the era of the fin de siècle finally disengaged women’s fashion from the constant change of artificial silhouettes according to historical model and set the stage for modern, contemporary garments which corresponded to the changed role of women in society.

Playing a leading role was the French couturier Paul Poiret, who succeeded in banishing the corset. Following him in the 1920s were Madeleine Vionnet, Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin, to name but a few. Their work marked the beginning of the century of haute couture.