UK FASHION ALONG THREE CENTURIES

 Hello fashion passionates, new Friday, new post. As you know, we talked from the very beginning, starting with the first british designers, but today we bring something new. We will talk about women and men's fashion along three centuries. If you want to know more about UK old fashion, continue reading.

17th Century

 To start with, it is important to know that  this century is a continuation of trends which Queen Elizabeth I made fashionable in women’s styles as it said François Boucher in his History of Costume in the West (1997): “Elizabethan influence lasted until well after the death of the Queen in 1603. While some forms were inspired by the Continent… drum-farthingales and starched fan collars for women  the volume of the silhouette, the richness and stiffness of materials and the heavily loaded decoration kept the character of sixteenth-century modes”.

At the beginning of this decade, we can see bodices which exaggerated women’s silhouettes. This garment was uncomfortable to wear. However, we must remember that in this century women were seen as sexual objects, so it did not matter if they were uncomfortable in order to appear more attractive. Two new trends were introduced in the fashion, padded leg-of-mutton sleeves were replaced with close-fitting cylindrical types and shortened hems to make feet in new, heeled shoes, visible for the first time.

 

The main intention that men wanted to capture in their clothes was their high purchasing power, that is why his main concern was to wear clothes made of good materials to show his high position in the society of the time. Well, the male figure did not have the need to wear garments that made them more attractive, therefore, they could be more comfortable.This is where you can see a clear difference between the trends that women were forced to wear and that of men.

In the middle of this time, in women's fashion it is worn off-the-shoulder necklines, shimmering satins, lace collars and cuffs. Bodices and skirts were separate bodices and skirts were separate in this period and so didn’t always need to coordinate. 

Dark colours predominated in men's clothing, with black being the most commonly used colour. This was combined with small details in gold. These two colours were the definition of elegance at that time.

At the end of the 17th century, we highlight one of the most important developments of this period scarves, ruched ribbons, braids or bands of metal fringe in both men and women(Jane Ashelford, 1966)

18th century

In this century, fashion was essential to people because they must dress carefully to impress. 

Starting with men's fashion, it was as important as ladies one. The wigs were so trendy. They normally wore breeches with a shirt, cravat, waistcoat and frock coat as their usual attire.

The shirts were wide-fitting and gathered in a few different places. The cravat was positioned over the shirt's collar and a black ribbon over top of this. 

The waistcoat and coat both underwent a reduction in length and tightening and by the end of the 1700s, the coat had transformed into a tailcoat. Breeches continued to get tighter and waistcoats lost their sleeves, which were never seen anyway. 

Continuing with women 's fashion in the 18 century, dresses were ornate, with full skirts and low bodices. Hooped petticoats, originating in England, shaped ladies' skirts and widened until mid-century, while whalebone bodices kept ladies' waists small. By the 1750’s ladies often wore an informal style of petticoat at home. These had smaller hoops on either side of the hip. Sometimes the ladies wore a stomacher, which was a decorative piece of stiff material pinned in place at the point where the bodice and skirt met.

As it said Susane Loxton (2023): “ the sack dress from the 1720s to the 1780s, became very well-liked in England. It was a large dress with shoulder-level pleats, a waistband made of gathers, and ample skirts that fell from it.”

As you can see after reading both, women have to show a good figure in order to attract, even if they are damaging their health with all this tightness. All this exposes how much oppression women always have in their life’s, even expressed on the clothes

19th century

 

At the onset, Victorian Fashion for both ladies and gentlemen was all about weaving conservative standards of morality into the style of clothing. Whereas, women would not stiff and had back-breaking bodices with skirts laid over multiple layers of starched petticoats, men would be seen in short lounge jackets and wide-legged trousers. Just as we left off in the previous century. It was roughly around this time that 'Beau' Brummell introduced tailored and fitted suits to men's clothing. (Karen, 2023)

 

A soft, lightweight fabric was used for the empire styles of the early 19th century. It was muslin because it could be easily cleaned and was close-fitting.

 

According to Dolores Monet (2023), a corset is an undergarment set with strips of whalebone (actually whale baleen), later replaced by steel.

Here you have an example, corsets were a mainstay of 19th-century fashion, despite criticism that they were unhealthy and uncomfortably tight. They gave women respectability, social standing, and the idealized youthful appearance. 

Even when Critics, and some health professionals believed that corsets caused anemia, miscarriages, damage to internal organs and so on. Sometimes the tightness did deplete lung capacity and caused fainting. Women's have to suffer day by day, putting their health at risk in order to please society.

At this photo, you can see that men's suits are not only elegant and well received by society, they are also quite comfortable and are becoming more and more. On the contrary, the horrible trend of the corset on women will last much longer.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Susanne Loxton (2023).18th Century English Fashion: Styles and Differences. Disponible en:https://www.history1700s.com/index.php/articles/25-society-and-culture/1420-18th-century-english-fashion-styles-and-differences.html [Consultado: 17-10-2023].

Karen (2023), Look back in style: evolution of victorian fashion in the us and uk. Disponible en: https://www.wardrobeshop.com/blogs/vintage-style-fashion/look-back-in-style-evolution-of-victorian-fashion-in-the-us-and-uk [consultado:17-10-2023].

Dolores Monet (2023). Victorian Era Women's Fashions: From Hoop Skirts to Bustles. Disponible en: https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Fashion-History-Victorian-Costume-and-Design-Trends-1837-1900-With-Pictures#gid=ci026bf39ea00127c9&pid=fashion-history-victorian-costume-and-design-trends-1837-1900-with-pictures[Consultado: 17-10-2023].

 Visual resources at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/0-9/19th-century-fashion/#:~:text=The%20fashion%20of%20the%2019th,the%20back%20of%20the%20silhouette.

Justine De Young (2020). 17TH Century. Disponible en:https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/category/17th-century/[Consultado:17-10-2023].