Dressed for the country, 1860-1900 : exhibition

DRESSED FOR THE COUNTRY: 1860-1900

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DRESSED FOR THE COUNTRY: 1860-1900

Exhibition organized by Edward Maeder and coordinated by Dale Carolyn Gluckman

Essay by Evelyn Ackerman

LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

DRESSED FOR THE COUNTRY: 1860-1900

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Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
Ahmanson Gallery,
Fourth Level
June 28-September 9, 1984

Edited by Andrea P. A. Belloli
Editorial Consultant: Claire Polakoff
Designed by Deenie Yudell
Production Assistant: Robin Weiss
Head Photographer:
Lawrence Reynolds
Photographers: Peter Brenner,
Jack Ross, and Jeff Conley

Typeset in Cheltenham faces
by Continental Typographies Inc,
Chatsworth, California

Printed in an edition of 2,500
by Lithographix, Inc.,
Los Angeles, California

Cover:

She Goes into Colors from

C. D. Gibson,

A Widow and Her Friends

(New York: R, H. Russell, 1901).

Published by

the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

5905 Wilshire Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 90036

Copyright ©1984

Museum Associates

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

All rights reserved
Printed in the U.S.A.

This exhibition was made possible in part by a grant
from Home Silk Shop, Inc.

Publication of this catalogue was made possible in part
by a grant from Home Silk Shop, Inc., and a grant from
the Dover Foundation.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:

Dressed for the country, 1860-1900.

Exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
June28-Sept. 9, 1984.
Bibliography: p.

1. Costume- United States -History-
19th century- Exhibitions.

2. Costume -Europe -History- 19th century- Exhibitions.

3. Sport clothes- United States- History-
19th century- Exhibitions.

4. Sport clothes -Europe -History-
19th century- Exhibitions.

I. Maeder, Edward. 11. Ackerman, Evelyn.
111. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
GT610.D74 1984 391 84-9728
ISBN 0-87587-121-6

CONTENTS

7 • INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION
Edward Maeder

10 • DRESSED FOR THE COUNTRY: 1860-1900
Evelyn Ackerman

11 -Men's Clothing: 1860-1900

12 • Women's Clothing: 1840-1870

14 • The Impact of the Sewing Machine

14 • Fashion Publications, Department Stores, and Mail Order Catalogues

17 • New Concepts in Health and Attire

19 • "Hygienic" Clothing and Changing Attitudes in Health Reform

21 • The Feminine Silhouette: 1880-1900

22 • Stepping Out into the Country

30 • SOURCES FOR LINE ILLUSTRATIONS

31 'COLOR PLATES

41 'CHECKLIST

46 • SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

47 • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

48 • TRUSTEES AND SUPERVISORS

Figure 1 .

Multicolored Printed Silk Girl's Dress; United States, c. 1860-65 (no. 26).

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION

EDWARD MAEDER

A hundred years ago, enjoyment of the outdoors as a desirable
leisure-time activity was a fairly new phenomenon. Both large
and small urban centers in America and Europe had grown to a
great extent as a result of increased industrialization.
Overpopulation and a lack of proper sanitation had turned many cities
into unpleasant and dangerous places. In possession of an increasing
amount of spare time, partially as a result of the recent invention of
numerous labor-saving devices, city dwellers began to seek more
congenial environments to which they might escape on weekends and
for vacations. These forays into the countryside for sports and leisure
activities were facilitated by the newly developed railroads and the
improvement of living standards for the middle classes.

The creation of specific types of clothing for particular sports and
outdoor activities did not occur until nearly the last decade of the nine-
teenth century. People at their leisure in the country were not really
dressed comfortably for relaxed pastimes but were dressed, as in the
city, to present themselves in a manner that would be acceptable to
their peers, for one did not go to the country alone. Virtually every out-
door activity was a social one, with the possible exception of fishing.
Social activities involved family, both immediate and extended, as well
as neighbors and friends. A picnic, for example, was one of the few
acceptable situations in which eligible young men could see and be
seen by marriageable young ladies (pi. 1). Even children at play wore
clothes just a little less elaborate than those they would have worn to
church (pi. 2; figs. 1-2). Children were required to maintain a certain
decorum and order, and much of their training took place on family
outings.

Dressed for the Country: 1860-1900 was conceived during curatorial
discussions of the museum's exhibition celebrating the 1984 Olympics,
A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape. It was
felt that a visual presentation of period clothing from America and
Europe, shown in the context of photographic blowups of contem-

porary pen and ink drawings by the American artist Charles Dana Gib-
son, would shed some light on the diverse reasons why people of the
late nineteenth century spent more time outdoors. Fashion became vir-
tually universal with the simultaneous publication of Harper's Bazar on
both sides of the Atlantic after 1868. Thus it is possible to paint a gen-
eralized, but accurate picture of the end of the century based on Ameri-
can and European (particularly English) costumes in the museum's
collection, which includes a broad range of Victorian dress for men,
women, and children. Since transformations in men's dress were mini-
mal during this era, the focus of the exhibition, and of Evelyn
Ackerman's fine essay in this catalogue, is women's clothing, which
went through the most extreme changes between 1860 and 1900. These
changes are a barometer reflecting trends in society's attitude toward
women, toward personal hygiene, and toward sports and leisure them-
selves, the subjects of Dressed for the Country: 1860-1900.

Figure 2.
Burgundy, White, and Gray Silk Taffeta Girl's Dress; United States, c. 1877-80 (no. 34).

DRESSED FOR THE COUNTRY: 1860-1900

EVELYN ACKERMAN

AS in all ages, clothing in nine-
teenth-century America and
Europe was a means of express-
ing the underlying values of soci-
ety and its aesthetic priorities. During the
Victorian period both men's and wom-
en's dress reflected a recently industri-
alized society's preoccupation with
material things. Throughout the 1800s
the dominant forms in feminine fashions
reflected women's dependence and
helplessness by rendering them unable
to move with ease or do anything stren-
uous. This was accomplished by means
of tightly laced corsets, heavy undergar-
ments, very small armholes, and other
means of bodily confinement through
dress. Ostentatious women's costume
provided a way for the newly rich man to
advertise his ability to care for his wife
and daughters; their clothing was the
most obvious means to let the world
know how successful he was.

Men were in charge of the Victorian
business world. The expanding economy
over which they presided in the 1860s
was mirrored by the expanded and exag-
gerated silhouette of women's clothing.
In the 1870s and '80s, when wide skirts
disappeared, they were replaced by nar-
rower ones that had complicated, over-
ornamented surfaces reflecting the
conspicuous consumption characteristic
of the period. Women's place throughout
the century was in the home, as wife,
childbearer, and mother. Even middle-
class houses were usually large and
filled with children. Not only did the well-

10'

to-do family man not want his wife to
work, he wanted others to know that she
did not have to leave the home. Servants
were abundantly available from a large
labor pool of the less fortunate.

As a result of the Industrial Revolution
large segments of the rural population in
both Europe and America began moving
to the urban centers where factories were
located. In these new settings men
continued to play their traditional village
games, while many city dwellers who vis-
ited the country or traveled, often by
railroad, had contact with sports like
hunting and fishing for the first time. The
seaside, inland lakes, and rivers were
now readily accessible, and increasing
numbers of people participated in swim-
ming, sailing, and rowing. Such excur-
sions placed an emphasis on physical
activity, and fashion slowly responded to
the demands of more vigorous
recreation.

The ideal of sportsmanship was first
developed in the nineteenth century from
team games played in the English public
schools. These games spread to univer-
sities and specialized clubs in England
and America. Besides team games, other
athletic pursuits began to be included in
the sports curriculum of these institu-
tions and organizations. The competitive
nature of organized sports led to the
need for universal rules. With their adop-
tion, teams from widespread localities
could play against one another. The need
to distinguish between teams led to the
development of special sports uniforms.

MEN'S CLOTHING: 1860-1900

As economic conditions and edu-
cational opportunities improved
in the second half of the nine-
teenth century, and as leisure time
increased, more and more men partici-
pated in athletics of some kind. Thus the
need arose for appropriate sports cloth-
ing for men, who were unhampered by

the same codes of modesty to which
women were subjected. By the 1860s and
70s a steady stream of new inventions,
the introduction of new textiles, and the
growth of the ready-made clothing indus-
try (trends that, as we shall see, affected
women's dress as well) made it possible
to begin fulfilling this function.

Reflecting the Victorian male's need
for conformity and respectability, mas-
culine fashions between 1860 and 1900
showed much less variety and flamboy-
ance than did feminine fashions of the
same period. Throughout the nineteenth
century a man's dress generally con-
sisted of three basic elements: coat,
waistcoat, and trousers. Within these
confines more changes appeared in
detailing than in cut and style.

Fitted, knee-length breeches, the fa-
vored form of pants for men during the
eighteenth century, survived into the
1800s for horseback riding, especially
when hunting. Long trousers were the
mode for every day, though their cut var-
ied somewhat during the Victorian era.
Knickerbockers, a loose kind of
breeches, made their appearance in the
1860s, being used for country and sports
wear. Their popularity continued well
into the twentieth century.

During the 1800s the two main types of
daytime coat worn by men were the frock
coat and morning coat. The former
evolved from a military coat worn during
the last years of the eighteenth century. In
either a single- or double-breasted form
it had a long waist, which was seamed,
and a short, full skirt. The frock coat was
the favored style until the 1850s, when
the morning coat, which had evolved
from a curved, cutaway coat worn for
horseback riding earlier in the century,
became dominant. Each coat incor-
porated the de rigeur standards of perfect
cut and fit set by Beau Brummell, the
most influential arbiter of men's fashion
during the early part of the century.

11<

Brummell insisted that the perfect male
image be an uncluttered one that could
only be achieved through a perfectly tai-
lored coat. As symbols of Victorian re-
spectability and products of the English
tailor's art, both the frock and morning
coats were staples of the masculine
wardrobe from the middle to the end of
the 1800s.

Besides the morning coat and frock
coat, by the 1860s a shorter jacket, the
lounge jacket, had become a popular
form of apparel for informal country and
seaside wear. It had a looser cut for
greater comfort, resulting in part from
the elimination of the waist seam. One of
its distinctive features was its visible
pockets. Its form survived basically un-
changed from 1870 until the end of the
century and formed the basis for the
man's jacket we know today. At the end of
the 1860s an important variation of this
style, known as the Norfolk jacket, devel-
oped. It was cut full, belted, and pleated
front and back. Unlike the lounge jacket,
however, it was only worn in the country.
Another variation of the short jacket, one
with patch pockets, which had been
worn somewhat earlier for cricket and
tennis, became the forerunner of the
popular blazer of the 1880s and '90s,
when it was used only for sports wear.

WOMEN'S CLOTHING: 1840-1870

Throughout the Victorian age the
focal point of the fashionable
woman's silhouette was a slender
waist. By its exaggerated small-
ness, such a waist emphasized the phys-
ical and symbolic sites of her woman-
hood, her larger breasts and hips, thus
imparting the information that her role
centered on childbearing in what was
basically a family-oriented society.

The garment that permitted a woman
to achieve the illusion of an extremely
slender waist was the corset. Even young
girls wore them, compressing their

waists to unnaturally narrow dimen-
sions. Corsets were often directly respon-
sible for women's fainting spells and
sometimes caused permanent damage
to their health. As early as 1829, a Scot-
tish doctor and health reformer, Andrew
Combe, had written an article about the
ill effects on a woman's physical well-
being that might result from a lifelong
use of tightly laced corsets.' By mid-cen-
tury he had been joined by others as vo-
cal as himself, such as the American
Amelia Bloomer, after whom bloomers
were named.- Although separated by an
ocean. Combe and Bloomer shared the
belief that women's dress could be
healthy, beautiful, utilitarian, and sen-
sual. Their ideas, however, were ac-
cepted only by a very few.^

Although the most direct method of
securing the desired effect of a dimin-
ished waist was through the use of a
tightly laced corset, other design
elements were employed at various times
to emphasize and enhance this part of
the female anatomy. In the 1840s the
popular bell-shaped skirt carried the
observer's eye upward in a gentle, but
continuous movement from ground to
waist. Yet its necessary foundation of
numerous layers of petticoats added an
even greater restriction to the already
tight lacing at the waist. This exaggerated
confinement of a woman's body was car-
ried yet further by the encasement of her
arms in sleeves with armholes posi-
tioned two or more inches below the
tops of her shoulders. This allowed only
very limited movement.

The basic symmetry created by the
bell-shaped skirt of the 1840s did not
change in the '50s, although, like the Vic-
torian economy, the skirt's silhouette
continued to expand. Replacing the lay-
ers of petticoats, which could no longer
support the wider skirts, the crinoline
became popular. Developed from a
horsehair petticoat during the late 1830s,

12'

'Has it occurred to you that there is
one article of woman's dress so
constructed that, when clasped
around the waist, it applies this
pressure-not to the extent of in-
stant death indeed, but yet to such
an extent that those who wear it
live at a dying rate? The corset is
the name of this instrument of
human torture."

Caroline E. Hastings, M. D. (quoted in Woolson, ed., 1974, p. 54).

and with insertions of steel, whalebone,
or cane in its base, the crinoline per-
formed its function as an undergarment
that supported the skirt with great effi-
ciency. Its use continued into the 1860s,
although the symmetry of the bell-shaped
skirt was modified: its front was flattened
and its back was slightly extended (pi. 3).
The crinoline was synonymous with
the fashion of the 1850s and '60s. An
engaging weapon of flirtation, it caused
the skirt it supported to sway in sensuous
movements. It also may be said to have
been an appropriate symbol of the Vic-
torian bourgeois world, as the bold
expansiveness of the skirt over the crino-
line proclaimed the ostentation of the
woman who wore it and the economic
security of the world she inhabited.

THE IMPACT OF THE SEWING MACHINE

The sewing machine, although in-
vented in the 1840s and improved
throughout the following decade,
was not mass produced — and
was therefore not available to most mid-
dle-class consumers — until the 1860s.
When it became affordable it revolution-
ized the field of fashion for the house-
wife, as it already had begun to transform
the commercial, ready-made clothing in-
dustry.'' It also inspired the creation of
new businesses, among which were fam-
ily sewing machine and pattern-making
companies.'' The need to create strong,
durable threads compatible with sewing
machine use also spawned a new indus-
try. In fact the sewing machine had a
significant effect on every aspect of
clothing production.

Although early sewing machines were
expensive, their cost could be justified
because of what they could do and the
time they could save by comparison with
handwork. Sewing machines were one of
the first widely advertised consumer
products. Perhaps the one maker most
instrumental in reaching the retail con-

sumer was the Singer Sewing Machine
Company. Its owner, Isaac Singer,
applied his enormous energies to an
aggressive selling campaign directed
toward the housewife. He glamorized
selling, acquired patents to improve his
machines' functions, and eventually
brought their price down, making the
home sewing machine a practical and
affordable consumer appliance.

The invention of the sewing machine
and the thousands of patents that made it
practical contributed to the rapid growth
of the mass-produced clothing industry
in the nineteenth century, especially in
America.*^ New machines for cutting and
pressing clothes made their manufacture
faster and cheaper. In order to keep this
burgeoning industry functioning and
growing, it was necessary to have a large
labor force, which, in the United States,
took the form of immigrants, both skilled
and unskilled. Improvements in distribu-
tion, retailing, advertising, and sales-
manship influenced the spread and ac-
ceptance of ready-made clothing. Its
mass production was an important
aspect of the breakdown of class distinc-
tions in America during the late nine-
teenth century, for the sameness of the
clothing produced by these means
tended to blur whatever visible social dif-
ferences remained. By the end of the
century it was not always possible to tell
city dwellers from country folk or rich
men from poor ones.

FASHION PUBLICATIONS,

DEPARTMENT STORES, AND MAIL ORDER

CATALOGUES

Fashion magazines and news-
papers, which had gained a re-
spectable group of readers since
the eighteenth century, underwent
significant changes during the 1860s.
Prior to that time most fashion publica-
tions were small in size and illustrated
with charming, but expensive hand-col-

14'

The Singer Manufacturing Co.

Sewing Machine Makers for the World.

EVERY

Singer Sewing Machine

IS

FORTY
YEARS'

EXPERIENCE
IN SEWING
MACHINE
MAKING.

Light-Running, Noiseless and Durable.

Every Conceivable Labor-Saving Device

AJSTD IS

Sold Direct to the Consumer.

THE SIN&ER lANTJrACTlJRIN& CO.

COTTi x>a'^P-y Offices iix E-cr-ex'37- Cit^r

T-r-i -t]=Le C±A7-±l±25eci "^;^7■o3?lc3-.

ored engravings. Their largest audience
was the upper middle class. By the
1860s, however, the restructuring of for-
mat to include an increased page size,
cheaper papers, and less sophisticated
illustrations reflected the "invasion of the
fashionable world by people of the mid-
dle class who depended less on birth
and wealth than on ability...."'' The so-
ciological signihcance of this further
democratization of fashion was far-
reaching and lasting.

Slightly earlier a new pastime had

been added to the daily life of even the
most suppressed Victorian housewife:
shopping in department stores. This
allowed women the freedom to venture
into a new sphere of activity, relieved
them of the tedium of caring for home
and family, and introduced an unprec-
edented degree of choice into their lives.
The establishment of these emporiums
of mass merchandising began as early as
1852 in the United States.*^ Their impor-
tance and growth were a result of the
variety of services they offered under one

16'

roof, available for the first time to all seg-
ments of society. These included a one-
price policy for everyone, ready-made
clothing for the entire family, equal treat-
ment regardless of wealth, and the avail-
ability of a large range of choices.

For those who lacked transportation
from their homes to the department
stores, newly formed mail order busi-
nesses provided a viable solution. One of
the first companies to begin selling by
mail was Montgomery Ward. Only three
years after it opened for business in 1872,
its one-page catalogue had grown to sev-
enty-two pages. This catalogue finally
evolved into a fully illustrated offering of
a diversified selection of goods from
apparel to home furnishings. Rural resi-
dents, who formed a large percentage of
the American population during the
nineteenth century, were quick to take
advantage of the new way to purchase
needed commodities.

While clothing for all members of the
family comprised one of the major cate-
gories of merchandise available through
mail order catalogues, a profitable ad-
junct was the offering of patterns for the
housewife to use when sewing her own
garments. This not only permitted her to
save money but also gave her the oppor-
tunity to recreate the fashionable styles
disseminated in fashion magazines such
as Harper's Bazar Even the fashions of
Charles Worth, ^ the premier designer of
this period, were widely imitated. Novel
mass-produced textiles of great richness
and variety were available to help accom-
plish this task.

NEW CONCEPTS IN HEALTH AND ATTIRE

The radical changes in the clothing
industry by 1868 were partially
responsible for the discontinued
use of the crinoline and similar
supports. Many factors contributed to a
change in the aesthetic of female beauty
from idealized frailty to a more full-bod-

ied, lush type of female. In women's
clothing of this period emphasis was as-
signed to the profile. From below the
waist — still encased in tight laces to
diminish its size — bunched, poufed,
and embellished mounds of fabric
extended at the back, supported by a
bustle, thus pressing the wearer forward
into a stance known as the "Grecian
bend."

By the 1870s serious attention began
to be given to the creation of women's
clothing that combined considerations
of health and exercise with those of
contemporary ideals of beauty. A public
outpouring of criticism against the evils
of crowded cities, the destructiveness of

17'

commercial greed, and the disadvan-
tages and excesses of ever-changing
fashion that occurred around the same
time was one of the precursors of a new
concept of women and their role in soci-
ety— indeed, a new concept of their very
essence. Some "strong-minded" women
who behaved and dressed daringly were
slowly making their presence known
both in the public arena and on the
printed page. Nevertheless, in a society
dominated by men, assailing the male
fantasy of the gentle female whose tender
ministrations could instantly overcome
the daily irritations experienced by the
family breadwinner was a monumental
endeavor.

The struggle for women's rights en-
gaged the attention of many reformers,
both male and female, during the last
forty years of the nineteenth century.
There was much powerful opposition to
the women's rights movement. In the
press and elsewhere, women's rights ad-
vocates were constantly accused of being
unfeminine; in newspaper descriptions
and cartoons the aspects of women re-
formers' behavior and dress considered
to be masculine were emphasized and
distorted. These distortions totally
disregarded the fact that elements of
male attire occasionally were used in
female fashions. Toward the end of the
century neckties, boaters, long lapels,
and "mannish" shirts had become a part
of many feminine wardrobes, such as
those depicted in the popular illustra-
tions of Charles Dana Gibson's much-
admired American beauties.

The numerous historical revivals char-
acteristic of the Victorian period were, in
fact, also protests in favor of certain types
of social reform. The Pre-Raphaelites, for
example, retreated from the crassly com-
mercial world in which they lived to the
unreality of medievalism. Although they
attempted to recreate the clothing of the
Middle Ages and Renaissance, they were

unsuccessful as fashion innovators.
However, they did influence a change in
contemporary notions of ideal feminine
beauty to a type that echoed the appear-
ance of women painted by the Italian Re-
naissance artist Sandro Botticelli: long-
limbed females with sinuously curving
bodies. The dress style most suited to
this type of figure was the "princess"
gown, which first became popular in the
mid-1870s. Cut in one piece with the
bodice, it was designed to be close-fit-
ting and to flow in a continuous line from
shoulder to foot. A gentle curve was the
result, but only when the wearer stood
upright. One of the major drawbacks of
the princess style was that it was uncom-
fortable to wear, and it was soon
superseded.

18'

"HYGIENIC" CLOTHING AND
CHANGING ATTITUDES IN HEALTH REFORM

In 1873 a noted lecturer and literary
essayist, Abba Louisa Goold
Woolson, arranged a series of lec-
tures that she and four women physi-
cians would give in Boston. These lec-
tures, published at a later date, were ail
on the subject of health reform in dress.
Their principal concerns were the
unhealthy, even crippling aspects of
contemporary dress. Mrs. Woolson
summed up her own position in a brief
statement: "[Contemporary] dress vio-
lates health in three important ways: first,
by its compression of vital parts of the
body; second, by its great weight; and,
third, by the unequal temperature which
it induces.""^ Although none of the lec-
turers directly confronted the problem of
dress as a symbolic affirmation of wom-
en's subjugation, Mrs. Woolson — who
could as well have been speaking in
1984 — did assert: "With proper clothing
and proper training, [girls] will be en-
abled to grow up into strong-bodied,
strong-limbed, clear-headed, warm-
hearted, rosy, happy women, proud of
their womanhood, surrounded by hus-
band and children, if they prefer domes-
tic life, but held in equal honor and es-
teem, if, for any reasons which may seem
to them good, they choose to devote
themselves, with self-reliant energies, to
other labors....""

The effect on fashion of people like
Mrs. Woolson was minimal. The first se-
rious attempt to reach large and diverse
segments of the population in order to
improve the hygienic aspects of dress
occurred in 1884, the year of the Interna-
tional Health Exhibition in London. As
the most comprehensive exhibition on
the subject to take place in the nine-
teenth century, it included among the
displays clothing specifically designed to
be "sanitary." Nonetheless, the feminine

fashions shown were meant to enhance
the women wearing them. This exhibi-
tion had an entire section devoted to
dress for sport. One garment, the divided
skirt, made its appearance for the first
time in one of the displays, consistently
arousing spectator curiosity and attract-
ing large crowds. For the remainder of
the decade, this bifurcated garment was
the subject of impassioned controversy.
It was only in the 1890s that it gained
public acceptance.

One influential person involved with
the International Health Exhibition was
the English architect E. W. Godwin. He
agreed with many nineteenth-century
physicians that for dress to be hygienic, it
was necessary to wear wool next to the
skin to purge the body of impurities
through perspiration. Also active in the
cause of hygienic clothing was a German
physician. Dr. Gustav Jaeger, '^ who in-
sisted that the wool must be knitted and
that it should not be bleached or dyed.
His views were already known in Eng-
land, and a garment of the type he fa-
vored was shown in the International
Health Exhibition.

Dr. Jaeger's knitted underwear was a
boon for the active person, providing two
important features: flexibility and
warmth. His knitted garment provided
the basis for many twentieth-century in-
novations. Most clothing reformers in
England in the 1890s, however, did not
find the sanitary aspects of the garments
advocated by Dr. Jaeger to be particularly
suitable to their cause. Geared more to
the principle of democracy than to hy-
giene, they favored the wearing of Eng-
lish tweeds, viewing them as appropriate
dress because of the fabric's humble ori-
gins. These endorsements for the use of
tweeds eventually led to their status as
high fashion for country wear.

Dr. Jaeger's advice regarding the
avoidance of dyes in textiles generally
went unheeded by the public. Fashion ar-

19'

biters, however, possibly under the influ-
ence of noted artist James McNeill Whis-
tler and of William Morris and his Arts
and Crafts associates, did begin to favor
more subdued colors. The bright, heavy,
or oppressive color schemes (both in
fashion and home furnishings) which
had dominated Victorian taste for so long
were replaced after 1890 by less harsh
color combinations and an avoidance of
startling contrasts.'-^

THE FEMININE SILHOUETTE: 1880-1900

In a seeming backlash against reform
of any kind, by 1884 fashionable
women had given up what was
thought to be the "natural" appear-
ance of the princess cut. It was replaced
by a style that almost mimicked the one
popular around 1870, whose profile pre-
sented its best view. However, the stiff
extension at the back just below the
waist was now accompanied by a tight-
fitting bodice and sleeves, dispensing
with all frills, folds, and bows (pi. 4). By
1890 the fullness still evident at the cen-
ter back of the straight skirt was the last
vestige of the bustle. What had started in
the first year of the decade as a small
puffed sleeve was expanded to enor-
mous widths by 1895.'^ To balance the
unusual width of this vast sleeve, the bot-
toms of skirts were widened, while their
tops lay smoothly over the hips. A series
of cleverly cut gores was the basis of this
type of skirt construction.

After 1895, when sleeve widths began
to decrease again, a more sinuous line
appeared, one that was greatly influ-
enced by the fluid curves of Art Nouveau.
The cut of the underlying support — a
newly designed corset, flat in front and
extended in the back — forced the pos-
ture into an undulating configuration. Its
ingenious construction not only threw
the prominent bust forward but also
forced the hips backward; thus did
women achieve the desired silhouette

and remain in bondage to fashion's dic-
tates. The 1890s valued the mature, statu-
esque woman. Having the adolescent fig-
ure of a young girl was a disadvantage,
for clothing was designed to reinforce
the well-rounded shape of a robust
female. The Victorian ideal of the nurtur-
ing, fecund woman continued unaltered,
though possibly bruised.

As early as 1888 the Rational Dress
Society of England had advocated the
replacement of the corset with a chemise
of strong, supportive fabric to which a
divided skirt could be buttoned instead
of the usual petticoat. The reformers in
this organization were opposed to "any
fashion in dress that either deforms the
figure, impedes the movement of the
body, or in any way tends to injure
health"; they advocated "health, comfort.

HealHi.Grace.andBeaiitj.

3

HOLHES
PATENTS

All Sl\k->.

Any ladv wlio will p;i\e a
little study will discover that
what slie has cninplaiucd of
in all other i;annents lias been
obviated by our new jiatent.
We send our iiroducts to every
State and 'J'erritory in the
I'nion. They are

Faultless in Fit,
Satisfactory in Results.

F.very garment is marker! in-
side of sateen lininf; (look for
it),

"THE HOLMES CO."

I'lUy no others tnilil you see
our iir-iv piiti-tits- ^\'hen ii(it
foiuul with >onr best dealers,
SKXn STAMP direct to us
for catalogue and ]irice-list.
and we will send rules f.ir
selt-measurciuent and sam|iles
of materials to any jiart of
the country, and warrant sat-
isfaction.

THE HOLMES CO.,

109 Kingston St., Boston, 3Iass.

21'

and beauty"^5 as the bases for adopting
any style of clothing. As late as 1897 the
women in this movement were still trying
to convince the members of their sex to
wear garments that allowed for greater
comfort and less fatigue, particularly so
that exercise in the open air could be
truly beneficial, as well as more enjoy-
able. Nevertheless, most women in the
1890s were unwilling to implement the
wisdom of this message. The important
end-of-the-century innovation in wom-
en's fashion, the practical three-piece
suit with its plain skirt, tailored jacket,
and loose blouse, could be adapted for
dress or sports wear with great ease.
However, it took two world events that
occurred during the early years of the
twentieth century — the death of Queen
Victoria in 1901 and World War 1— to
inspire truly radical changes in the way
women perceived themselves and what
they wore.

STEPPING OUT INTO THE COUNTRY

In the second half of the nineteenth
century walking was an accepted
form of exercise for both men and
women. It required neither special
clothing nor any equipment and was a
necessary adjunct to many social func-
tions (pi. 5). Like walking, fishing did not
necessarily require special clothes or
great strength, and it also was consid-
ered a suitable activity for women. Fish-
ing offered a socially acceptable oppor-
tunity for men and women to be together;
in fact it was an advantage for a man to
accompany a woman because he could
navigate the boat, bait the hook, and
remove the fish if her delicate sensibili-
ties prevented her from doing so herself.
If a woman did not wish to fish but did
enjoy the pleasures of boating, rowing
and canoeing were athletic activities in
which she could participate without
incurring the censure of society. For
these forms of limited open-air exercise.

women did not require special clothing,
although a relaxation of some of the
more restrictive aspects of fashion was
seen, such as the shortening of skirts to
barely touch the ground.

Horseback riding provided abundant
exercise and was used to imply elevated
social status. It was an expensive sport,
requiring special, costly clothing for both
sexes, as well as the ability to maintain or
rent horses. Members of the middle class
who aspired to a higher social position
were free to adopt the accoutrements of
horseback riding as an affirmation of
their enhanced place in society. Aside
from the pleasures derived from the
sport, horseback riding was an integral
part of the activity of hunting.

The wide skirt popular from the 1840s
to the '60s did not interfere with an Eng-
lishwoman's ability to horseback ride,
since she did so on a sidesaddle. In fact
fashion's concessions to the needs of the
female rider were minimal and did not
alter the basic feminine silhouette of the
time. Although women wore breeches
beneath their riding skirts, these were
not revealed until the 1920s, when

22'

women, like men, began riding astride.
The fine tailoring of English feminine rid-
ing habits of the 1860s and 70s was the
basis for the tailor-made wool dresses of
later years.

At about the same time that bustles
found wide acceptance, the new sport of
roller skating came into vogue. By the
1870s it had become so popular that
buildings with beautifully crafted wood
floors were constructed specifically for
roller skaters in many American cities.
Women, with the drapes of their back-
ward-thrust skirts and the curls of their
backward-poufed hair flying in seeming
abandonment as they mastered the in-
tricacies of the sport, conquered it with
aplomb, creating a picture of supreme
confidence that was matched by the
aggressive forward-backward push of
their fashionable silhouettes.

The winter counterpart of roller skat-
ing was, of course, ice skating, a sport
ideally suited to Victorian culture.
Although requiring skill, it could be
learned by men and women alike. It was
an excellent excuse for courting couples
with leisure time to be together in close
physical proximity. In most other social
situations, touching or holding hands
was not permitted. Ice skating did not
require special clothing, except for
slightly shorter skirts for women (pis. 6-
7). Moreover, the cost of a pair of ice
skates was minimal, so that the sport
was widely practiced by all classes.

The explosion in reform activities dur-
ing the Victorian era was paralleled by a
similar one in sports activities. Ball
games, which had been played mainly by
children or country folk for most of the
first half of the nineteenth century, had
become socially acceptable and widely
practiced by the 1860s. Two games that
attracted popular attention on both sides
of the Atlantic were lawn games: croquet
and tennis. Croquet, the first to appear,'^
was enjoyed by both sexes during the

23'

1860s. It was an ideal sport for women of
the time, as it required little strength and
no special clothing. The wide crinolines
worn during the '60s did not interfere
with women's ability to participate in this
game. Their skirts were altered only by
the addition of a looping device with in-
terior cords that permitted the skirt to be
raised slightly. For formal games men,
like women, wore fashionable attire:
frock coats and top hats. For games
where a casual appearance was accept-
able, they wore lounge jackets, knicker-
bockers, and hats. Croquet provided
advantages beyond its obvious benefits
as exercise. Since it could be played by
both men and women, it possessed a
desirable social attribute.

It was not until the 1870s that tennis
captured the interest of the English lei-
sured classes. Its roots have been traced
to a handball game played in ancient
Greece, but its more modern form was
introduced in England in 1873 by Major
Walter C. Wingfield. By the following year
it was being played in the United States.
In 1877 tennis tournaments began their
long history at Wimbledon. This was also
the year during which a popular pastime
for women was the embroidering of ten-
nis aprons — practical clothing acces-
sories with pockets in which to carry ten-
nis balls — for their own use.

At first the influence of tennis on fash-
ion was slight. Some women dem-
onstrated their need for practicality by
wearing special shoes with India rubber
soles. Also, jersey fabric for tennis
dresses was introduced in 1879,
although the dresses were made in the
then-current mode. This fabric offered
the advantage of ease of movement
because of its elasticity. Not until the
1880s was the fitted bodice, then the
fashionable style, replaced by a belted
jacket with somewhat larger armholes,
thus permitting a bit more freedom for
the female player. In fact this jacket

24-

became one of the forerunners of the
1890s blouse, in turn a component of the
three-piece suit for women.

By the 1880s the lounge jacket and
knickerbockers, commonly worn by men
on casual occasions, were also used as
clothing for tennis. Trousers were often
worn instead of knickerbockers. The
double-breasted "reefer," a short, boxy
jacket, was popular for tennis until the
1890s, when it was replaced by white or
striped flannel blazers with patch pock-
ets. Such blazers looked so smart with
white flannel trousers that the ensemble

made in their design and mechanical
parts — wheels (now of the same size)
with wire spokes, pneumatic tires, ball
bearings, brakes, cushioned saddles,
and accessible handlebars — which
added to their comfort and safety.

Because of the modest cost of cycling,
its importance as transportation, and its
felicitous effects as a form of exercise,
women began cycling in earnest by the
late 1880s (pi. 8). Although it gave them
unprecedented mobility, the question of
what was both proper and possible for
women to wear when bicycling often

became standard on the tennis court. For
additional comfort men took to wearing
rubber-soled, soft canvas shoes.

The introduction of bicycles caused a
great change in the urban scene.
Although bicycles were already being
produced commercially by 1870, their
early forms, such as the "bone-shakers"
in England, were not universally popular.
Even the high-wheeler, introduced in
1873, was impractical, as it was difficult
to balance. Convenient, safe bicycles
were developed only in the 1880s. During
that entire decade improvements were

arose, especially because of the number
of accidents caused by their long skirts.
By the 1890s feminine cycling dress had
been adapted to the new sport. Divided
skirts, even knickerbockers, were used.
When jackets were worn, they frequently
were beautifully tailored, creating attrac-
tive ensembles.

Golf was another sport that made use
of the new styles so appropriate for bi-
cycling. Long the national sport of Scot-
land, it was not until the 1890s that it
gained its first acceptance in America,
becoming popular only in the twentieth

25-

century. Like riding, golf was a sport con-
fined to the leisured upper classes. Usu-
ally played at exclusive clubs, it became
an affirmation of social status.

Although golf appeared to involve a
minimum of physical activity, it actually
required physical coordination, skill,
and stamina. While playing, men wore
what by the 1890s had become well-
established sports clothing: the Norfolk
jacket with knickerbockers. To this they
added one frivolous touch, patterned
stockings, and one practical touch, a
peaked cap made of tweed. Women's
main concession to the needs of the
sport was the hats they wore. Those bold
enough to have begun playing the game
in the 1880s might have worn a hat bor-
rowed from male attire, the deer stalker,
while in the '90s they would have worn a
boater, also derived from a man's hat.

Over a period of decades, changing
social, economic, and artistic
concepts influenced — even
determined — transformations in
Victorian dress. As in all ages fashion
was a slowly evolving process, with past
and future shapes visible in the clothing
of any given moment. Transitions in style
resulting from particular ways of propor-
tioning and cutting garments bore a
direct relationship to existing conditions
and the spirit of the age. Nowhere, per-
haps, was this more apparent than in the
history of leisure and sports wear, whose
origin was linked directly to profound
changes in everyday life and which has
become increasingly important in our
own world.

27'

NOTES

1.

Dr. Combe also wrote a book,
published in Edinburgh in 1834,
with the ponderous title Princi-
ples of Physiology applied to the
preservation of Health and to
the development of physical
Education; see Newton, 1974,
p. 20.

Contrary to common belief,
Amelia Bloomer did not invent
bloomers, nor was she the first
person to wear them or to sug-
gest that others do so. Two
American women, Mary Crayen
and a Mrs. Noyes, were the first
to appear in public (in 1848)
wearing bifurcated garments.
When Mrs. Bloomer saw them
thus attired, she recognized the
practical aspects of their unus-
ual clothing and began wearing
similar trousers herself. She also
wrote about them, advocating
their use in her journal, The Lily.
It was not she, but the press, that
first used the word "Bloomer-
ism," and it was the public that
erroneously attributed the inven-
tion of bloomers to her. See
Bradfield, 1972, p. 43.

Charles Reade, a novelist who
wrote in the 1850s, was — like
Dr. Combe and Mrs. Bloomer —
ahead of his time. He not only
valued a woman for her wit and
intelligence but also recognized

the advantages of bloomers as a
practical garment for women. In
his short book The Course of
True Love Never Did Run
Smooth, the beautiful heroine of
the second story in the series of
three, "The Bloomer," is a
woman embodying these quali-
ties. Made timid by the realiza-
tion that her endorsement of the
bloomer's use could ostracize
her from society, she was quickly
won over to its cause when she
comprehended the hypocrisy of
its opponents:

When the conversation began,
Miss Courtenay looked down on
the bare idea of the bloomer
costume.

But its vituperators shook her
opinion by a very simple pro-
cess, — they gave their reasons.

"It is awkward and absurd," said
one, as by way of contrast, she
glided majestically to the piano
to sing. As she spoke her foot
went through her dress, to the
surprise of — nobody.

See Reade, n.d., p. 108.

From the germ of an idea that
originated in Europe, many men
contributed to what came to be a
totally American invention, the
sewing machine. Overly gen-
erous historians have credited
Elias Howe, Jr., with having been
its sole inventor. Although his

first American patent, issued on
September 10, 1846, was for his
second machine, his contribu-
tion was but a small part of a
complex process that led to the
eventual success and func-
tionalism of this versatile appli-
ance. Howe's ownership of
important patents, however, did
provide him with the basis for a
successful suit against the
Singer Company. Unfortunately it
was also the basis for a landslide
of similar legal actions within
the infant sewing machine in-
dustry that almost crippled it
early in the 1850s. Orlando B.
Potter, the president of one of the
important companies of that
time, Grover and Baker, solved
the problem by convincing the
other leading manufacturers in
the industry — Howe, Wheeler
and Wilson, and Singer — to
pool their patent rights and form
a combine. They agreed to this
strategy, and the name they se-
lected was the "Sewing-Machine
Trust and/or the Sewing-
Machine Combination." See
Cooper, 1968, p. 41.

Whereas fine tailoring and haute
couture, both nineteenth-century
phenomena, traditionally have
been identified with England
and France, respectively, the
great paper pattern industry was
first founded in the United
States. See Arnold, 1966, p.4.

28<

"From 1842 to 1895 the United
States issued 7,339 patents on
sewing machines and acces-
sories" (Kidwell and Christman,
1974, p. 75).

7.

Newton, 1974, p. 41.

"Some firms were outgrowths of
dry goods stores, and a few had
started as specialty clothing
houses. Marshall Field and Car-
son Pirie Scott and Co. arrived
on the Chicago scene in 1852
and 1854 respectively" (Kidwell
and Christman, 1974, p. 157).

9.

When the Englishman Charles
Worth opened the first haute
couture establishment in Paris in
1858, he changed the taste and
buying habits of fashion-con-
scious women of the upper
classes on both sides of the
Atlantic.

10.

Like many other nineteenth-cen-
tury physicians, these four doc-
tors deplored the harmful effects
of the encasing corsets all
women had to wear in order to
be fashionable. No one ex-
pressed this more succinctly
than Dr. Mary J. Safford-Blake
when she stated, "The thumb-
screws of the inquisition might
have been more painful to bear,
but they certainly produced less
harm than do the unyielding

steels of her corset " See

Woolson, ed., 1974, pp. 23, 125.

11.

Ibid., p. 178.

12.

The famous London store that

sells beautiful woolen clothing,
Jaeger's, was established by Dr.
Jaeger; see Newton, 1974,
p. 103.

13.

Women who followed the dic-
tates of the Aesthetic Movement
(with which both Whistler and
Morris, as well as E. W Godwin,
were identified) preferred "dull
greens, peacock blue and dull,
rich reds, or mellow amber-
yellows." See Aslin, 1969, p. 157.
Gilbert and Sullivan, in their
comic opera Patience, satirized
the taste of the proponents of
this movement, especially Oscar
Wilde and Algernon Swinburne,
models for the leading char-
acters, Bunthorne and Gros-
venor:

...an ultra poetical

super-aestfietical,

out-of-the-way young man.'

A pallid and thin young man,

A haggard and lank young

man,

A greenery, yallery, Grosvenor

Gallery,

Footin-the grave young man!

See Taylor, ed., 1941, pp. 167-

14.

In the 1830s the expanded ver-
sion of the puffed sleeve was
called a gigot (from the French
word for "leg of lamb"). In the
1890s, when the puff once again
widened, it was known as the
"leg-of-mutton" sleeve. The
shoulder seam of the gigot
sleeve was below the natural
shoulder, constricting arm
movement, whereas the seam
was moved into its natural posi-
tion just above the edge of the
shoulder for the leg-of-mutton,
permitting arm movement.

15.

Newton, 1974, pp. 116-17.

16.

"True croquet was brought from
Ireland to England in the 1850s
and Lord Lonsdale, the sporting
peer, was one of the first to lay
out a court on the lawns of his
home in the Lake District"
(Cunnington and Mansfield,
1969, p. 61).

29'

SOURCES FOR LINE ILLUSTRATIONS

The line illustrations used throughout this catalogue are nineteenth-century illustra-
tions reproduced from the following periodicals and books:

pp. 2-3 A Little Incident, drawing by Charles Dana Gibson from 77?^ Gibson Book I,
n.d., not paginated.

p. 10 Worth Tailor Gown from Harper's Bazar 26 (1 July 1 893) : 525.

p. 13 Corset illustrations from The Delineator 29 (April 1887): 8; rib cage illustra-
tions and quotation from Woolson, ed., 1974, 47, 54.

p. 15 Singer sewing-machine advertisement from The Delineator 4\ (May 1893): 4.

p. 16 Koch and Company Department Store, New York City from The Delineator 43
(April 1894): 436.

p. 1 7 Misses ' Coat and Muff from The Delineator 3 1 (January 1 888) : 29.

p. 18 Golf outfit, drawing by Charles Dana Gibson from The Gibson Book I, n.d., not
paginated.

p. 20 Illustration from Woolson, ed., 1974, 182.

p. 21 Advertisement from Harper's Bazar 26 (23 September 1893): 787.

pp. 22-23 Princesse Panier Polonaise and Walking Skirt from Harper's Bazar 1 2
(16 August 1879): 517.

p. 24 Riding Habit for a Lady from Godey 's Lady 's Book 1 07 (June 1 883-January
1884): 124.

p. 25 They Take a Morning Run, drawing by Charles Dana Gibson from A Widow
and Her Friends by Gibson, 1901, not paginated.

p. 26 The First Lesson from Godey 's Lady's Book 107 (June 1 883-January 1884):
396.

30'

COLOR PLATES

Plate 1 .
Brown and Tan Silk Taffeta Dress; United States, c. 1868-72 (no. 2).

Plate 2.

Cerulean Blue Silk Faille Girl's Dress; United States, c. 1870-75 (no. 31).

■

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^^^^^^^^1

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Plate 3.

Multicolored Silk Taffeta Dress; Red Wool Twill Girl's Dress; Forest Green Wool Twill Boy's Suit; United States

1867-68; 1868-70; c. 1875 (nos. 1, 30, 32).

Plate 4.
Dull Gold Silk Taffeta Dress; United States, c. 1880 (no. 7).

Plate 5.

Dark Olive Green Silk Faille Dress; Natural Pongee Silk Boy's Dress; United States
1886; c. 1885 (nos. 11,38).

Plate 6.
Dark Green Brocaded Wool Twill Dress; United States, c. 1896 (no. 15).

Plate 7.

Brown, Black, and White Wool Tweed Suit; United States, c. 1895 (no. 14).

Plate 8.

Blue-gray Wool and Natural Linen Bicycling Attire; United States, 1888 (no. 12).

CHECKLIST

WOMEN'S CLOTHING

1.

Dress (bodice, skirt, and belt witii baci<

panels)

United States, 1867-68

Multicolored small chine floral sprigs
scattered on small black and cream
windowpane-checked silk taffeta;
banded trim of green silk taffeta edged
with black and white silk fringe; green
silk taffeta-covered buttons

Gift of Dorothy Dixon
M.83.231.8a,b,c

Dress (bodice and asymmetrical skirt)
United States, c. 1868-72

Brown and tan silk taffeta; two-color self
trim of alternating rows of bands and
ruffles; exterior back pocket; two-color
self piping and cream silk button decora-
tion; brown silk needle-lace buttons on
bodice front

Gift of the Estate of Dorothy Gould

M.82.272.1a,b

3.

Dress (bodice and trained skirt with
symmetrical, attached back overskirt)
United States, c. 1872

Beige silk and cotton; rust silk box pleat
and Van Dyke point trim; silk-covered
sculpted buttons

Costume Council Fund
M.83.194.9a,b

4.

Dress (bodice and trained skirt with

attached overskirt)

England, c. 1875

Pale green silk and wool; knife-pleated
self trim; matching silk bows at elbows;
self buttons

Gift of May Routh
M.82.180a,b

5.

Walking Dress (bodice and skirt with

asymmetrical, attached, draped

overskirt)

United States (?),c. 1878-80

Dark green wool serge; machine-embroi-
dered "paisley"-patterned wool trim; rust
silk twill on bodice front and cuffs; self
box pleating around hem of skirt

Gift of Mrs. Frances Osthaus
M.71.106a,b

Dress (bodice and symmetrical, puffed-
back skirt with train)
United States, c. 1880

Green-beige silk faille; self-piped
crenelated trim on cuffs, neckline, false
revers, and train; self box-pleated hem;
carved mother-of-pearl buttons

Gift of Mrs. Marie Lathrop Tuttle
38.19

41-

7.

Dress (bodice and skirt)

United States, c. 1880

Label: WATKINS robes, ChesnutSt.,

Louisville, KY.

Dull gold silk taffeta; cream cisele silk
velvet on dull gold satin ground in skirt
panels and bodice trim; knife pleats at
hem; mother-of-pearl buttons v^ith
marcasite centers

Gift of Mrs. W. R. Kilgore
CR.86.57.1a,b

Dress (bodice and skirt with attached

overskirt)

United States, c. 1879-82

Lavender-and-white-striped silk taffeta
combined with olive-drab silk taffeta;
knife-pleat and flat bow trim; mock polo-
naise ("Dolly Varden"); lavender silk
needle-lace and crochet-covered buttons

Gift of Mrs. James Lockhead
CR.346.65.1 a,b

Dress (bodice and symmetrical, puffed-
back skirt)
United States (?),c. 1882

Gray-green silk taffeta; darker green bias
ruching, ruffles, and ribbon trim; dyed
and carved mother-of-pearl buttons

Mrs. Alice F. Schott Bequest
M.67.8.59a,b

10.

Riding Habit (jacket and shaped skirt)

Austria, c. 1885

Label: Holznarth, We in, I. Kdrnthnerstr.

40

Heavy black wool serge; braid trim; silk-
covered buttons

Gift of the Pasadena Art Museum
63.26.8 a,b

11.

Dress (bodice and skirt)

United States, 1886

Dark olive green silk faille; blue, red,
brown, and gold cisele velvet trim; asym-
metrical, vertical knife pleats; hip and
bustle drape; matching bonnet with olive
green satin ribbon ties

Gift of Mrs. Albert Weiland
59.13.1 a,b/.2

12.

Bicycling Attire (fitted jacket and three-
quarter-length bifurcated skirt)
United States, IJ

Jacket: blue-gray wool; white wool and
metallic gold braid trim; gilt brass mili-
tary-style buttons

Skirt: natural linen; white cotton tape
trim; bifurcation concealed by front
panel; mother-of-pearl buttons

Gift of Bullocks, 7th and Hill streets,
Los Angeles
M. 74.24.27 a,b

13.

Culotte

United States, c. 1890-

1900

Unbleached heavy linen; composition
buttons

Gift of Mrs. Louise D. Wilhelm
CR.340.65.5

14.

Suit (double-breasted coat, bodice, and

skirt)

United States, c. 1895

Brown, black, and white wool tweed; leg-
of-mutton sleeves; dyed mother-of-pearl
buttons

Gift of Mrs. Grace 0. Johnston Fisher
A.2354-5 a,b

42'

15.

Dress (bodice and skirt)

United States, c. 1896

Dark green wool twill with brocaded mo-
tif of white, orange, and red interlocking
circles; leg-of-mutton sleeves; false
revers

W. T. Wohlbruck Collection
37.24.12 a,b

16.

Riding Habit Qacket, waistcoat, and skirt)

France, c. 1900

Jacket and skirt: black wool broadcloth

Waistcoat: copper-colored pattern with
rust, blue, green, and gold on charcoal-
gray silk satin ground; carved mother-of-
pearl buttons

Wilma Leithead Wood Bequest
58.34.10 a-c

17.

Suit (Norfolk-style jacket and skirt)

United States, c. 1900-1905

Tan cotton corduroy; composition
buttons

Gift of Mrs. William James Kuehn et al.
CR.283.64-2 a,b

MEN'S CLOTHING

18.

Trousers

United States, c. 1870

Dark brown, orange, and gray tattersall-
checked cotton; button fall front

Mrs. Alice F. Schott Bequest
M.67.8.2

19.

Coat (double-breasted)

United States, c. 1880

Gray-green wool twill; black silk satin
twill lapel trim; black basket-weave silk
buttons

W. T. Wohlbruck Collection
37.24.146

20.

Country Suit (coat, waistcoat, and

breeches)

United States, c. 1875-1900

Butternut-colored heavy wool twill;
leather buttons

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey J.
Hamlin, Jr.
CR.69.34 a-c

21.

Coat

United States, c. 1890

Black heavy felted wool; sheared beaver
collar and cuffs; silk braid trim; corded
frog-and-toggle fasteners

Promised Gift of Kent Elofson
TR.7221

22.

Suit (modified frock coat, waistcoat, and

breeches)

England, c. 1900

Label: Sandon and Co. Savile Row,

London

Heather-gray wool worsted; composition
buttons

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey J.
Hamlin, Jr.
CR.69.41 a-c

23.

Formal Day Suit (cutaway jacket,
waistcoat, and trousers)
United States, c. 1900

Black wool jacket and waistcoat; gray-
and-black-striped wool trousers

43'

Gift of Mrs. Brandner W. Lee, Jr.
M. 66.61.3 a-c

24.

Morning Suit (cutaway coat and

waistcoat)

United States, c. 1900-10

Black wool broadcloth; black silk braid
trim; black silk buttons

Gift of Mrs. Howard P. Devol
CR.74.2.3a,b

CHILDREN'S CLOTHING

25.

Girl's Dress

England, c. 1860

Blue and gray cotton organdy printed in
floral and plaid "ribbon" pattern; lace-
trimmed, petal-shaped short sleeves

Gift of Mrs. P. A. Appleyard
M.67.35.2

26.

Girl's Dress

United States, c. 1860-65

Multicolored printed silk in pink and
white ombre "ribbon" and dot pattern
(fabric c. 1828); pink silk braid trim;
matching triangular fichu; floral-
patterned glass buttons

Del Valle Collection
34.6.1 a,b

27.

Boy's Suit (jacket and pants)

United States, c. 1862

Oatmeal-colored wool tweed; rust silk
braid trim; flat brass buttons

Gift of Mrs. Rens R. Effinger
M.36.10.12a,b

28.

Boy's Dress (dress and cape)

United States, c. 1865

Dress: light orange wool; silk soutache
trim; scalloped sleeve edges bound with
buttonhole-stitch embroidery; small,
conical brass buttons

Cape: matching fabric; small, turned-
down collar; white china silk lining

Gift of Lillian Charlotte Bridgeman
A.4666.39-2 a,b

29.

Girl's Dress (dress and overskirt)

United States, c. 1869

Red-and-white-printed cotton calico;
white cotton trim; ruffled overskirt (prob-
ably added when dress was updated);
mother-of-pearl buttons

Gift of Mrs. Frances Presley

A.2289.30.53

30.

Girl's Dress (dress, overskirt, and bolero)

United States, c. 1868-70

Red wool twill; black silk velvet ribbon
trim; black wool braid edging; glazed
cotton lining; faceted black glass buttons

Mrs. Alice F. Schott Bequest
M.67.8.18a-c

31.

Girl's Dress (jacket-bodice and puffed-
back skirt)
United States, c. 1870-75

Cerulean blue silk faille; matching silk
velvet trim; silk velvet buttons

Mrs. Alice F. Schott Bequest
CR.448.67.15a,b

32.

Boy's Suit (jacket and kilt)

United States, c. 1875

44-

Forest green wool twill; black glass
buttons

Gift of Mrs. Raymond Hoover
CR.293.64-1 a,b

33.

Boy's Suit (jacket, waistcoat, and

breeches)

United States, c. 1875

Black silk velvet; black wool braid
"Hussar" trim; wool-covered buttons

Gift of Mrs. Janet Felix
A.6196.52-1 a-c

34.

Girl's Dress

United States, c. 1877-80

Burgundy, white, and gray silk taffeta;
smocked front; small back bustle; bur-
gundy satin bows; mother-of-pearl
buttons

Gift of Mrs. Thomas H. Crawford
M.69.28.2

35.

Boy's Dress

Switzerland, c. 1880

White figured cotton; elaborate machine-
embroidered cotton eyelet trim

Gift of Mrs. John Arnett
M.81.315.4

36.

Boy's Suit (shirt and detachable

breeches)

United States, c. 1880

Cream wool twill; mock laced front;
mother-of-pearl buttons

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Dixon
56.19.2

37.

Girl's Dress

United States, c. 1880

White cotton pique; white cotton
machine-embroidered eyelet trim;
appliqued white cotton braid in scrolling
pattern; mother-of-pearl buttons

Mrs. Alice F. Schott Bequest
CR.448.67-20

38.

Boy's Dress (coat, pleated skirt, and

breeches)

United States, c. 1885

Natural pongee silk; painted abalone-
shell buttons

Gift of Mr. N. A. Abell
M.78.113.1 a-c

39.

Girl's Coat

United States, c.

1895

Cream wool; white silk ribbon trim; goat-
hair collar edging; carved mother-of-
pearl buttons; matching bonnet

Gift of Mr. Frank Betz
CR.371.66.1 a,b

45"

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fash-
ion (1860-1940). London:
Wace and Company Ltd.,
1966.

AsLiN, Elizabeth. The Aesthetic
Movement. New York: Excali-
bur Books, 1969.

Bentley, Nicholas. The Victorian
Scene: A Picture Book of the
Period 1837-1901. London:
The Hamlyn Publishing Group
Limited, 1971.

Blum, Stella. Victorian Fashions
and Costumes from Harper's
Bazar: 1867-1898. New York:
Dover Publications, inc.,
1974.

Boucher, pRANgois. 20,000 Years
of Fashion. New York: Harry N.
Abrams, Inc., n.d.

Bradreld, Nancy. "Cycling in the
1890's." Costume no. 6
(1972): 43-47.

Buck, Anne. Victorian Costume
and Costume Accessories.
London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd.,
1961.

Cooper, Grace Rogers. The
Invention of the Sewing
Machine. Washington, D.C.:
The Smithsonian Institution
Press, 1968.

CUNNINGTON, PhILLIS, AND AlaN

Mansfield. English Costume
for Sports and Outdoor Recre-
ation. London: Adam and
Charles Black, 1969.

The Gallery of English Costume,
Picture Book Number Eight:
Costume for Sport. Manches-
ter: The Art Galleries Commit-
tee of the Corporation of Man-
chester, 1963.-

Green, Harvey. The Light of the
Home. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1983.

Helvenston, Sally. "Advice to
American Mothers on the Sub-
ject of Children's Dress: 1800-
1920."Dre5s 7 (1981): 30-46.

Kidwell, Claudia B., and Mar-
garet C. Christman. Suiting
Everyone: The Democratiza-
tion of Clothing in America.
Washington, D.C.: The
Smithsonian Institution Press,
1974.

Newton, Stella Mary. Health, Art
and Reason. London: John
Murray, 1974.

Payne, Blanche. History of Cos-
tume. New York: Harper and
Row, 1965.

Rabun, Josette H., and Mary
Frances Drake. "Warmth in
Clothing: A Victorian Perspec-
tive."Dress9 (1983): 24-31.

Reade, Charles. The Course of
True Love Never Did Run
Smooth. Boston: The Fred-
erick T Quincy Co., n.d.

Rinhart, Floyd and Marion. Sum-
mertime: Photographs of
Americans at Play 1850-1900.

New York: Clarkson N. Potter,
Inc., 1978.

Saunders, Ann, ed. La Belle
Epoque. London: Costume
Society, 1968.

Taylor, Deems, ed. A Treasury of
Gilbert and Sullivan. New
York: Simon and Schuster,
1941.

Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men's
Clothes 1600-1900. New York:
Theatre Arts Books, 1964.

. The Cut of Women's

Clothes 1600-1930. New York:
Theatre Arts Books, 1968.

WooLSON, Abba Goold, ed. Dress-
Reform. Boston: Roberts
Brothers, 1874; New York:
Arno Press, 1974.

46"

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is never possible to thank adequately the many individuals who give of their
time and talent to an exhibition and catalogue of this kind. The invaluable contri-
butions of the following must be acknowledged, however: Dale Gluckman, assis-
tant curator, Department of Textiles and Costumes; Evelyn Ackerman; Claire
Polakoff; Florence Karant and Nola Ewing, curatorial assistants, and Rae Avrutin, sec-
retary. Department of Textiles and Costumes; Deborah Kraak, museum intern; Jennie
Macofsky and Jane Feezel, graduate interns; Dallas Lovett, undergraduate intern; an
army of volunteers including Sandy Rosenbaum, Lorraine Olson, Helen Caputo, Ger-
trude Schwartz, Tzvia Sadja, and Vincent Risuelo; Pat Reeves, conservator, and Nancy
Wyatt and Catherine McLean, assistant conservators. Conservation Center; Andrea P.
A. Belloli; Deenie Yudell, head graphic designer, and her assistant Robin Weiss, Pub-
lications and Graphic Design; Larry Reynolds, supervisor, and his assistants Peter
Brenner, Jack Ross, Jeffrey Conley, and Lisa Kahn, Photographic Services; Terry
Monteleone, assistant director. Grants and Corporate Giving, Office of Development
and Membership; and Myrna Smoot, assistant director for Museum Programs. The
exhibition was designed by Dino Di Gerlando of Double Iris Designs. The background
illustrations were adapted by Elin Waite from drawings by Charles Dana Gibson, and
airbrushed by Tim Kummerow of Air Designs. Mannequins were prepared with the
able assistance of sculptor Kent Elofson, moldmaker Inez Owings, painter Lyndall
Otto, wigmaker Vikki Wood, and hair stylist Melva Myers. International Silks and
Woolens generously donated fabric for the banner; Carolyn De Mers and Ron Honore
assisted with its painting. The exhibition has been made possible in part by a grant
from Home Silk Shop, Inc., through the generosity of Murray Pepper, and funds from
an anonymous patron of the arts. Finally, publication of this catalogue was made
possible in part by a grant, through the good offices of Nikki Scheuer, from the Dover
Fund.

— E.M.

47<

TRUSTEES AND SUPERVISORS

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

^^^^sM^z^^^m^^^^tsm

Board of Supervisors, 1984

Deane Dana
Chairman

Michael D. Antonovich

Edmund D. Edelman

Kenneth Hahn

Peter F. Schabarum

Harry L. Hufford

Chief Administrative Officer

and Director of Personnel

Earl A. Powell iii
Director

Board of Trustees,
Fiscal 1983-84

Mrs. F. Daniel Frost
Chairman

Julian Ganz, Jr.
President

Norman Barker, Jr.
Vice-President

Eric Lidow
Vice-President

Charles E. Ducommun
Treasurer

Mrs. Harry Wetzel
Secretary

Donald Spuehler
Counsel

Honorary Life Trustees
Mrs. Freeman Gates
Mrs. Alice Heeramaneck
Joseph B. Koepfli
Mrs. Rudolph Liebig
Mrs. Lucille Ellis Simon
John Walker
Mrs. Herman Weiner

Mrs. Howard Ahmanson
William H. Ahmanson
Howard P. Allen
Robert 0. Anderson
Mrs. Anna Bing Arnold
R. Stanton Avery
Daniel N. Belin
Mrs. Lionel Bell
B. Gerald Cantor
Edward W. Carter
Hans Cohn
Joseph P. Downer
Richard J. Flamson iii
Arthur Gilbert
Stanley Grinstein
Dr. Armand Hammer
Felix Juda

Mrs. Howard B. Keck
Mrs. Dwight Kendall
Harry Lenart
Robert F. Macguire iii
Mrs. David H. Murdock
Dr. Franklin D. Murphy
Mrs. Edwin W Pauley
Sidney R. Petersen
Henry C. Rogers
Richard E. Sherwood
Nathan Smooke
Ray Stark

Mrs. John Van de Kamp
Hal B. Wallis
Frederick R. Weisman
Dr. Charles Z. Wilson, Jr.
Robert Wilson

48"