Cabinet Card Photograph, (between 1871 and 1872)

This cabinet card, depicting a fashionable young lady, was produced by the firm of Vandyke & Brown—"Artistes in Photography"—of Liverpool.  From the addresses printed on the back of the photograph it was almost certainly taken in either 1871 or 1872.

 Since this is a portrait, not a fashion photograph, we only see part of the sitter's dress, and that mostly from the waist up.  It's enough to establish that she's on trend for the early 1870s.  Her stylish pagoda sleeves are lined with white frills, which probably would have been part of an undersleeve that was  detachable for laundering. 

The sitter also wears a number of large cameos in the form of bracelets and a necklace.  We can't tell if they were antiques or Victorian imitations from this photograph, but from The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine of June 1869 we learn that:

... patent convex jewellery has caused some sensation among gem collectors and lovers of cameos and of antiques... This kind of pendant is now fashionable, and is worn upon a fine Venice or English made chain.

From other sources we learn that cameos framed in jet were fashionable, and that jewellers in Germany had devised their own methods of making imitation cameos. 

Peterson's Magazine, May 1875

 This week I've decided to skip back a century from the 1970s to the 1870s.  What a contrast!  The fashions of 1875 are ultra-feminine, trimmed (some would say over-trimmed) with ribbons, ruffles, lace and bows.  Skirts trail on the ground—even on garments described as "walking dress"—and hair is piled high in curls and ringlets.  (Fashionable ladies who didn't have sufficient hair of their own could buy "false hair", either sourced from poorer women or from animals.)

The models in this plate are wearing bustles, but 1875 marks the point when the "first bustle" period was coming to an end.  Bodices are starting to become longer, and will soon become form-fitting "curiass" bodices.  The effect is most pronounced on the figure on the far left.

Fig. I—Walking dress of Havana brown silk
Fig. II—House dress of green silk
Fig. III—House-dress of pale stone colored mohair
Fig. IV—Walking dress
Fig. V—House-dress

GENERAL REMARKS...

MANY LATE-PARIS DRESSES are made with but little or no trimming on the skirt; a deep basque or curiass waist, much trimmed serving for the ornament.  But the ruffled and plaited over-skirts have taken such hold of the fancy of many of the fashionables, that they will be retained, though in a somewhat modified form during summer.

ALL THE SPRING DRESSES, as we have said, show a tendency to less trimming, though the inevitable over-skirt is mostly worn in some shape, but very clinging to the figure.  For the house, some dresses with long, narrow trains, have been made.  The waist has wide revers, is rather short waisted, and, in fact, looks very much like fashions that were worn just after the French Revolution, and before the empire style, with its mongrel classic fashion, was in vogue.

Ladies' Treasury (July 1877)

Let's vist the Victorians again.  On the left we have a "HOME COSTUME of ash-grey cambric or cashmere" and on the right is a "PROMENADE TOILETTE OR HOME TOILETTE" in ancient turquoise blue valencia or cambric.  The Ladies Treasury expands:

This colour is neither blue nor green, but the precise colour of old turquoise injured by damp.  The petticoat is not very long ; and one may mention here that the ladies of highest rank wear untrained dresses when walking.

To modern eyes, "not very long" looks very long indeed!  The Ladies' Treasury continues with a description of the latest fashions, not to mention fads and fancies.  Here are a choice selection:

COLOURED CAMBRICS of almost every hue, pink excepted, and cambrics with patterns on them, also foulards are universal... These are worn principally in the morning; but where etiquette or necessity does not prescribe a more elaborate toilette, they are worn all the day till the evening.

 (I wonder why pink was so definitely out of fashion in 1877?)

POLONAISES AND TUNICS—The square form of the latter is generally adopted for tunics, as it falls upon the petticoat, and is not generally looped, but cut up at the sides, as in the coloured plate of this number.  In polonaises, which are very long, there is a tendency to a great deal of trimming, as individual tastes have to be met; but only very thin figures can wear much trimming.

(An oblique hint to the magazine's readers not to overdo it?)

Ribbon bows or rather loops, are seen in all dresses.  These ribbons are literally "two-faced", the surfaces being of different colour.  They are thus exceedingly dressy-looking.  At one time these ribbons were coldly received in England, but now they reign.  Not only are bows and loops made of this kind, but also two or three colours in ribbons are used in one knot or næud of ribbon...

Ladies' Treasury (December 1877)

 Christmas is nearly here, and once again it's time to get dressed up for parties.

At the left we have a dinner dress "of grey faille or satin... The princess form is perfectly plain in front, with the exception of the embroidery, which passes across the front, and is joined on one side with the side seam."  On the right is a "toilette for dinner or soiree in two shades of blue silk... Cuirass bodice and petticoat with train."

The Ladies' Treasury sold paper patterns for both these garments, for 3s. 7d. and 4s. 2d. respectively.  In other words, they were fairly expensive—but then again, these dresses would not have been worn by the average woman.

The Ladies Treasury also liked to keep abreast with the latest fashion news.  What was the latest gossip from Paris in December 1877?   Well it seems as if the House of Worth was making some innovations: 

"WORTH makes no more Princess robes!"  That is the greatest news of the day, and of more interest to the ladies than all the politics of the last four months.  What is the change of a Ministry, or even of a President, compared to the change of a sleeve?

The magazine hastens to reassure its readers that the Princess robe is still fashionable (in fact the dinner dress in the plate above is a fine example of the line).

I have said that the Princess robe is no longer to be worn.  This is nonsense, the robe and the Princess polonaise are still very popular, especially for walking.  Some are buttoned at the back, some in front, and some shawl-fashion, sideways, and across the figure.  There is but one rule— study your figure, and whatever best suits it adopt.  

"The Newest French Fashions" (Ladies Treasury, November 1877)

Late Victorian fashions tended to be cumbersome and over-ornamented, but by Heaven! they looked warm.

 From which the astute reader can deduce that I'm writing this on a cold winter's day.

Above is a fashion plate depicting the newest fashions of 1877.  Both models wear dresses with long trains but no bustles.  "The back breadths of dresses," The Ladies Treasury informs us, are made as flat as possible, the loopings, if any to be at the sides".  The figure on the left is dressed in French merino or cashmere:

"The bodice is in Princess form.  The wide and full train is trimmed from the waist downwards, and caught together with a broad ruching of black satin.  Cuirass paletot of double cashmere lined with flannel and silk, and in the form of three square capes, the two lowest fitting to the figure.  The trimming is of clair-de-lune or moonlight beads and fringe."

Paper patterns for the dress and jacket were available from the magazine.

The figure on the right is wearing a "Home Costume":

"of light gray Royal Wellington serge (Egerton Burnett's).  Robe of Princess form, split up the back, where a full breadth to form the train is inserted, the to split sides being drawn together with grenat cords and tassels.   The cuirass bodice is simulated [my emphasis] by narrow velvet trimming and fringe."

Patterns were not advertised for this dress.

"Sylvia's Home Journal" (October 1878)

 To round off October, the fashion plate which appeared with the October 1878 issue of Sylvia's Home Journal.

Sylvia's was a British women's magazine which ran from 1878 to 1891.  At sixpence an issue it wasn't the cheapest magazine on sale—but neither was it the most expensive!  It mainly contained fashion, fiction and household advice for its middle-class readers, and interestingly, it was one of the few magazines for women actually edited by a woman.

The garments depicted are described as "Elegant Travelling Costumes" in the magazine.  The lady on the left is wearing a dress made of faille (a lightly woven silk with a ribbed texture) with a "short" train.  The woman on the right is wearing a "short costume" (that is, one without a train) made of cashmere.  The back of the costume, which we can't see, is draped in falling loops.  Finally, on the right, is a costume for a little girl aged six or seven.  Her dress has two flounces, and is worn with a matching jacket ornamented with silk cord.

Peterson's Magazine, July 1878

Time for a quick trip back to the 19th century...

The artist has posed his models in a seaside setting, but none of the clothes depicted look suitable for the beach.

Fig. I. —A house dress of blue silk; the front is trimmed with three narrow knife-plaitings; the back breadths are laid in a number of narrow plaits, which are stitched-down near the bottom, and form a fan-shaped train; the over-dress of white bѐrѐge has a long plain front, edged with white blonde lace; the bѐrѐge corsage is worn over a low, blue silk corsage; it has two plaitings at the back, but the front is made as a close-fitting basque; the half sleeves are trimmed with three plaitings of the bѐrѐge.

(This definitely sounds nothing like the kind of "house dress" worn to do housework!  "Berege" (usually printed without the accents) is a light silk and wool blend.)

Fig. II—Walking-dress of cream-colored bunting; the lower-skirt is trimmed with one deep-plaited flounce, trimmed with a cardinal red and black figured braid; the long over-dress is turned up about half a yard at the bottom, in front, and is trimmed with the same braid; the long, back breadth is simply looped; deep cuirass made quite plain with half-long sleeves, and trimmed with cardinal red buttons and ribbons.  Hat of yellow straw, with long gauze veil and cardinal red flowers.  Long black lace mitts.

(The "cuirass" bodice was a long, sheath-like bodice that fitted over the hips.  It was popular from the late 1870s into the 1880s.)

Fig. III—Afternoon dress of pink silk made short; the front has three plaited ruffles, and the back is laid in straight plaits; over-dress of thin, white muslin, trimmed with wide insertion of imitation Valenciennes lace; the basque is deep, and the skirt is set on at the bottom of the basque in order to prevent the effect of the double muslin below the waist.  Scarf mantalet of the muslin, trimmed with two goffered ruffles.  Straw bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon and pink flowers.

("Made short" in this context seems to mean "without a train".  A "mantalet" was a short cape or woman's shoulder covering, usually longer in the front than in the back.)

Fig. IV—Afternoon dress of blue grenadine over blue silk or percale.  The under-dress is made quite plain in front, and has one plaited ruffle, reaching from side to side; the over-dress is very short in front, and is looped on the left side, scarf fashion; the over-dress at the back (coming from under the scarf drapery) is quite long; the mantalet and over-dress are all trimmed with knife-plaitings of grenadine, trimmed with bands of white grenadine figured in blue.  Black straw hat, trimmed with blue ribbon.

(Grenadine was a fabric made either of loosely woven silk, or a combination of wool and silk.)

Fig. V—House dress of black silk, with a light yellow, brocaded gauze over-dress; the over-dress is made polonaise, quite long, and is trimmed down the back and around the bottom with insertion and blonde lace; the deep side trimmings on the back are finished with knots of black and light yellow satin ribbon; the sleeves are of black silk, half-long, and trimmed like the skirt; long, black kid gloves.

(The late Victorians loved reviving historical fashions!  In the 18th century a "polonaise" was a skirt and bodice cut in one, with the skirts looped up at the back.  In the 1870s a polonaise was overskirt attached to a bodice, which hung strait at the front, looped up at the sides and draped at the back.)

Since women's fashions of the 1870s placed the emphasis on the back of the dress, all but one of the figures in the fashion plate above are turned away from the reader!

"A Snowy Afternoon" (Peterson's Magazine, February 1878)

Although this plate is captioned "A Snowy Afternoon" it in fact depicts garments meant to be worn at different times of the day.

For those who could afford to change clothes several times a day, the general rule was the later the hour, the more formal the costume.  The outfits above would have most probably been worn for afternoon visits and evening parties.  From left to right we have a

• Walking costume of green camel's-hair
• Evening dress of primrose colored silk
• Carriage-dress of brown silk and light-gray India cashmere
• Evening dress of light-blue silk for a young lady
• Walking dress of chamois-colored camel's-hair.  

The "walking" dresses seem rather impractical, but contrary to modern expectations, they were not intended as exercise costumes.  They were fashionable outfits be seen in while promenading and paying visits!

"The Winter Moonlight" (Peterson's Magazine January 1878)

Peterson's Magazine used to copy fashion plates from French magazines.  By the 1870s it seems that they were taking figures from several plates and combining them into one image.  The end result was  often an odd combination of costumes (a model wearing a ball dress standing next to one in sportswear, for example).  Happily that is avoided in this image of women mostly in evening dress.  From left to right:

• Dinner dress in peach-colored silk
• Dinner dress in green silk, with a white cashmere dolman
• Evening dress in blue silk for a young lady
• Evening dress of white tulle over white silk
• Reception dress of black silk.

Of these, only the last is suitable for (formal) day wear.

Three Portrait Photographs from the 1870s

Photographer unknown.

There is no information on the back of this cabinet card about the photographer who took this portrait, so I'm forced to rely on the sitter's costume alone in order to date it.  She is wearing a dress typical of the "First Bustle" era, which means the photograph was almost certainly taken no later than 1874.  From the cut of the sleeves and the style of the bodice, I'm inclined to place it a bit earlier—from around 1870 to 1872.

Incidentally, "First Bustle" period is a bit of a misnomer, because bustles, and bustle-like underpinnings, had been fashionable in various periods before the nineteenth century.  The bustle fashions of the 1870s were imitations of the fashionable dress of the 1680s and 1690s, though constructed quite differently.  The concept of reviving old fashions did not originate in the twentieth century!

 George Fry & Co., Artists & Photographers, 12 Lower Seymour St., Portman Square W

This photograph can be dated with fair accuracy to either 1874 or 1875, as the photographer is listed in the London Post Office Directory at that address only for these years.  Because George Fry & Co was located in the West End of London his sitters were probably mostly well-to-do, and this young lady certainly seems prosperous and fashionably dressed for the mid-1870s.

 

 

Stewart & Co., Photographers, Miniature & Portrait Painters, 217 & 219 Bourke St. East, MELBOURNE

Over the years this photograph has come adrift from the card it is pasted on.

The subject of this portrait is wearing fashionable dress for the late 1870s.  This fits with the address on the back of the photograph, as Stewart & Co. expanded their premises from 217 Bourke Street into No. 219 in the New Year of 1877.

Stewart & Co. was located in the theatrical district of nineteenth century Melbourne, and according to some sources, made a specialty of photographing performers.  This stylish young woman might be an actress—though alas! who she was and what parts she appeared in are no longer known.

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine (1870)

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was launched in 1856 by Samuel and Isabella Beeton (of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management fame).  It was one of the earliest "women's service magazines", publishing a soon-to-be standard mixture of domestic advice, fiction and fashion.

July 1870

The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was published in two editions—a shilling edition which came with a colour fashion plate, and a sixpenny one which came without.  It was also one of the earliest magazines to include paper dressmaking patterns with each issue.

September 1870

Here we see depicted the fashions of the early 1870s, an era when more was definitely more.  Each model is depicted wearing elaborate confections of bustles, bows, flounces and trimmings in situations (on a beach, travelling) where you'd expect simpler outfits to prevail.  The whole effect is rather upholstered: our pretty models remind me of nothing so much as a pair of ottomans that have somehow managed to escape from a Victorian parlour to roam the streets.

"In the Rose Garden" (Peterson's Magazine, 1875)

It's Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, and the days are short and the nights are cold.  So, in order to remind myself that the days will be long and warm again, I present the colour fashion plate from the June 1875 issue of Peterson's Magazine (captioned "In the Rose Garden").

To tell the truth, none of these clothes look suitable for a garden—at least not if you wish to stray off the neatly graveled paths.  They certainly look unsuitable for gardening!  However they are just right for posing daintily in a garden.  Women's clothes in the 1870s were liberally covered in feathers, flowers and flounces, and the wearers were further encumbered by bustles, corsets and trains.  The fashions of the decade reached a peak of fussy Victorian femininity that has never been seen since.  

Peterson's Magazine, August 1874

Here we have swimming costumes for a woman and child - who, to modern eyes, look somewhat overdressed for a day at the mall!  However, in comparison to their everyday costumes they appear positively liberated, with bare arms, free legs and, quite obviously, no corsets!

Photograph, ca. 1870

... And this carte de visite photograph, taken by Francis Guy of Cork around the same time Peterson's published the fashion plate I posted yesterday, show the fashions translated into clothes Miss or Mrs Average would wear.  As you can see they're somewhat less than elegant, though the lack of colour in this photograph may have robbed the garments of some of their original charm.  I wonder what shade they originally were?  Bright purple was popular in the early 1870s, a colour made recently available to all by the invention of the first artificial aniline dyes.

Peterson's Magazine, June 1870

This magazine spent over a month wandering around in the postal system after I bought it on eBay!  However it made its way to me at last - and included the delightful plate I've scanned here.  It depicts a selection of fashions from the early 1870s, the main features of which are high waistlines, bulky skirts supported at the rear by bustles and an abundance of frills.  All in all  dresses in this plate look rather overwhelming, and the women of the era who wore these fashions must have looked more like bundles of material than actual human beings!  Sleeker and more sinuous outfits became fashionable later in the decade.

Fashion in Photographs, 1860-1880 by Miles Lambert

This book was published in 1991, and alas is no longer in print.  (One of the few problems I have with Batsford is that their publications never seem to stay in print for long.)  However if you can find a copy of it secondhand, I would recommend it.

Its contents are as stated on the cover - fashions as they appear in photographs from 1860 to 1880.  The book draws on the National Portrait Gallery in London as its source, so the pictures are heavily biased toward the rich and the famous - but then again, so are most histories of fashion.  This one at least gives the reader some idea how the clothes of the era actually looked when worn, rather than how they appeared in idealised fashion plates.  (But watch out for re-touched photographs - people tampered with images long before the invention of Photoshop!)

The book is divided by decade, and further subdivided into "Men", "Women" and "Groups".  Each photograph has a lengthy caption that tells you something about the sitters, and describes the clothes they are wearing.  The author quotes extensively from contemporary periodicals in order to demonstrate how the fashion advice of the era translated into actual garments.

I've just one bone to pick - the book seems to be slanted toward the 1860s, with much more space and many more examples being given to the former decade than the latter.  Either this bias is built into the National Portrait Gallery's collections, or Mr Lambert was more interested in the 1860s than the 1870s.  Whatever the reason, it gives Fashion in Photographs a lopsided feel, and under-represents an interesting era in dress.

Published: London: Batsford, 1991.
ISBN 07134 6392 9