Fashion and clothing from the Baroque and the Rococo period

Fashion and clothing from the Baroque and the Rococo period

Clothing during this period consisted of a number of lace, ribbons, pearls and gold embroidery.

The high class created and redefined fashion, which was copied by the middle class.

Unlike the previous centuries, clothing during this timewas not made to mix and match but matching the outfits were made as matched pairs often in the same fabric.

Women’s clothing did not remain as restricted as before.

It became flexible and soft, tight fitting corsets moved away.

Stiff ruffs were replaced by flowing lace collars.

Farthingales were removed and skirts were simply padded at the hips to produce a full and flowing look.

Two skirts were worn mostly.

An underskirt and an overskirt, which was, open at front and formed a train at the back.

Decorative aprons also became popular.

Plunging necklines were very popular and were accompanied by wide lace collars.

 

Waistlines became high and long pointed bodices and stiff stomachers came back.

Sleeves became large and were often gathered at the lace cuffs. Silks and brocades were used quite often.

Heartbreakers hairstyle was common where women wore their hair in tight curls around the forehead. Hairstyle became progressively higher.

Water was considered bad for the skin and as a result, people applied a lot of perfume to cover upon for the body odour and avoided bathing.

Pointed shoes and high heels were worn by women.

Jewellery was simple and consisted of strings of pearls or diamonds or sometimes a ribbon tied around the neck.

Men in the early baroque period wore cavalier.

High knee boots, wide brimmed hats with feathers, long and loose hair and moustaches with capes thrown over one shoulder was visible in the men’s clothing.

Pantaloons breeches were worn b the men which fell below the knee and were quite loose.

In men’s clothing the large collars were replaced by long lace ruffles at the opening of the neckline.

Square toed, high-heeled shoes with rosettes replaced boots in men’s footwear.

Men liked to curl their hair and wear a wigs of the same style.

Breeches became close fitted, wither tied , buttoned or buckled at the knee.

Long coats were worn with large sleeves.

Ribbons replaced jewels and wigs became larger.

Rich silk replaced highly decorated fabrics and elegant embroidery replaced methods like slashing and puffing.

 During the rococo time people scramble to be clothed in the latest styles and fashion designers gained influence.

Fashion magazines had emerged and were made to create knowledge amongst the readers and capturing attention amongst the lower and upper classes through their fashion illustrations and news.

New silhouettes emerged for women.

Panniers became extremely wide and were worn under a skirt that extended sideways.

Waists that were restricted by the corsets were in contrast to the wide skirts worn.

Plunging necklines remained and skirts opened at the front displaying the underskirt.

Pagoda sleeves which were tight from the shoulders to the elbow and ended with flared lace and ribbons.

Watteau gown ha a loose back which became a part of the full skirt and a tight bodice.

Women’s heels became slimmer with pretty decorations.

Their hair were tight at the head sometimes powdered or topped with lace kerchiefs.

Hair were worn progressively higher and higher until wigs were required.

Men generally wore a variety of coats, waistcoats and breeches.

Waistcoat was the most decorative piece which was embroidered or displayed patterns

Breeches stopped at the knee and white stocking were worn underneath with heeled shoes.

The cadogan style of men’s hair became quite popular. 

 

This era was mostly defined by its contrasting aspects , extravagance, heavy materials and light colours with a quest for simplicity.

The ideas of the French revolution strongly affected fashion for the future decades.

Fashion and Clothing in ancient Egypt

Fashion and Clothing in ancient Egypt

The ancient Egypt civilization is one of the best known, powerful and early civilizations.

Lots of pyramids, temples, fascinating mummies in tombs, were created during this time by great builders.

In ancient Egypt , the fabric linen was developed. Women wore long straight dresses. Egyptian civilization was one of the most early civilizations.

During the ancient Egypt, most of the clothing was made up of linen and few items were made up of wool. Cotton was also introduced at that time.

Garments were made from spinning, weaving and sewing.

Women’s clothing in ancient Egypt were quite conservative as compared to men. During the old, middle and the new kingdom, a simple sheath dress was worn by the women very commonly.

A rectangular piece of cloth was folded once and sewn down the edge to make a tube and this dress was worn by the women and would extend a few inches above the ankles to below or above the breasts.

The rich wore jewellery and wide garments which they wrapped and tied around them. The priests wore leopard skin robes.

However the working class wore simple loin clothes.

The schenti, was the main form of clothing adopted by the ancient Egyptians.

It was a rectangular piece of cloth wrapped around the hips and held in place and hung about to the knees.

Itb was generally tightly wrapped around the waist by a tight belt.

The women wore a very distinctive and important garment known as KALASIRIS, a long linen dress.

After this, the tunic was introduced amongst the Egyptian.

The collars were generally highly decorated with beats and elaborated crowns were worn.

The farmers however just wore a simple short kilts wore from coarse linen. Women during this time also wore braided wigs which were decorated with lotus flower.

Both the Egyptian en and women shaved their heads and wore wigs, which were made up of wool or they were made up of human hair itself. Even young boys shaved their heads but the young girls kept long hair.

Curled wigs were worn by women on special occasions and they liked to colour their hair by henna.

A beaded net dress was mostly worn by dancers and entertainers. This beaded dress continues to be inspired by designers in the current century.

 Elaborated robes with wide colours were worn by the high class and the royalty.

In Egypt, mostly costumes were not decorated with colours and patterns and instead they were mostly simple costumes worn with elaborated jewels.

Men also wore tunics, shirts, socks, sashes, head-dresses, caps, scarves, gloves and an underwear in the form of a loincloth with a triangular shape.

Children mostly were seen running around in wraps and cloaks during summer along with an addition of a wig or hairpiece which was added to their natural hair.’

One of the specialties in ancient Egypt was the use of a variety of hairstyles to choose from for everyday wear as well as festivity.

Eye paint was one of the most important characteristics of the Egyptian cosmetics.

Collars were so broad that they covered most of the chest. The collar had a lot of weight, which was supplemented by the weight of jewels. Egyptians believed that the jewels would protected them from the tangible and intangible forces.

As a part of their footwear, the ancient Egyptians wore sandals which were made up of grass or leather or woven reed. Generally a bar was attached between the first toe and the second feet toe to wear the footwear.

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The costumes and fashion from the Elizabethan time

The costumes and fashion from the Elizabethan time

During this time the laws governed the clothing to a large extend. These laws decide the colour and the type of clothing that could be worn by different induvisuals.

Clothing during this era, the upper class enjoyed the privilege to wear luxurious types of clothing. This was not the same with the middle and the lower class.

The upper class and royals wore clothing made out of different materials like leather , fur, silk velvet lace etc. and they could use various types of colours ad e

mbellishments like gold trimmings as an embellishment was used by the queen Elizabeth.

Their was great flexibility and allowance of the use of colour by the queen for the upper class while the idle and the lower class were restricted to the use of dark colours and inexpensive fabrics.

 During the Elizabeth period, the women wanted their clothing to look much with that of the men such as broad shoulders, wide hips and slim waist.

The bodice during this time came down upto the waist.

Lots of varieties of dyes were used at that time which used to make the clothes look lavish. However it used to be quite expensive.

In many of her portraits,, Elizabeth have been seen wearing a deep crimson robe which was dyed with the help of an insect which is found in the Mediterranean.

The brighter the colours, the higher the prices quoted. The working class or peasants wore clothes dyed in yellow, orange, green, pale blue, pink and russet.

Clothing during this period mostly consisted of gowns, underclothing, corsets, hats,ruffs , collars and shoes.

Women also liked to fancy jewellery, however the ruffs were indispensable when it came to men and women clothing and was very significant ii making them look elegant.

The ruffs were worn around the neck and the wrists and their sizes kept on growing larger. Even the queen herself wore highly elaborated collars.

For most of the women during this time, a thin petticoat was worn and above that came the corset and the skirt.

The petticoat was generally padded with hoops at the hips. And to finish off the look, a coat or a dressing gown was worn  on top of the bodice and the skirt that went all the way down to the floor.

The men were dressed up as stylish gentle men. They wore boots, shirts, fitted jackets , breeches that came to the knees, hose and a codpiece. These codpieces were often highly elaborated. For a social occasion, men would add on a hat, ruffs and a cloak of some rich material like velvet.

Wealthy me wore garments which were made in vibrant colors and were trimmed in gold or silver. They also wore jewels and rare fur.

The poor however wore fustian, leather or canvas.

 Older kids dressed as miniatures of the adults while the younger sexes dressed alike in gowns, aprons, bibs and caps.

The doublet was a striking part of the men’s clothing. The sleeves which served as a separate garment were tied to the doublet with laces.

The hair of men were usually combed forward and at the front to forma short fringe over the forehead. During the mid 16^th century, a trimmed beard or mustache came into style.

While the rich enjoyed the luxuries of dressing up, the poor and the middle class were segmented and differentiated in terms of clothing.

Fashion and costumes during the Victorian Era

Fashion and costumes during the Victorian Era

England was ruled by queen victoria from 1837-1901.

Before this period, fashion was more focused to men. However, when the queen came to power, women came to the forefront, men receding into the background.

During the 1940s, petticoats became quite popular.

Full skirts were supported by vast petticoats, which were very stiff. Most of the garments were made in such a way that the shoulders look wide, waist looked clinched at the waist and the hip was accentuated.

Most of the evening gowns for the women during this era were off shoulder and were covered with folds of fabrics.

The sleeves started to become wider during the 1850s.

The skirts sized began to expand and petticoats were worn more often. Flounces were added to the  skirts to create a wider look.

The v neckline or the plunging neckline was also worn during the day. It was often supported with a small chemise underneath.

The style for flounces became very popular with more and more flounce added to the dress all the time.

Dress fabrics were milled especially for the flounces supported with colours and patterns designed to be cut into stripes.

Tightly fitted bodice were also very common for women during this time.

The jacket bodice was very popular and it extended till the hips. Daytime sleeves are full in Pagoda style, gathered at the top to a narrow shoulder cap, full and/or slit at the wrist, with a linen undersleeve inside.

                                                                                                                

 

During the 1870s and 1871,most bodices ended at the natural waist.

 The tunic would then be fitted over the bodice, showing a belt and often a large bow behind.  A detatched basque (a very short overkirt) became very fashionable.  This basque soon became attached to the bodice, and the bodices began to extend past the waist and over the hips.

Evening bodices were off-the-shoulder with trimming framing the neckline.  Evening sleeves were small and decorated with ruffles, puffings and bows.

In 1875, the bustle began to dwindle in size, but the excess fabric remained.  A more veritical line started to apear in trimmings.

For day wear, the neckline could be high ,square or heart shaped. Often an open neckline would be filled with a chemisette and full sleeves filled with a linen under sleeve/cuff.

Many petticoats were worn to help keep the dress from trailing through the dirt.  Often dust ruffles were added to the inside of the train to help as well.

Lightweight fabrics were popular, especially for eveningwear.

The shoulder line of the bodice still extended slightly past the natural shoulder.

Another interesting style trend in 1875 is the skirt pocket. These pockets were often too low and too far back to be of any practical use, but were very much a stylish decoration. Short lived, the pocket trend only lasted about a year, after being ridiculed as a "boon to pick pockets".

By 1877, the bustle had diminished from the wire frames of earlier, to a small pad or nothing at all. The poufs in the skirts dropped to behind the knees. The bodices became long and smooth fitting over the hips, in a style known as the Cuirass

The horizontal look of earlier was giving way to ever more vertical lines. A tall, slim figure was considered fashionable. Skirts that clung to the legs (scandalous) known as tie-back skirts were all the rage. These skirts had tie strings inside to hold the front close to the legs, leaving the back free to flow into a train. 

Colors and textures were mixed into complicated creations of skirts, swags, and drapes.  The main focus is on the skirts, with simpler trims on the bodice.  Almost every dress is trained, sometimes even walking dresses.  Asymmetrical skirts are all the rage, and trims and swags are put on high on one side and low on the other.

The detached overskirt looses favor as most of the complicated drapes are sewn directly to the foundation skirt.  Flowers and bows can help decorate and hide where the skirts are tacked together.
Evening bodices are more on-the-shoulder than off.

The bodices see more vertical trimmings,  they no longer just go around the neckline, but can extend down the center front to the waist or lower.

By 1880, the skirts are very slim and the train begins to disappear.  "Pannier" drapes at the hips are all the rage in France, adding fullness to the figure.