IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Familiarity has bred respect, even affection, for the typical costume of
Charles I.'s reign, and that unfortunate monarch himself, depicted by
Van Dyck in sombre coat and lace collar, is amongst the dear intimacies
of our daily life. Sir Peter Lely, who followed on the footsteps of
Van Dyck, left many modish records of his time, and though he has
been rated for dressing his nymphs in inappropriate extravagances of
fringes and embroidery, he undoubtedly clothed lovely woman with an
excellent fantasy, bestowing height and grace by the length and simple
disposition of his drapery. Mignard, the French artist, also wrote a page
in fashion's history in his paintings of the Court ladies as Madonnas;
covering the vanities of the sinner with the mantle of the saint, he was
much sought after for his pains.
The main features of feminine costume in Charles I.'s reign may be
realised in recalling the dresses which have so often appeared to delight
us in the various presentations of stage plays of his period; the bodice
is tight, the basque square and tabbed, and round the waist are a few
folds of silk fastened into a rosette in the front; the lace collar
falls from the neck to the shoulders in deep points, and the ringleted
hair bears a ribbon rosette, or is surmounted by a plumed hat.
[Illustration: A FEATHER AND A CHICKEN-SKIN FAN.]
Henrietta, Queen of Charles I., is accredited with the introduction
of female labour for clothing the outer woman, and from her day
mantle-making ranked among female occupations. But the tailor still ruled
supreme, and though the sex of the milliner was the more sympathetic, it
was left to the next century to popularise feminine services.
The farthingale extended its circumference in the reign of James I., when
much effort was taken to suppress it, for the King declared it occupied
more room at his court than he himself. The ruff flourished, but less
obtrusively than in the preceding reigns, and in its place was adopted
what was known as a fall, a loose band overhanging the top of a wide
collar starched and frilled at the base--a fancy some merry writer of the
period noted with the epigram:
A question 'tis why women wear a fall?
The truth on't is, to pride they're given all,
And pride, the proverb says, will have a fall.
With the farthingale were worn long sleeves, lace coifs, and fluted
basques, and stomachers; and later the long sleeves were replaced by
those reaching the elbow, made in puffs tied with bows or tightly fitting
and bordered with frills. Beneath the panier of the full skirt, which was
trimmed with many bands of gold and embroidery, appeared a frilled apron,
and the bodices were high at the back, and cut square in front, and over
the shoulders was worn a scarf. Muffs were indispensable, and heads were
decorated in monstrous disproportion.
[Illustration: A FULL APRON.]
The kings' favourites in France influenced dress by their caprices,
which made to some extent for beauty, not conspicuously evident when the
_fontanges_ head-decoration was in vogue. This was a polyglot erection
which owed its birth to the fact that the famous beauty, losing her
hat one day in the hunting-field, tied her hair with her garter. The
_fontanges_ extended its glories to a framework of wire half a yard in
height, which was divided into several tiers, each being covered with a
different material; ribbon, chenille, pearls, flowers, and muslin were
all brought into service, and beneath these a cluster of curls fell on
the forehead. Each tier might take a different name, and amongst these,
duke, cabbage, cat, organ-pipe, and mouse were chosen with as much rhyme
as reason. But the christening of fashions was a common habit, and when
Paris was reduced to misery by the Ligue, and depression was written
large upon the dress, which, cut square and heavy in style, bore about
it a suggestiveness of architecture, colours were distinguished by such
quaint names as "Dying Monkey," "The Sick Spaniard," etc. Like the girl
in some comic opera, "I wonder why?"
Mlle. de Ninon and Mesdames de Montespan and de Maintenon each inspired
the names of a coiffure, a crown, and a cap, the last lady giving its
title to a head-dress in the form of a scarf entwining a helmet. The
battle of Steinkirk stood sponsor to a cravat and to a three-cornered
fichu trimmed with gold and silver fringes; and the "Ninon" coiffure was
parted in the front and flowed in curls at either side, the back being
held by a ribbon.
No such distinction was gained by the English "mistresses" and maids of
honour, whose names and escapades were legion; nor did they seek much
individuality in their clothes, confident that the fashions prevailing
were sufficient to excite the envy of the one sex and the admiration of
the other; yet Lady Castlemaine, Miss Hamilton, Miss Warmestre, Miss
Jennings, Miss Temple, Miss Price, Miss Stewart, and all the rest of the
merry gang, were slaves of the mirror, and the joys of the masquerade
were high in their favour, and for this no costume was too extravagantly
absurd or too absurdly extravagant to obtain their satisfaction.
[Illustration: THE LACE COMMODE.]
The distinguishing feature of fashion was the lace commode, which
prevailed ubiquitously; its simplest charms are easily realised by
the pictures on these pages, where, too, are evident examples of the
_chopine_ and the clogs, whose _pas de fascination_ were executed under
such disadvantages. High heels were conspicuous everywhere, but it was
left to Italy to have the honour of popularising the most ridiculous
fashion of the _chopines_ or stilted clogs, which asserted themselves at
different heights, mostly outrageous, beneath a covering of gauffered
leather, a commodity which looks like the modern poker-work. The idea of
the _chopines_ was imported from Turkey to Italy and thence to England,
where, however, it is well to mention, it received but the scantiest
consideration. The height of the _chopines_ served to indicate rank,
and some were of such monstrous inconvenience that they necessitated
their wearer being supported on either side while she walked. Every
conceivable device was sought for the decoration of the shoes, and a
frenzy of extravagance broke out in buckles of gold, silver, paste, and
diamonds.
[Illustration: CLOGS AND CHOPINES.]
Charles II., from long residence in France, had much sympathy with
fashion, which was beloved of men and women, who patronised the lace
collar, the muff, the fanciful buttons, and feathers with equal
enthusiasm. The sexes, too, shared a love for curls and the hats of broad
brims, whose flopping habits proved so inconvenient that they were turned
up first at one side and then at the other, and lastly at the back, when
they developed into the well-loved cocked hat. Hat-bands were prominently
important, made either of cord in silver or gold or silk, and glorified
by the addition of jewels for the gay and witty Duke of Buckingham, who
changed his love as often as his coat, and showed a prodigal appreciation
of the arts of gallantry and costume. He led many of the fashions for
men, and added to these a conspicuous number of ribbons, buckles, and
cravats. He spared his friends neither his wit nor his money, and Dryden
epitomised his fall: "He had his jest, while they had his estate."
Two manufactures which were accorded prominent attention in these times
were the linen and button manufactures, the former being made from the
yarn obtained in Ireland, while for the latter, inspiration came from
various parts of the Continent. Steel, brass and copper, and jet were
used to make these buttons, and their value is quoted from 3d. to 140
guineas per gross. Fairholt, writing on the subject, says: "Buttons were
made sometimes like a picture, the back dark, upon which, in various
degrees of relief, were placed in ivory or bone, figures and flowers.
Others showed elegant patterns in white upon gilt, and many most tasteful
appeared on Court suits, these being made of mother-of-pearl or ivory,
the centre embellished with patterns in gilt."
Muslin came generally into use under such flimsy conditions that it
was described by some writer as costing "some 30s. per yard, and being
but the shadow of a commodity when procured." India was the happy
hunting-ground for muslins till Flanders and Germany took up its cause
and, in the eighteenth century, Bolton and Glasgow granted it special
attention.
Elegance characterised many of the prevailing modes, which encouraged a
conspicuous simplicity, when the superabundance of jewellery and most
elaborate trimmings decreased to some extent, and a simple string of
pearls was worn round the neck, and the studied _négligé_ became the
highest expression of coquetry. The hair was curled into ringlets, and
amidst these nestled a single rose or a chaplet of pearls; and at the
sides it was slightly puffed over the ears, with some support of pad or
wire to secure its righteous bearing.
Women of the lower classes wore muslin caps with ribbons twisted round
them, but what lovely hats were obtainable by the wealthy! Above the long
ringlets huge plumes waved over a hat of straw, or the velvet cap would
be covered with feathers. Hair-dressing was a fine art, and many were the
styles in which the ringlets were treated; they would be cut to graduated
lengths, short in front and long at the back, or would only obtain at
each side of the face and round the neck, the main portion of hair being
drawn up on the top; or the hair was cut rather short, and curled over
the head, while black ribbons and pearls decorated it.
[Illustration: A MOB-CAP.]
The cultivation of beauty was earnest and intelligent, and all ladies
of high degree owned amongst their retinue starchers and brushers, and
the position of patches had a political significance according to the
opinions of the fair patched. The patch, by the way, was brought into
fame about 1655; though, owing its first existence to the times of the
Romans, it cannot conscientiously claim this to be the date of its birth.
The house coats and gowns and petticoats were quilted, and being made of
silk from Japan, China, and Persia and trimmed with Flemish lace, may be
freely granted a cosmopolitan sympathy. An attractive description of a
dress of this time tells of a musk-coloured silk shot with silver, with
trails of silver flowers, trimmed with white bone lace, whose importation
from foreign lands excited the displeasure of Charles II. Lace was a
triumphant feature, being indispensable for the commodes, the frilled
cravats, and the collars. It was useful alike to men and women, and
beautiful specimens of lace were enriched with gold and silver under the
auspices of Venice and Spain. Mazarin had, in endeavouring to stay the
popular greed for lace, caused a small social revolution, and the French
bought lace from England. Colbert was wiser in his generation, for he
set up a factory at Alençon, and Brussels and Mechlin devoted themselves
assiduously and most successfully to lace.
Amongst the vain efforts of an earlier period in France was one to kill
fashion, whose reckless prodigality had been voted insupportable, and
like to bring ruin to the people. A contemporary print shows the funeral
of fashion, the design being of fashion led by four women and followed by
a crowd of workpeople, while a sarcophagus in the background bears the
following epitaph:--
Here lies under this picture, for having deserved it,
Fashion, which caused so much madness in France.
Death has put superfluity to death,
And will soon revive abundance.
But Louis XIV. was so appreciative of the charms of costume that he
would distribute all materials, silks and satins and brocades, to his
courtiers, and exercise some jurisdiction over the way these were to be
made. Painting on silk and satin was amongst the novelties of his reign,
but embroidery still held the affections of the prodigal, and at a fête
at Vaux, Mlle. de la Vallière is recorded to have worn a gown of white
with golden stars and leaves in Persian stitch, and a blue sash tied in
a large knot upon her bosom, while her fair waving hair, entwined with
flowers and pearls, fell in profusion about her neck and shoulders, and
her gloves were of cream-coloured lace. A gold dress embroidered with
gold is also included in the chronicles, and there were double borders
of gold and silver to many of the under-skirts, which were made of silk
or satin with a long train which was carried over the left arm. Bodices
were trimmed with galon, ribbon, and lace, and Madame de Sévigné writes
of the "transparent gown," whose descendant lives to-day in our lace and
jet frocks over tissue.
[Illustration: GLOVE WITH JEWELLED GAUNTLET.]
The Duchess of Bourgogne showed her nice taste in a gown of silver tissue
with gold flowers outlined with orange and green, and again in a grey
damask bordered with silver; and the same record tells of a mantilla of
gold Spanish point lace, and of a coat and skirt of cloth of silver laced
with silver, and worn with diamonds and rubies. "All werry capital," as
Sam Weller might have observed, had he only heard of them.
Amongst the desirable and the desired was a blue camlet waistcoat
embroidered and fringed with silver. Spanish broadcloth of the very
finest description was dedicated to waistcoats and to the hunting and
riding costumes which were as much masculine as feminine, and mainly
picturesque, with small rapiers to emphasise the manly tone. All hats
were feathered, and the cravats frilled, a state of affairs which excited
comment from that irrepressible critic Pepys, who granted it small
admiration when he wrote: "Walking in the galleries at White Hall I
find the ladies of honour dressed in their riding garbs with coats and
doublets and deep skirts, just for all the world like mine, and buttoned
their doublets up to the breast, with periwigs and hats, so that only for
a long petticoat dragging under their men's coats nobody could take them
for women in any point whatever. It was an odd sight, and a sight which
did not please me."
[Illustration: A RIDING COSTUME.]
But Pepys, in his immortal diary, did not pay proper respect to fashion.
He commented on the clothes of the ladies, it is true, but he showed a
lamentable vagueness, if not careless indifference, about their details.
Doubtless his notes on dress were quite satisfying to his masculine mind,
but I find them practically useless in assuaging the deepest emotions
of feminine curiosity. However, I know from him and other sources that
Nell Gwynn, the careless slattern, wore a cart-wheel hat when delivering
a prologue in a play, and furthermore that she "looked pretty" on one
occasion when Pepys passed her as she stood at her lodging door in
"smock-sleeves and a bodice," whatever such description might please to
mean. Colours, shapes, and materials this inimitable gossip ignored as
unimportant; yet it may be written down to his credit that he confessed
he was moved when he saw Lady Castlemaine's smocks and linen petticoats
hanging out to dry in the Privy garden at White Hall, laced with the
richest lace at the bottom which ever he saw, and he vows, "they did me
good to look at them"; and so much may we count for grace, even though I
sigh to think of the number of tucks and gaugings he failed to mention.
It is to be hoped that, after that painful interview with the riding
garb of the ladies at White Hall, he turned the other way and went back
to the Privy garden and his joyful contemplation of Lady Castlemaine's
under-wear.