American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs
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18 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gobs of Victorian portraits, a great refrence source. Photos are of young and old, nice variety. Mostly Caucasion subjects.
Book preview
American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs - Priscilla Harris Dalrymple
Images
The 1840s
Women’s fashions have, perhaps, never been as prim and demure as they were at this time, although at evening parties the shoulders were bared expansively and the hair was often worn in bouncy corkscrew curls and adorned with flowers and other embellishments. But the typical daytime gown had a long, pointed bodice and a full, dome-shaped, floor-length skirt supported by as many as five or six petticoats. (One might be of crinoline, a stiff fabric made from flax and horsehair.) Dropped shoulders sloped into long, tight sleeves, impeding movement. Center-parted hair was pulled back severely to cover the ears, and a bun was frequently worn at the back. Sometimes hair forms were used to give great width to the sides. It took an exceptional woman to cope with all this and still look attractive. There were a few ameliorating factors, however. Bonnets, which were deep-brimmed (limiting side vision) and joined under the chin, could be very charming. Sometimes they were decorated inside the brim with flowers, and all sorts of other trimmings were used on the outside to good effect. Collars were of dainty lace, parasols and the fingerless black lace gloves known as mitts
were flirtatious accessories, and capes and mantles could be worn becomingly.
Pale, muted colors were consistent with the lack of exuberance of line. Godey’s Lady’s Book describes ensembles: pale pink and black striped gown, mantle of lace, pink roses and ribbons, pale green parasol; pink silk gown with stripes, green mantle, pale yellow bonnet; slate-blue checked silk dress, white fringed shawl, pink bonnet, green parasol
¹ and so on. The colors were more harmonious than the description would lead one to believe. Vegetable dyes were all that were available, and they produced soft, grayed tones that blended well.
In the late forties women’s sleeves began to widen and skirts sometimes had flounces. The bodice was shorter and not necessarily pointed. Corsets were still an indispensable part of the wardrobe, but Godey’s noted with satisfaction that happily for the rising generation of young ladies, the custom of tight-lacing is comparatively little practised.
²
Indoor caps were worn by married women and older spinsters in the house. On visits they were often carried, to be put on after the bonnet was removed, or they were simply worn under the bonnet en route. These caps, usually made by the lady herself, ranged from the simplest, plainest variety to elaborate confections of lace, ribbons and flowers that must have delighted the wearer and her admirers alike.
Little girls followed their mothers’ fashions, with V-shaped vertical tucks in the bodice, dropped shoulders and tight sleeves, but their skirts were much shorter. Older girls had progressively longer skirts. White ankle-length pantalets (often lace-trimmed), white stockings and low black shoes usually completed the outfit. A girl’s hair was always parted in the middle, and generally worn either in corkscrew curls or short, straight and combed behind the ears.
Small boys also wore dresses in much the same style as their sisters’, or skirtlike tunics and pantalets, until they were breeched
when the child was age four or five. Often the only clue to the sex of a child in a daguerreotype is how the hair is parted. If it is on the side, it is male. (A possible variation, for both boys and men, was to part it on both sides, and brush the center hair up, or back, into waves or curls.) Once out of skirts, boys wore pants, usually of ankle length, that buttoned to the shirt—a practical arrangement in which the buttons were simply moved down as the boy grew—and sometimes a short, simple jacket.
An undeniably charming style for little girls and boys, shown time and again in both paintings and images of the era, were wide-necked dresses that bared the neck and shoulders. At a time when houses had no central heating, and infant and child mortality was so high, one would like to think that this reckless apparel was saved for special occasions. To the contrary, there is evidence that it was frequently worn, whatever the season. It did not lack for critics, however; Godey’s decried it as a pernicious fashion . . . uncomfortable as well as injurious,
³ but to no avail. Julia Dent Grant writes, the children’s arms and legs were bare in those days . . .,
and she, like countless other parents, found that her child looked very pretty with his dimpled knees and shoulders.
⁴
A gentleman of the forties would wear a dark frock coat (which resembled a short, lightweight, fitted overcoat being worn indoors), trousers that had neither crease nor cuff, and a very tall top hat of silk or beaver. Practically his only chance to express some individuality lay in his choice of a waistcoat, for which figured and bright-colored fabrics were still in style. Collars were either the very high, stiff parricide
type, with points that projected over the cheeks, or the later, turned-down style that was popular with younger men. Cravats and neckcloths were wrapped and tied in a variety of ways. Hair was parted on the side, often curled forward over the ears and worn fairly short. Sideburns were popular. Sometimes a beard was worn below the chin, but the face itself was usually cleanshaven. The aim of most men was to appear dignified and sober, and in this they certainly succeeded.
1.
A vestige of the 1830s remains in this woman’s sleeve fullness; the long-waisted, vertically tucked bodice is typical of the forties, as is the hairstyle. The boy’s bodice and collar echo his mother’s.