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Parent Category: 18th Century History Articles
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Fashion is a constantly evolving landscape, and it's been on a journey for many centuries. The industry is thriving now, more than it ever has. In modern times, style distinctively changes from decade to decade. In the eighteenth century, things were far simpler. The entire century had something of an official dress code based on what was available and the capabilities of clothing makers at that time. These outfits were ornate and somewhat complicated. It's simple to deconstruct the components of antiquated fashion formulaically, as the core components for most ensembles were era specific basic pieces.

 

Formal Versus Casual

Religion was markedly rigid in the eighteenth century, and this imposed strict modesty in dress. The forms and curvature of the human body were largely disgusted by larger pieces and bulky silhouettes. Because of this, casual clothing was far more complicated.

Most of what was considered casual in the eighteenth century would be considered very formal today. The distinction between casual and formal clothing was generally noted by the amount of decoration and the weight of the fabric. Lighter fabrics and pieces that were mild with embellishment were the major distinction. These garments were easier to move around in, especially when tending to menial chores such as housework or farm labor.

Formal garments were a bit stiffer. While layering was embedded within fashion custom for all occasions, it was heavily emphasized on formal occasions. Weightier fabrics with exquisite decoration were the clear preference here, as was a much larger silhouette.

Textiles and Trims

While textiles were largely used throughout in determining someone's social class, the 1800's were more about quality of the textile versus the textile itself. Things like linen, silk, knits, and woolen broadcloth made up the majority of the era's fashion. Importing was seeing a dramatic increase throughout this time, so these textiles were sourced from a variety of countries. Homespun textiles were beginning to become prevalent, which offered wearers a new level of customization in their garments.

Laces and buttons were regarded as a measure of garment quality, and because of this, garb became exceedingly embellished with their intricacies. Clothing became more decorated than it had been in previous centuries with the advent of the import trade.

Men

Men wore a variety of individual pieces to create a fully suited and polished silhouette. Garments generally stopped at the knees, meaning that pants and coats were far shorter to allow silk stockings to show. Undergarments were always linen, and the typical underdress was a frilled shirt with long underdrawers. Undershirts were covered by long sleeved waistcoats or vests. Tricornered hats sat atop full bottom wigs, which were a common practice in dress. The typical shoe was crafted of leather, and had a moderately high heel.

Women

Women's clothes were especially hot, which meant that casual or daytime dress was vastly different. While corsets were generally worn, many women opted out of them in casual situations. Dresses were often made of lighter silks that breathed more easily than their counterparts used for formal clothes, and there was less petticoat layering. It wasn't uncommon for women who intended to stay indoors on a hot day to stay in their bedrooms in their undergarments in an attempt to beat the heat.

There was one important staple of formal dress that every woman required, and that was the mantua. A mantua is a dress with an open front and a train, with a petticoat that matched. As per custom, women would often loop the train around the back of the dress to reveal this matching petticoat, creating a very large, wide silhouette. Though the silhouette of a mantua appeared as though a woman was hiding a table beneath her dress, a hooped petticoat was generally worn beneath the outer petticoat to support the structure, and a corset was often used to accentuate where the top half of the woman was located.

Over time, traditional silhouettes began to shift. Rather than an appropriately placed waistline, common fashioned preferred the waistline to be placed directly below the bust. We now refer to this as an empire waist garment.

 

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Author's Bio:

Isabel Wiliams is a team member at http://www.bizdb.co.uk/ - an online UK companies database. She combines her background in copywriting with her passion for writing and her love for fashion.