



Produced by Meredith Bach and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net











  The Evolution of Fashion

  BY
  FLORENCE MARY GARDINER

  _Author of "Furnishings and Fittings for Every Home," "About Gipsies,"
  &c. &c._

  [Illustration: SIR ROBERT BRUCE COTTON.]

  London:

  THE COTTON PRESS, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, W.C.




  TO

  FRANCES EVELYN,

  COUNTESS OF WARWICK,

  WHOSE ENTHUSIASTIC AND KINDLY INTEREST IN ALL MOVEMENTS

  CALCULATED TO BENEFIT WOMEN IS UNSURPASSED,

  THIS VOLUME,

  BY SPECIAL PERMISSION, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

  BY

  THE AUTHOR.

  IN THE YEAR OF

  HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIAMOND JUBILEE,

  1897.

[Illustration: _Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland._ _Princess Henry of
Pless._ _The Countess of Warwick._ _Lady Marjorie Greville._ _Lady Eva
Dugdale._

THE WARWICK BALL.]




PREFACE.


In compiling this volume on Costume (portions of which originally
appeared in the _Ludgate Illustrated Magazine_, under the editorship of
Mr. A. J. Bowden), I desire to acknowledge the valuable assistance I
have received from sources not usually available to the public; also my
indebtedness to the following authors, from whose works I have
quoted:--Mr. Beck, Mr. R. Davey, Mr. E. Rimmel, Mr. Knight, and the late
Mr. J. R. Planche. I also take this opportunity of thanking Messrs.
Liberty and Co., Messrs. Jay, Messrs. E. R. Garrould, Messrs. Walery,
Mr. Box, and others, who have offered me special facilities for
consulting drawings, engravings, &c., in their possession, many of which
they have courteously allowed me to reproduce, by the aid of Miss Juliet
Hensman, and other artists.

The book lays no claim to being a technical treatise on a subject which
is practically inexhaustible, but has been written with the intention of
bringing before the general public in a popular manner circumstances
which have influenced in a marked degree the wearing apparel of the
British Nation.

  FLORENCE MARY GARDINER.

  _West Kensington, 1897._




CONTENTS.


  CHAPTER.                                                          PAGE.

  I. THE DRESS, B.C. 594--A.D. 1897                                    3

  II. CURIOUS HEADGEAR                                                15

  III. GLOVES                                                         25

  IV. CURIOUS FOOTGEAR                                                31

  V. BRIDAL COSTUME                                                   39

  VI. MOURNING                                                        51

  VII. ECCENTRICITIES OF MASCULINE COSTUME                            61

  VIII. A CHAT ABOUT CHILDREN AND THEIR CLOTHING                      71

  IX. FANCY COSTUME OF VARIOUS PERIODS                                79

  X. STAGE AND FLORAL COSTUME                                         89




THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION




CHAPTER I.

THE DRESS, B.C. 594--A.D. 1897.

  "Fashions that are now called new
  Have been worn by more than you;
  Elder times have used the same,
  Though these new ones get the name."

  _Middleton's "Mayor of Quinborough."_


A hard fate has condemned human beings to enter this mortal sphere
without any natural covering, like that possessed by the lower animals
to protect them from the extremes of heat and cold. Had this been
otherwise, countless myriads, for untold ages, would have escaped the
tyrannical sway of the goddess Fashion, and the French proverb, _il faut
souffrir pour etre belle_, need never have been written.

[Illustration: EARLY EGYPTIAN.]

The costume of our progenitors was chiefly remarkable for its extreme
simplicity; and, as far as we can gather, no difference in design was
made between the sexes. A few leaves entwined by the stalks, the
feathers of birds, the bark of trees, or roughly-dressed skins of
animals were probably regarded by _beaux_ and _belles_ of the Adamite
period as beautiful and appropriate adornments for the body, and were
followed by garments made from plaited grass, which was doubtless the
origin of weaving, a process which is nothing more than the mechanical
plaiting of hair, wool, flax, &c. In many remote districts these
primitive fashions still prevail, as, for example, in Madras, where, at
an annual religious ceremony, it is customary for the low caste natives
to exchange for a short period their usual attire for an apron of
leaves. In the Brazilian forests the _lecythis_, or "shirt tree," is to
be found, from which the people roll off the bark in short lengths, and,
after making it pliable in water, cut two slits for the arm-holes and
one for the neck, when their dress is complete and ready for use. The
North American Indian employs feathers for purposes of the toilet, and
many African tribes are noted for their deftly-woven fabrics composed of
grass and other vegetable fibres, while furs and skins are essential
articles of dress in Northern latitudes. Perhaps the earliest specimen
of a modiste's bill in existence has recently been found on a chalk
tablet at Nippur, in Chaldea. The hieroglyphics record ninety-two robes
and tunics: fourteen of these were perfumed with myrrh, aloes and
cassia. The date of this curious antique cannot be less than two
thousand eight hundred years before the Christian era. In ancient times
it must be remembered that the principal seats of civilisation were
Assyria and Egypt, and upon these countries Western nations depended for
many of the luxuries of life. The Jews derived their fine fabrics from
the latter place, which was particularly noted for its linen
manufactures and for magnificent embroideries, of which the accompanying
illustration will give some idea. Medes and Babylonians, of the highest
class, partially arrayed themselves in silk, which cost its weight in
gold, and about the time of Ezekiel (B.C. 594) it is known to have been
used in the dress of the Persians. It is a remarkable circumstance that
this animal product was brought to the West manufactured in cloth, which
was only half silk; and it is said the plan was devised of unravelling
the stuff, which was rewoven into cloth of entire silk. Owing to its
high price, the Romans forbade its being used for the entire dress by
men, complete robes of silk being reserved for women. It is numbered
among the extravagant luxuries of Heliogabalus that he was the first man
who wore a silken garment, and the anecdote is well known of the Emperor
Aurelian, who refused, on the ground of its extravagant cost, a silk
dress which his consort earnestly desired to possess.

Monuments still in existence show that the Egyptians, owing to the
warmth of their climate, were partial to garments of a semi-transparent
character, while those living on the banks of the Tigris, who were
subjected to greater extremes of temperature, wore clothing of similar
design, but of wool, with heavy fringes of the same as a trimming. In
some cases this feature of Assyrian costume is shown in double rows, one
pendent, while the other stands out in a horizontal direction.

[Illustration: GREEK.]

The early Greek dress, or chiton, was a very simple contrivance,
reaching to the feet. If ungirdled, it would trail on the ground; but
generally it was drawn through the zone or waistbelt in such a manner
that it was double to the extent of about thirty inches over the vital
organs of the body. The great distinction between male and female dress
consisted in the length of the skirt. The trimmings were of embroidery,
woven diapers, figure bands with chariots and horses; and, in some
cases, glass ornaments and thin metal plates were applied. Among the
working classes the chiton was, of course, homespun, or of leather.

[Illustration: ROMAN.]

The stola was the Roman equivalent for the nineteenth century robe or
gown, and in many respects resembled the Greek chiton. The fabrics
employed were wool and linen up to the end of the Republic, though at a
later date, as has already been stated, silk was imported. Colour, under
the Emperors, was largely used, and at least thirteen shades of the dye
obtained from the murex, which passed under the general name of purple,
could be seen in the costume of both sexes.

When the Roman Empire was dismembered (A.D. 395) a style of dress seems
to have flourished in the important towns of the Mediterranean, which
was similar to that worn in mediaeval times in Britain, and which may be
examined in the specimens of statuary adorning tombs of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. The semi-tight under-dress and sleeves appear to
have been elaborately embroidered, and the loose mantle of plain
material was edged with a border.

[Illustration: BYZANTINE.]

One of the earliest descriptions of the female dress in Britain is that
of Boadicea, the Queen of the Iceni, whom we are told wore a tunic woven
chequerwise in purple, red, and blue. Over this was a shorter garment
open on the bosom, and leaving the arms bare. Her yellow hair flowed
over her shoulders, upon which rested an ample cloak, secured by a
_fibula_ (brooch). A torque, or necklet, was also worn; a pair of bronze
breastplates as a protection from the Roman arrows, and her fingers and
arms were covered with rings and bracelets.

[Illustration: ANGLO-SAXON.]

The costume of the Anglo-Saxon ladies consisted of a _sherte_, or
_camise_, of linen next the skin, a kirtle, which resembled the modern
petticoat, and a gunna, or gown, with sleeves. Out of doors a mantle
covered the upper portion of the body, and with the coverchief, or head
rail, formed a characteristic feature of the dress of the day. Cloth,
silk, and linen were the favourite materials for clothing, and red,
blue, yellow, and green the fashionable colours. Very little black and
white were used at this period. Saxon women were renowned for their
skill with the needle, and used large quantities of gold thread and
jewels in their work. Among other instances quoted, Queen Editha
embroidered the coronation mantle of her husband, Edward the Confessor.

For some years after the Norman Conquest, women retained the costume of
the Anglo-Saxon period, with certain additions and modifications. Fine
 cloths and richest furs were used by both sexes, and sleeves
and trains were such a length that it was found necessary to knot them,
so that they should not trail upon the ground.

The next important change was the surcoat and tight bodice, which was
fastened in front to fit the figure.

There are evident traces that as civilisation advanced the love of dress
and the desire of the fair sex to appear beautiful in the eyes of all
beholders increased in like proportion. From ancient MSS. and other
sources, we have ample proof of this. St. Jerome calls women
"_philoscomon_," that is to say, lovers of finery, and another writer
states: "One of the most difficult points to manage with women is to
root out their curiosity for clothes and ornaments for the body." St.
Bernard admonished his sister with greater candour than politeness on
her visiting him, well arraied with riche clothinge, with perles and
precious stones: "Such pompe and pride to adorne a carion as is youre
body. Thinke ye not of the pore people, that be deyen for hunger and
colde; and that for the sixth parte of youre gay arraye, forty persons
might be clothed, refreshed, and kepte from the colde?"

The increased facilities for travelling offered to those engaged in the
Crusades, and the necessary intercourse with other nations, caused
considerable quantities of foreign materials to be imported to England
during the Middle Ages: and this had a corresponding effect upon the
costume of the period, which was chiefly remarkable for its richness and
eccentricity of form. Among the materials in use may be mentioned diaper
cloth from Ypres, a town in Flanders, famous for its rich dress stuffs;
tartan, called by the French "tyretaine," meaning _teint_, or colour of
Tyre (scarlet being indifferently used for purple by ancient writers,
and including all the gradations of colour formed by a mixture of blue
and red, from indigo to crimson). There was a fine white woollen cloth
called Blanket, named after its inventor, Sarcenet, also from its
Saracenic origin, and gauze which was made at Gaza in Palestine. Ermine
was strictly confined to the use of the Royal Family and nobles, and
cloth of gold, and habits embroidered with jewellery, or lined with
minever or other expensive fur, could only be worn by knights and ladies
with incomes exceeding 400 marks per annum. Those who had not more than
200 marks were permitted to wear silver cloth, with ribands, girdles,
&c., reasonably embellished; also woollen cloth not costing more than
six marks the piece.

[Illustration: 12TH CENTURY.]

The tight forms of dress now in common use among women were an incentive
to tight lacing, an injurious practice, from which their descendants
suffer. A lady is described

  "Clad in purple pall,
  With gentyll body and middle small,"

and another damsel, whose splendid girdle of beaten gold was embellished
with emeralds and rubies, evidently, from the description, had a waist
which was not the size intended by Nature.

[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY.]

During the Wars of the Roses both trade and costume made little
progress, and after the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster by the
marriage of Henry VII. with his Queen, Elizabeth, their attention was
chiefly concerned in filling their impoverished coffers, which left them
little opportunity for promoting new fashions in dress. Henry VIII.
afforded ample facilities for the revival of the trade in dress goods,
and there is little difficulty in tracing female costume of the
sixteenth century when we remember that in the course of thirty-eight
years he married six wives, besides having them painted times without
number by all the popular artists of the day.

[Illustration: 16TH CENTURY. _From Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots._]

J. R. Planche in his "History of British Costume," says: "The gowns of
the nobility were magnificent, and at this period were open in front to
the waist, showing the kirtle, or inner garment, as what we should call
the petticoat was then termed." Anne of Cleves, who found so little
favour in Henry's eyes, is said to have worn at their first interview "a
rich gowne of cloth of gold made round, without any train, after the
Dutch fashion;" and in a wardrobe account of the eighth year of this
Bluebeard's reign appears the following item: "Seven yards of purple
cloth of damask gold for a kirtle for Queen Catherine of Arragon." The
dress of Catherine Parr is thus described by Pedro de Gante, secretary
to the Spanish Duke de Najera, who visited Henry VIII. in 1543-1544:
"She was robed in cloth of gold, with a'saya' (petticoat) of brocade,
the sleeves lined with crimson satin and trimmed with three-piled
crimson velvet. Her train was more than two yards long." Articles of
dress were often bequeathed by will. In one made on the 14th of August,
1540, William Cherington, yeoman, of Waterbeche, leaves "To my mother
_my holyday gowne_." Nicholas, Dyer of Feversham, 29th October, 1540,
"To my sister, Alice Bichendyke, thirteen shillings and ninepence _which
she owed me_, and two kerchiefs of holland." John Holder, rector of
Gamlingay, in 1544 leaves to Jane Greene "my clothe frock lined with
satin cypress." These entries are from wills in the Ely Registry.

[Illustration: 17TH CENTURY.]

A peculiar feature in the costume of both sexes was sleeves distinct
from the gown, but attached (so as to be changed at pleasure) to the
waistcoat. Among the inventories we find three pairs of purple satin
sleeves for women, one pair of linen sleeves paned with gold over the
arm, quilted with black silk and wrought with flowers; one pair of
sleeves of purple gold tissue damask wire, each one tied with aglets of
gold; one pair of crimson satin sleeves, four buttons of gold being set
on each, and in every button nine pearls.

We are all familiar with the distended skirts, jewelled stomachers and
enormous ruffs which adorned the virgin form of Good Queen Bess. In the
middle of her reign the body was imprisoned in whalebone, and the
fardingale, the prototype of the modern hoop, was introduced, as it was
not to be supposed that a lady who is said to have left three thousand
dresses in her wardrobe would remain faithful to the fashions of her
grandmother; and Elizabeth's love of dress permeated all classes of
society.

The portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, who was considered an authority on
matters of the toilet, and whose taste for elegance of apparel had been
cultivated to a high degree during her residence at the French Court is
given. There is a subtlety and charm about it which is wanting in the
costume of her cousin Elizabeth, and it may be considered a fair type of
what was worn