FASHIONS OF THE PRESENT DAY (CONTINUED).
1878 TO 1881.
The International Exhibition of 1878—Foreign countries—Japanese
fans—The little lace-makers of Peniche—Retrospective Exhibition
of costume in France—“Considérations sur le vêtement des
femmes,” by M. Charles Blanc—Historical Exhibition at
the Trocadéro—Comprehensive glance at the curiosities of
that Exhibition—“The movement” in 1879—“Merveilleuse,”
“Niniche,” and other bonnets—Plush—Gown-stuff at a
hundred francs the yard—Scarfs, casaques, and various
bodices—Madras costumes—Under-clothing; chemise-corsets,
morning-gowns—“Housewife” fans; fan-holders—Trinkets—New
materials—Visites; jackets; bows; neckties—The year
1880—“Cabriolet” bonnets; “passe-montagnes”—The pilgrim
costume—Satins—Favourite colours—Vests—Art buttons—Bulgarian
costumes—Jerseys—Scented gloves—Flowers in profusion; a bridal
bouquet—Midshipman bonnets—Nordenskiold—Dust-cloaks—Revolution
in bonnets—Art and fashion—“Porte-veines.”
We cannot doubt that the year 1878 will be famous in the long annals of
Fashion, on account of the International and special Exhibitions that
filled Paris with visitors from all parts of the world. In like manner,
every civilized country deluged us with fanciful inventions, and with
extraordinary ideas, that have for the most part vanished.
The galleries devoted to clothing were not less remarkable than those
set aside for other industrial products, and yet the public soon wearied
of them. They were so spacious, not to say encumbered; and then the
attractions of the shop windows were as great as those of the galleries.
Some few however were popular. The cases of Lyons silks, St. Etienne
ribbons, Tarara muslins, stuffs of Roubaix, Rouen, and Paris manufacture;
and the charming Swiss pavilion, with its exquisitely arranged curtains,
lace, tulle, embroidery, and trimmings, are not yet forgotten. The
national costumes brought to Paris from the uttermost ends of the
earth—from Lapland to the Cape of Good Hope, from Oceania to the western
extremity of Europe—excited a good deal of interest.
Every accessory of dress was at hand for the purposes of comparison by
lady connoisseurs. The East set before us its perfumes, coffers, shawls,
tissues, and knick-knacks of all sorts, including the hinged fans, a
Japanese invention, said to have been suggested by the wings of the
bat. America displayed her products, remarkable rather for comfort than
elegance; Africa, her garments dating from the most distant ages, and
Europe showed us her undeniable superiority, her marvellous progress,
and her new inventions, which, whether practical or not, are generally
at least ingenious. I must except, as regards clothes, both Italy and
Holland, while Russia was hardly remarkable except for her furs.
The manufacturers of lace in Portugal are treading in the steps of the
English past-masters in that line, and are attaining the highest degree
of excellence. The lace-workers lead a curious life. At Peniche, in
Estramadura, there are eight schools of lace work. Little girls sometimes
begin to learn at the age of four, and soon acquire such skill that they
can handle fifty dozen spindles at a time, and yet pay attention to
things quite apart from their habitual work.
Spanish gloves are even superior to those of Paris; but Spanish fans,
although articles of such constant use on the far side of the Pyrenees,
fail both in design and execution.
We must do justice to Greece, which now possesses numerous factories. The
Greek hand-made coloured Oriental lace, is very pretty, and the national
costumes charmed the eyes of all visitors to the Palace in the Champs de
Mars. Unfortunately those splendid gold-embroidered garments are fast
disappearing. Neither the king nor queen of Greece wear them at the
present day. European fashions have usurped their place.
The subject of the International Exhibition of 1878, has already been
exhausted; I could only add a few insignificant pages to the voluminous
writings of other authors, who have described it; and I should besides
be exceeding the limits of my subject. Hardly had the portals of
the building in the Champs de Mars been closed, when manufacturers
were already inventing fresh novelties, which will be offered for our
inspection at the next Great Exhibition.
The Exhibition of 1878 is now of historical value only. It was a great
advance on preceding Exhibitions, and, according to the laws of human
progress, will be surpassed by those of the future.
Before 1878 however, and while I was occupied in writing the present
work, some artists and other intelligent men had organized a
Retrospective Exhibition of costumes in France, in the building of the
Champs Elysées.
This was far from being an exhaustive exhibition, for it did not include
the earlier ages of our history, nevertheless, curiosities that had
hitherto been hidden away in private collections became known to the
public, and were of special interest because they afforded specimens of
several branches of the ancient manufactures of France.
That exhibition was a fragment of the history of Fashion in concrete
form, if I may so express myself, and many of those who inspected it were
of opinion that it was a tempting subject for a writer.
On the other hand, M. Charles Blanc included in his important work on
Decorative Art, published by the “Gazette des Beaux-Arts,” some very
valuable remarks on feminine clothing, under the title of “Considérations
sur le vêtement des femmes;” for these maintained that the three
invariable conditions of beauty are order, proportion, and harmony,
whatever may be the variety of costume.
The learned academician raised coquetry to the height of a true art; he
treated of the æsthetics of Fashion, and pointed out its constituent laws.
The public, whose attention was thus directed to the subject of the
present work, was more alive than formerly to its importance, and seemed
favourably disposed towards our undertaking.
In 1878, there was an Historical Exhibition at the Trocadéro. Antique
garments of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, were exhibited, not as curiosities only, but as
subjects for study.
The show-cases of MM. Tassinari and Chatel, of Lyons, contained fine
tapestries, chasubles, copes, women’s hoods, and a large assortment of
Eastern fabrics. Five or six amateurs exhibited collections of dress
ornaments,—bracelets, rings, pins, broaches, earrings, &c. There was
a prettily-dressed doll, in the complete costume of a young girl in
the time of the Medicis; several antique bag and purse clasps; carved,
gilded, and chased betrothal rings and perfume boxes; marriage caskets;
women’s hawking-gauntlets in chased steel; exquisite fans; diamonds in
settings of old silver; curious Norman trinkets; patch-boxes ornamented
with miniatures; bon-bon boxes; and needle-cases.
Several pieces of stuffs from Equatorial Egypt, and quantities of ancient
Egyptian jewellery, with a few valuable ornaments dating from the time of
the Caliphs, were worthy of careful examination, and might have roused
the emulation of our modern workmen.
The Scandinavian Ethnological Museum of Stockholm, forwarded a series of
costumes remarkable for accuracy; almost all of these had been composed
in the year 1820, or thereabouts: these curious specimens obtained a
great and deserved success.
When the time arrived for closing all these exhibitions, and the French
and foreign exhibitors had removed their goods, there remained an
enduring recollection of the marvels of the Trocadéro and the Champs de
Mars.
After that time, exclusively national Fashion resumed its customary
course. A great incentive had been given by the numerous and
distinguished awards conferred on our manufacturers. Novelties of all
sorts were produced, and spread throughout Paris, France, Europe, and
beyond the seas. Our milliners sent their goods to the International
Exhibitions at Sydney and Melbourne. Their superiority and originality
were admitted on all hands.
Meanwhile, savings had been almost or entirely expended, and in 1879 a
diminution of outlay on dress resulted from the extra expenditure of the
preceding year.
“Merveilleuse” bonnets, which, being indicated by their name need no
description from me; “Madrilène” bonnets, made of otter, or plush,
trimmed with jet; and Swedish bonnets in black kid, with an amber-headed
pin, partly concealed in a tuft of feathers, or stuck through a velvet
bow, were equally fashionable.
Many bonnets were entirely composed of leaves, flowers, or fruits. There
were infinite varieties of bonnets and hats, some close, others with wide
brims, some very small, and some very large. “Frondeuse” hats, were of
black straw, with long black and ruby plumes, the brim turned up, and
lined with puckered ruby satin, trimmed with gold lace. “Niniche” and
“Directory” bonnets were lasting favourites, and more generally popular
than their merits would appear to warrant.
During the summer, round bell-shaped hats were at first preferred. Then
close bonnets without strings, cottage bonnets in smooth straw, coming
down very much on the forehead; “Nérine” hats of coarse white straw, and
with wide brims lined with red satin; and many others, differing little
from those I have just named.
Plush was worn as trimming on gowns and mantles. Short dresses were much
worn; they were invariably trimmed with cascades of lace. Silk stockings
were indispensable. Bows and cravats of muslin, or Breton lace, or
valenciennes, or point, were greatly used. Gloves with four buttons,
and “dowager” sunshades—so called because they were rather large and
made with long sticks—were quite a rage for several months. “Bonhomme,”
“Jardinier Galant,” “Louis XIV.,” and “Louis XV.” vests, formed a part of
nearly every costume. “Charles IX.,” “Marion Delorme,” and “Richelieu”
shoes were made with high heels like boots.
In order to give some idea of the cost of certain materials, it will
suffice to state that an actress at the Vaudeville theatre wore a gown at
a hundred francs the yard, and the rest in proportion. Gowns were made of
gold tissue and trimmed with lace, embroidered in colours.
Scarfs or drapery were fashionable for trimming dresses, and skirts were
plaited “à la réligieuse.” The scarfs were sometimes crossed so as to
form a tunic. Many “casaques” were made with waistcoats. Bodices were
made full, something like the old-fashioned bodices “à la Vierge.” There
was quite a rage for knotted fringes with beads, and natural flowers
for ball-dresses; but double tunics were gradually abandoned, though
square-cut bodices and “Louis XV.” sleeves were still worn.
Handkerchief-dresses, consisting entirely of Madras handkerchiefs, were
very artistically composed. I saw one in which seventy-two handkerchiefs
had been employed; another, in a simpler style, consisted of forty-eight
only. The plainest gown required four dozen. This was a whimsical
fashion, and was followed only by the most elegant women of society.
Frills and plaitings of lawn or muslin were much worn. Luxury was
carried to a great height in “lingerie” (underclothing). The “Mireille”
was a high chemisette of muslin and Valenciennes, with a double frill;
the “Yvonne” was of crape and Breton lace; the “Médicis,” a still more
elegant chemisette; the “Lamballe,” a fichu of surah trimmed with
plaits of black or white Breton lace, and the “Marie Thérèse” of “point
d’esprit” tulle with frills of Breton lace.
Corset-chemises made with gussets were most favourably received, and
were included in every wedding trousseau, as were also white muslin
morning-gowns, which were found very convenient for home wear.
The “housewife’s” fan, which came out in 1879, held thread, scissors, and
needles. Fan-holders were made of silver or of nickel silver, with a long
or short chain, according to the taste of the wearer.
Those fashionable trinkets, the lizard, the fly, and the bee, were laid
aside, and were succeeded by an owl. This was used as a brooch to fasten
the bonnet strings. Tags, girdles, “Diane de Poitiers” necklaces of very
small pearls, jet in every shape, crosses of the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, and lockets of antique design, were very fashionable; as
were also Brittany, Normandy, and Vendée crosses, with religious emblems
of the Sacred Heart or St. Michael.
The nomenclature of the new stuffs is bewildering. There was “Osaka”
crape, and “Æolian,” a mixture of wool and silk; there was honey-combed
beige of two shades; “annamite” crape; “grene” and “Pompadour sateens”
for “Louis XV.” costumes; jaconets with satin stripes and Indian prints;
Watteau material; pekins in two shades, and “Pompadour” foulards; striped
grenadines and Italian silk; Turkish, Egyptian, Indian, Japanese, and
Persian stuffs, embroidered in silk, gold beads, and even in precious
stones and glistening colours; and lastly, materials with the grotesque
names of “Tchilka,” “Ladakh” cloth, “Sutlej,” “Lahore,” “crépon,” and
“Tchinab.”
Paniers, quite unlike those of the eighteenth century, were composed
of the material of the gown, arranged in draped folds on the hips,
and hidden at the back by the folds of the skirt. They were trimmed
with kiltings and lace, for evening wear, and sometimes even with
flowers. Stamped velvet casaques, or shawl-pattern casaques, were
frequently worn with dresses of plain material. We must also note “Marie
Christine visites,” “Catherine de Russie houppelandes,” jackets, coats,
paletot-jackets, and “Montespan” bodices. For walking in the country, the
alpaca braid usually put at the edge of the skirt was sometimes replaced
by a deep band of black leather, from which a damp sponge and a dry cloth
effectually removed all trace of mud.
What a number of charming bows! “Butterfly,” “Figaro,” and “Colbert”
bows; “Marion” shirt-frill bows, and “Yolande” bows, in “merveilleux”
satin, and cockades of lace. The “new” bow, consisting of surah very
delicately gathered, was prettily trimmed with lace. And what a number of
exquisite cravats! viz., the “Louis XIII.,” the “Royal,” the “Girondist,”
the “Diana,” the “Soubise,” and the “Haydée.”
The year 1880 opened inauspiciously in the midst of the terrible
winter that had begun in December 1879. The fashions of January were
consequently all for warm and thick materials, for furs, warmly lined
shoes, india-rubber overalls, lined with stout flannel, that were drawn
over the foot and boot, and enabled the wearer to brave both the snow and
the subsequent thaw. The old-fashioned “cabriolet,” or drawn-hoods, were
revived; they could be worn either over a bonnet or without one. They
were generally made of otter-plush. “Mazarin” capes came into fashion at
the same time, and even “passe-montagnes” enjoyed a momentary favour.
“Pilgrim” costumes were worn: their name sufficiently describes them.
Brighter weather at last succeeded to the intense frosts and fogs, and
gracious Fashion resumed its sway, first with the “jupon intime,” a very
narrow petticoat clinging closely to the figure, and then with gowns
of velvet and otter satin. Next came ball-dresses,—late in the season
certainly, but appreciated all the more eagerly because dancing parties
had for two long months been unusually rare. The world began to take its
revenge on winter.
Black satin was extremely fashionable; and the “Danæ” costume in
white satin was simply exquisite. Costumes in light cloth or double
cashmere were very popular. The list of new materials is completed by
“Renaissance,” “sublime,” and “down-satin” (duvet), “white Astrakan
down,” “voile-de-veuve,” and “brilliantine.” Madras costumes were
universally worn in summer.
The favourite colours were, lotus-blue, Van Dyck red, the shade called
“chaudron,” otter, mandragora, a sort of undecided blue-green called
Venetian heliotrope, and others. Generally speaking, costumes were no
longer made in one material and one shade only. Plum-colour, otter,
Russian green, and moss-colour were mingled together; and gowns were made
of faille and satin, or satin and velvet, of silk and wool, and all kinds
of materials with designs. Cut and damasked materials, and, above all,
the fashion of kilting withstood various efforts to abolish them.
Jet capes were much worn; also open “Medici” collars, partly turning
over, and, generally speaking, very graceful.
Large collars—“Dauphin,” “King of Rome,” “Colette,” and “Incroyable”—were
fashionable; also cravats, consisting of cascades of lace and very wide
ribbon; and light and delicate scarfs.
“Vests” were much worn, both by married women and young ladies. The
“Oriental” vest was of red-gold or olive-coloured tissue. They were
pointed at the sides, coat-shaped at the back, trimmed all round
with a thick cord, and fastened from top to bottom by artistic or
shawl-patterned buttons; lace frills were worn at the throat and sleeves.
The “Breton” vest needs no description; this was as popular as the
“Oriental;” whereas the “Bulgarian” costume, with its closely-fitting
bodice, its skirt quite plain in front, open at the sides, and put
into very narrow plaits at the back, was considered by most women too
remarkable. The elastic, or “Jersey,” bodice must also be mentioned.
Gloves were scented with cedar of Lebanon, or Russia leather, or violets.
This was no new invention. Perfumed gloves were worn in the sixteenth
century. In the “Winter’s Tale,” Shakespeare tells us of “gloves as sweet
as damask roses.”
Fans were painted by excellent artists. Sunshades were large, and,
generally speaking, lined; with long sticks and handles of Dresden,
Sèvres, or Longwy china. They were closed by means of a ring.
Flowers were used in profusion both to decorate rooms, and for personal
wear. Every one was endeavouring to make amends for the bitter winter.
A newspaper reporter described the bride’s bouquet at a wedding, which
took place at the Trinité. It consisted entirely of rare and beautiful
flowers, and was nearly two yards in circumference. A “page of honour”
bearing this poetic burden, preceded the bride.
The following bonnets were produced in succession; bonnets with wide
strings in piece-surah; “Niniche” bonnets, already described, and
somewhat resembling a helmet in the front, “Amazon,” “Devonshire,”
“Récamier,” “Duchesse d’Angoulême,” “Olivia,” and “Princess of Wales”
hats; “Croizette” hats; and lastly the “midshipman”—a travelling-hat in
straw, the same colour as that of the costume, and simply trimmed with a
double or treble Alsatian bow.
All bonnets were profusely trimmed with feathers and flowers, with
dead-gold poppies, laburnum, tulips, gardenias, magnolias, and bachelor’s
buttons, and especially with roses of every shade.
During the summer, “sets” for the neck of surah and foulard were very
fashionable. Here I may specially mention the “Jean Bart,” consisting of
a widely-opened sailor collar, deep cuffs, and a simply-knotted neck-tie;
the “Chantilly,” in ivory surah, trimmed with Alençon point; the
“Pomponne,” in plain, spotted, or sprigged foulard; the “naval officer”
bow, in spotted foulard; and the “miller’s wife” fichu, in Indian muslin.
Nordenskiold, the Swedish Navigator, and the discoverer of the north-east
passage, came to Paris, where he was received with all the honours due to
him. Gauze travelling veils, called “Nordenskiolds,” two yards long, and
trimmed with fringe, were worn in honour of the illustrious foreigner,
and all but supplanted the “merveilleux” tulle veils spangled with gold,
and the “odalisques,” of red tulle. The latter were very striking, but
were only becoming to dark women.
For mountain-climbing expeditions, very fine, small-meshed hair-nets
called “arachnéens” or cobweb nets, which kept the hair perfectly neat,
were very useful. Dust-cloaks in grey cashmere, or alpaca, called
“capucins,” were lined with red or striped surah, and were made with
peaked hoods lined in the same way.
The Art Exhibition in 1880 led to a complete revolution in buttons; they
were manufactured according to all the antique models. Those called
“Buffon,” were remarkable for elegance. Others consisted of real flowers,
or insects enclosed in glass; and lastly the “Wedgwood” buttons offered
the most exquisite miniature paintings to our delighted gaze, i.e. copies
of paintings on china by that celebrated English artist and manufacturer
of the eighteenth century.
During 1880, Fashion frequently borrowed her inspiration from Art, and
sought to imitate the works of the old masters. Antique designs, stuffs,
and lace of every kind, were constantly reproduced. More than one
duchess was the image of some figure of the Middle Ages, more than one
“bourgeoise” dressed herself like Margaret, in _Faust_, or draped her
shoulders in the “camail Régence.” In wet weather women of all ranks put
on Ulsters, or Derbys, a cloak made of flannel, or light cloth. They
resigned themselves to wearing hoods, when at, the seaside or in the
country. “Savoyard” and “Trianon” costumes were alternately fashionable.
Feathers were much used on bonnets, and flowers on the bodices of
dresses, and even on shoes and sunshades. A wreath of flowers was
sometimes worn as a necklace by young girls. Canadian otter fur was in
such request that the supply was exhausted, and plush of the same colour
was used as a substitute.
An ugly trinket, euphemistically designated a “porte-veine”
(luck-bringer), was introduced from Austria. This represented in fact,
St. Anthony’s companion, the pig, and its rivals were the wild boar, the
hippopotamus, and the elephant. It was hung on bracelets, mounted on
pins, and worn on the watch-chain. For my own part, I should certainly
have preferred the commonest field flower to such an ornament, even if
made of diamonds. Nor am I singular in my opinion; but, as I have said
before, opposition is powerless against the stream of Fashion, when it
bears along the majority of our “élégantes,” who are resolved not to be
daunted by any absurdity. The “porte-veine” is still in existence, in
spite of the disappearance of St. Anthony’s companion.
During the winter of 1880-81, handsome, and frequently historic costumes
continued to be worn. In our engraving of one in the style of the
Directory, the skirt and bodice are of plum-coloured velvet; the second
skirt is in plaited merveilleux satin, and is crossed by a sash of ribbed
velvet, hanging down at the back. The bonnet, which is high in front, is
trimmed with feathers.
M. Worth has kindly supplied us with the design of this costume.
[Illustration]