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LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

SANTA BARBARA

FROM THE LIBRARY
OF F. VON BOSCH AN

X-K^IC^I

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/evolutionoffashiOOgardiala

Hhe Sbolution of ifashion

FLORENCE MARY GARDINER

Author of ^'■Furnishings and Fittings for Every Home" ^^ About Gipsies,"

SIR ROBERT BRUCE COTTON.

THE COTTON PRESS, Granvii^le House, Arundel Street, VV-C-

FRANCES EVELYN,

Countess of Warwick,

whose enthusiastic and kindly interest in all movements

calculated to benefit women is unsurpassed,

This Volume,

by special permission, is respectfully dedicated,

THE AUTHOR.

in the year of
Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee,

1897.

I
I

PREFACE.

T N compiling this volume on Costume (portions of which originally appeared

in the Lndgate Ilhistrated Magazine, under the editorship of Mr. A. J.

Bowden), I desire to acknowledge the valuable assistance I have received from

sources not usually available to the public ; also my indebtedness to the following

authors, from whose works I have quoted : — Mr. Beck, Mr. R. Davey, Mr. E.

Rimmel, Mr. Knight, and the late Mr. J. R. Planchd. I also take this

opportunity of thanking Messrs, Liberty and Co., Messrs. Jay, Messrs. E. R,

Garrould, Messrs. Walery, Mr. Box, and others, who have offered me special

facilities for consulting drawings, engravings, &c., in their possession, many of

which they have courteously allowed me to reproduce, by the aid of Miss

Juh'et Hensman, and other artists.

The book lays no claim to being a technical treatise on a subject which

is practically inexhaustible, but has been written with the intention of bringing

before the general public in a popular manner circumstances which have influenced

in a marked degree the wearing apparel of the British Nation.

FLORENCE MARY GARDINER.
West Kensington, iS^y.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I. The Dress, b.c. 594— a.d. 1897 3

II. Curious Headgear ^5

III. Gloves 25

IV. Curious Footgear 31

V. Bridal Costume 39

VI. Mourning 5i

VII. Eccentricities of Masculine Costume 61

VIII. A Chat about Children and their Clothing 71

IX. Fancy Costume of Various Periods 79

X. Stage and Floral Costume 89

Chapter I.
THE DRESS, b.c. 594 — a.d. 189;.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION

Chapter I.
THE DRESS, b.c. 594— a.d. 1897.

" Fashions that are now called new
Have been worn by more than you ;
Elder times have used the same,
Though these new ones get the name."

Aliddleton's '^ Mayor of Quinborough."

\ HARD fate has condemned human
xx beings to enter this mortal sphere
without any natural covering, like that
possessed by the lower animals to protect
them from the extremes of heat and cold.
Had this been otherwise, countless myriads,
for untold ages, would have escaped the
tyrannical sway of the goddess Fashion, and
the French proveib, il faut souffrir pour ctre
belle, need never have been written.

The costume of our progenitors was chiefly
remarkable for its extreme simplicity; and,
as far as we can gather, no difference in
design was made between the sexes. A few
leaves entwined by the stalks, the feathers of
birds, the bark of trees, or roughly dressed
skins of animals were probably regarded by
beaux and belles of the Adamite period as
beautiful and appropriate adornments for the
body, and were followed by garments made
from plaited grass, which was doubtless
the origin of weaving, a process which is
nothing more than the mechanical plaiting
of hair, wool, flax, &c. In many remote
districts these primitive fashions still prevail,
as, for example, in Madras, where, at an
annual religious ceremony, it is customary
for the low caste natives to exchange for a
short period their usual attire for an apron of
leaves. In the Brazilian forests the lecythis,
or " shirt tree," is to be found, from which
the people roll off the bark in short lengths,
and, after making it pliable in water, cut two
slits for the arm-holes and one for the neck,
when their dress is complete and ready for
use. The North American Indian employs
feathers for purposes of the toilet, and many
African tribes are noted for their deftly-woven
fabrics composed of grass and other vege-

table fibres, while furs and skins are essential
articles of dress in Northern latitudes. Per-
haps the earliest specimen of a modiste's bill
in existence has recently been found on a
chalk tablet at Nippur, in Chaldea. The
hieroglyphics record ninety-two robes and
tunics : fourteen of these were perfumed
with myrrh, aloes and cassia. The date of
this curious antique cannot be less than two
thousand eight hundred years before the
Christian era. In ancient times it must be
remembered that the principal seats of civili-
sation were Assyria and Egypt, and upon
these countries Western nations depended
for many of the luxuries of life. The Jews
derived their fine fabrics from the latter

EARLY KGVrriAN.

1: 2

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

p>lace, which was particu-
larly noted for its linen
manufactures and for mag-
nificent embroideries, of
which the accompanying
illustration will give some
idea. Medes and Baby-
lonians, of the highest class,
partially arrayed themselves
in silk, which cost its weight
in gold, and about the time
of Ezekiel (b.c, 594) it is
known to have been used
in the dress of the Persians.
It is a remarkable circum-
stance that this animal pro-
duct was brought to the
West manufactured in cloth,
which was only half silk ;
and it is said the plan was
devised of unravelling the
stuff, which was rewoven
into cloth of entire silk.
Owing to its high price, the
Romans forbade its being
used for the entire dress by
men, complete robes of silk
being reserved for women.
It is numbered among the
extravagant luxuries of
Heliogabalus that he was
the first man who wore a
silken garment, and the
anecdote is well known of
the Emperor Aurelian, who
refused, on the ground of
its extravagant cost, a silk
dress which his consort
earnestly desired to possess.
Monuments still in ex-
istence show that the
Egyptians, owing to the
warmth of their climate,
were partial to garments of
a semi-transparent charac-
ter, while those living on
the banks of the Tigris, who
were subjected to greater
extremes of temperature,
wore clothing of similar
design, but of wool, with
heavy fringes of the same
as a trimming. In some
cases this feature of Assy-

?V--

GREEK,

rian costume is shown in
double rows, one pendent,
while the other stands out
in a horizontal direction.

The early Greek dress,
or chiton, was a very
simple contrivance, reach-
ing to the feet. If un-
girdled, it would trail on the
ground; but generally it was
drawn through the zone or
waistbelt in such a manner
that it was double to the ex-
tent of about thirty inches
over the vital organs of the
body. The great distinction
between male and female
dress consisted in the length
of the skirt. The trim-
mings were of embroidery,
woven diapers, figure bands
with chariots and horses ;
and, in some cases, glass
ornaments and thin metal
plates were applied. Among
the working classes the
chiton was, of course, home-
spun, or of leather.

The stola was the Roman
equivalent for the nine-
teenth century robe or
gown, and in many respects
resembled the Greek chiton.
The fabrics employed were
wool and linen up to the
end of the Republic, though
at a later date, as has al-
ready been stated, silk was
imported. Colour, under
the Emperors, was largely
used, and at least thirteen
shades of the dye obtained
from the murex, which
passed under the general
name of purple, could be
seen in the costume of both
sexes.

When the Roman Em-
pire was dismembered (a.d.
395) a style of dress seems
to have flourished in the im-
portant towns of the Medi-
terranean, which was similar
to that worn in mediaeval

ROMAN.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

times in Britain, and which may
be examined in the specimens
of statuary adorning tombs of
the twelfth and thirteenth cen-
turies. The semi-tight under-
dress and sleeves appear to
have been elaborately em-
broidered, and the loose
mantle of plain material was
edged with a border.

One of the earliest descrip-
tions of the female dress in
Britain is that of Boadicea,
the Queen of the Iceni, whom
we are told wore a tunic woven
chequerwise in purple, red,
and blue. Over this was a
shorter garment open on the
bosom, and leaving the arms
bare. Her yellow hair flowed
over her shoulders, upon
which rested an ample cloak,
secured by a fibula (brooch).
A torque, or necklet, was
also worn; a pair of bronze
breastplates as a protection
from the Roman arrows, and
her fingers and arms were
covered with rings and brace-
lets.

The costume of the Anglo-
Saxon ladies consisted of a
sherie, or camise, of linen next
the skin, a kirtle, which
resembled the modern petti-
coat, and a gunna, or gown,
with sleeves. Out of doors a
mantle covered the upper por-
tion of the body, and with the
coverchief, or head rail, formed
a characteristic feature of the
dress of the day. Cloth, silk,
and linen were the favourite
materials for clothing, and
red, blue, yellow, and green
the fashionable colours. Very
little black and white were
used at this period. Saxon
women were renowned for
their skill with the needle, and
used large quantities of gold
thread and jewels in their
work. Among other instances
quoted, Queen Editha em-

BYZANTINE.

broidered the coronation
mantle of herhusband, Edward
the Confessor.

For some years after the
Norman Conquest, women
retained the costume of the
Anglo-Saxon period, with cer-
tain additions and modifica-
tions. Fine coloured cloths
and richest furs were used by
both sexes, and sleeves and
trains were such a length that
it was found necessary to knot
them, so that they should not
trail upon the ground.

The next important change
was the surcoat and tight
bodice, which was fastened in
front to fit the figure.

There are evident traces
that as civilisation advanced
the love of dress and the
desire of the fair sex to appear
beautiful in the eyes of all
beholders increased in like pro-
portion. From ancient MSS,
and other sources, we have
ample proof of this. St. Jerome
calls women " philoscomon"
that is to say, lovers of finery,
and another writer states:
" One of the most difificult
points to manage with women
is to root out their curiosity
for clothes and ornaments for
the body." St, Bernard
admonished his sister with
greater candour than polite-
ness on her visiting him, well
arraied with riche clothinge,
with pedes and precious
stones : " Such pompe and
pride to adorne a carion as is
youre body. Thinke ye not
of the pore people, that be
deyen for hunger and colde;
and that for the sixth parte of
youre gay arraye, forty persons
might be clothed, refreshed,
and kepte from the colde?"

The increased facilities for
travelling offered to those
engaged in the Crusades, and
the necessary intercourse with

.\NGLO-SAXON.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

other nations, caused considerable quantities
of foreign materials to be imported to Eng-
land during the Middle Ages: and this had
a corresponding effect upon the costume of

I2TH CENTURY.

the period, which was chiefly remarkable for
its richness and eccentricity of form. Among
the materials in use may be mentioned
diaper cloth from Ypres, a town in Flanders,
famous for its rich dress stuffs; tartan, called
by the French " tyretaine," meaning teint, or
colour of Tyre (scarlet being indifferently
used for purple by ancient writers, and
including all the gradations of colour formed
by a mixture of blue and red, from indigo
to crimson). There was a fine white woollen
cloth called Blanket, named after its inventor.
Sarcenet, also from its Saracenic origin, and
gauze which was made at Gaza in Palestine.
Ermine was strictly confined to the use
of the Royal Family and nobles, and
cloth of gold, and habits embroidered with
jewellery, or lined with minever or other
expensive fur, could only be worn by knights
and ladies with incomes exceeding 400 marks
per annum. Those who had not more than

200 marks were permitted to wear silver cloth,
with ribands, girdles, &c., reasonably embel-
lished; also woollen cloth not costing more
than six marks the piece.

The tight forms of dress now in common
use among women were an incentive to tight
lacing, an injurious practice, from which their
descendants suffer. A lady is described

" Clad in purple pall,

With gentyll body and middle small,"

and another damsel, whose splendid girdle of
beaten gold was embellished with emeralds
and rubies, evidently, from the description,
had a waist which was not the size intended
by Nature.

During the Wars of the Roses both trade
and costume made little progress, and after
the union of the Houses of York and Lan-
caster by the marriage of Henry VII. with
his Queen, Elizabeth, their attention was
chiefly concerned in filling their impoverished

14TH CENTURY.

coffers, which left them little opportunity for
promoting new fashions in dress. Henry
VIII. afforded ample facilities for the revival
of the trade in dress goods, and there is little

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHIOA.

difficulty in tracing female costume of the
sixteenth century when we remember that in
the course of thirty-eight years he married
six wives, besides having them painted times

I 6th century.
Fro7n Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots,

without number by all the popular artists of
the day.

J. R. Planch^ in his " History of British
Costume," says: "The gowns of the nobility
were magnificent, and at this period were
open in front to the waist, showing the kirtle,
or inner garment, as Avhat we should call the
petticoat was then termed." Anne of Cleves,
who found so little favour in Henry's eyes, is
said to have worn at their first interview " a
rich gowne of cloth of gold made round,
without any train, after the Dutch fashion;"
and in a wardrobe account of the eighth year
of this Bluebeard's reign appears the follow-
ing item: "Seven yards of purple cloth of
damask gold for a kirtle for Queen Cathe-
rme of Arragon." The dress of Catherine
Parr is thus described by Pedro de Gante,
secretary to the Spanish Duke de Najera,
who visited Henry VHI. in 1543-1544:

"She was robed in cloth of gold, with a
' saya ' (petticoat) of brocade, the sleeves
lined with crimson satin and trimmed with
three piled crimson velvet. Her train was
more than two yards long" Articles of
dress were often bequeathed by will. In
one made on the [4th of August, 1540,
William Cherington, yeoman, of Waterbeche,
leaves " To my mother 7ny holyday gowne.'"
Nicholas, Dyer of Feversham, 29th October,
1540, "To my sister, Alice Bichendyke,
thirteen shillings and ninepence 7vhkh she
owed me, and two kerchiefs of holland."
John Holder, rector of Gamlingay, in 1544
leaves to Jane Greene " my clothe frock
lined with satin cypress." These entries
are from wills in the Ely Registry.

A peculiar feature in the costume of both
sexes was sleeves distinct from the gown,
but attached (so as to be changed at plea-
sure) to the waistcoat. Among the inven-

17TH CENTURY.

tories we find three pairs of purple satin
sleeves for women, one pair of linen sleeves
paned with gold over the arm, quilted with
black silk and wrought with flowers; one

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

""%

pair of sleeves of purple gold tissue damask
wire, each one tied with aglets of gold ; one
pair of crimson satin sleeves, four buttons
of gold being set on each, and in every
button nine pearls.

We are all familiar with the distended
skirts, jewelled stomachers and enormous
ruffs which adorned the virgin form of Good
Queen Bess. In the middle of her reign
the body was imprisoned in whalebone, and
the fardingale, the prototype of the modern
hoop, was introduced, as it was not to be
supposed
that a lady
who is said
to have left
three thou-
sand dresses
in her ward-
robe would
remain
faithful to the fashions
of her grandmother;
and Elizabeth's love
of dress permeated
all classes of society.

The portrait of
Mary Queen of Scots,
who was considered
an authority on
matters of the toilet,
and whose taste for
elegance of apparel
had been cultivated
to a high degree
during her residence
at the PYench Court
is given. There is a
subtlety and charm
about it which is
wanting in the cos-
tume of her cousin
Elizabeth, and it may
he considered a fair type of what was worn
by a gentlewoman of that period. The full
skirt appears to fall in easy folds, and the
basqued bodice, with tight sleeves, is closely
moulded to the figure and surmounted by an
elaborately-constructed ruff of muslin and
lace.

To the great regret of antiquarians, the
wardrobes of our ancient kings, formerly
kept at the Tower, were by the order of
James I. distributed. At no period was the

I9TH CENTURY,
BALL DRESS, 1809,

costume of Britain more picturesque than in
the middle of the seventeenth century, and
we naturally turn to its great delineators
Velasquez, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and
Rubens, who delighted in giving us such fine
examples of their work Women had grown
tired of the unwieldy fardingale, and changed
it for graceful gowns with flowing skirts and
low bodices, finished with deep vandyked
collars of lace or embroidery.

A studied negligence, an elegant deshabille
prevailed in the Stuart Court, particularly
after the Restora-
tion. Charles II. "s
bevy of beauties
are similarly at-
tired, and the pic-
tures in Hampton
Court show us
women whose
snowy necks and
arms are no longer
veiled, and whose
gowns of rich satin,
with voluminous
trains, are piled up
in the background.
Engravings and
drawings which
may be seen in
every printseller's
window make
special i 1 1 u s-
trations of this
period unneces-
sary.

Dutch fashions
appear to have
followed in the
wake of William
and Mary, Sto-
machers and tight
sleeves were once
more in favour, and fabrics of a rich and
substantial character were employed in pre-
ference to the softer makes of silk, which
lent itself so well to the soft flowing hnes of
the previous era.

An intelligent writer has remarked " that
Fashion from the time of George I. has been
such a varying goddess that neither history,
tradition, nor painting has been able to pre-
serve all her mimic forms; like Proteus
struggling in the arms of Telemachus, on th^

I 8th century.

WALKING COSTUME.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Phanaic coast, she passed from shape to
shape with the rapidity of thought." In
1745 the hoop had increased at the sides
and diminished in front, and a pamphlet

I9TH CENTURY. — TEA DRESS, 1830.

was published in that year entitled "The enor-
mousabomination of the hoop petticoat, as the
fashion now is." Ten years later it is scarcely
discernible in some figures, and in 1757 reap-
pears, extending right and left after the
manner of the court dress of the reign of
George III. For the abolition of this mon-
strosity we are indebted to George IV., and
ladies' dresses then rushed to the other
extreme. Steel and whalebone was dispensed
with, and narrow draperies displayed the form
they were supposed to conceal, and were
girdled just below the shoulders.

These were in time followed by the bell-
shaped skirts worn at the accession of Her
Majesty Queen Victoria, during whose reign
fashion has indeed run riot. The invention
of the sewing machine was the signal for the
appearance of frills and furbelows, and mere-
tricious ornament of every kind. In the
iTiiddle of the present century crinolines were

again to the fore, skirts were proportionately
wide and generally flounced to the top. The
bodice terminated at the waist with a belt;
but in some cases a Garibaldi, or loose bodice
of different texture, was substituted. The
next change to be noted was that hideous
garment the " polonaise," which was a revival
of, and constructed on similar lines to, the
" super froc " of the Middle Ages. For many
years English ladies, with a supreme disregard
for the appropriate, wore this with a skirt
belonging to an entirely different costume.
But at last people got nauseated with these
abominations, and under the gentle sway and
influence of " Our Princess " a prettier, more
useful and rational costume appeared. In
1876 the graceful Princess dress, which
accentuated every good point in the figure,
was generally worn ; and though this costume
in the latter part of its career was fiercely
abused by the rotund matron and Mrs.

19TH CENTURY. — THE POLONAISE, 1872.

Grundy, for clinging too closely to the lines
of the human form, it was distinctly an
advance as regards health and beauty on the
varying styles which preceded it,

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

The cesthetic movement has also had a
marked influence on our taste in all directions,
but more especially in the costume of the
last few years; and though the picturesque

TAILOR-MADE DRESS,

garb of the worshippers of the sunflower and
the lily may not be adapted to the wear and
tear of this workaday world, it is beautiful in
form and design, incapable of undue pres-
sure; and for children and young girls it
would be difficult to imagine a more charm-
ing, artistic, and becoming costume.

Once more we are eschewing classical
lines for grotesque which makes caricatures
of lovely women, and drives plain ones to
despair. The subdued and delicate tints
which a few seasons since were regarded
with favour have been superseded by garish
shades and bright colours, which seem to
quarrel with everything in Nature and Art.
Unfortunately, we English are prone to
extremes, and possess the imitative rather
than the creative faculty. Consequently, our
national costume is seldom distinctive, but a
combination of some of the worst styles of
our Continental neighbours, who would scorn
to garb themselves with so little regard for

fitness, beauty, and the canons of good
taste.

Two dominant notes, however, have been
struck in the harmonies of costume during the
last twenty-five years — the tailor-made dress,
which may almost be regarded as a national
livery; and the tea gown, that reposeful gar-
ment to which we affectionately turn in our
hours of ease. How well each in its way is
calculated to seive the purpose for which it
is designed, the simple cloth, tweed, or serge
costume moulded to the lines of the figure,
adapted to our changeful climate, and giving
a cachet to the wearer, not always found in

TEA GOWN, 1897.

much more costly apparel, a rational costume
in the best sense of the word, and one which
women of all ages may assume with satisfac-
tion to themselves and to those with whom

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

they come in contact. The tea gown, on the
other hand, drapes the figure loosely so as to
fall in graceful folds, and may be regarded as a
distinct economy, as it so often takes the place
of a more expensive dress. Beauty, which is
one of Heaven's best gifts to women, is use-
less unless appropriately framed, and a well-
known exponent on the art of d ressing artisti-
cally, has laid down the axiom that harmonies
of colour are more successful than contrasts.
If we turn to Nature we have an unfailing
source of inspiration. The foliage tints, sun-
set effects, the animal and mineral worlds all
offer schemes of colour, which can be readily
adapted to our persons and surroundings.
And to look our best and, above all, to grow
old gracefully, is a duty which every daughter

dress of decrepitude, submit to be placed on
the social shelf without a murmur, and
calmly allow those slightly their junior, and in
some cases their senior, to appropriate the

AN ARTISTIC DRESS, 1 897.
After a painting by Sir Jos him /Reynolds.

of Eve owes to humanity. The manner in
which so many women give way early in life
is simply appalling. While still in the bloom
of womanhood they assume the habits and

MODERN EVENING DRESS.

good things of life, and to monopolise the
attention of all and sundry. Mothers in their
prime willingly allow anyone who can be per-
suaded to do so, to chaperone their
daughters, and to pilot them through the
social eddies and quicksands of their first
season, and through sheer indolence fail to
exercise the lawful authority and responsibility
which maternity entails. The unmarried
woman, conscious that she is no longer in
her first youth, and indifferent to the charms
of maturity, takes to knitting socks in obscure
corners, and assumes an air of self-repression
and middle- agedness which apparently takes

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

ten years from her span of existence, and
conveys to the casual onlooker, that she has
passed the boundary line between youth and
old age. Why should these women sink
before their time into a slough of dowdyism
and cut themselves off from the enjoyments
civilisation has provided for their benefit?

Equally to be deprecated are those who
cling so desperately to youth that they entirely
forget the later stages of life have their com-
pensations. Women who in crowded ball-
rooms display their redundant or attenuated
forms to the gaze of all beholders, whose
coiffure owes more to art than nature, and
who comfort themselves with the conviction
that in a carefully shaded light rouge and
pearl powder are hardly distinguishable from
the bloom of a youthful and healthy com-
plexion. A variety of circumstances combine
to bring into the world a race of people who
cannot strictly lay claim to beauty, but who
nevertheless have many good points which
might be accentuated, while those that are
less pleasing could be concealed. A middle-
aged woman will respect herself and be more
respected by others if she drapes her person
in velvet, brocade, and other rich fabrics

which fall in stately folds, and give her dignity,
than if she persists in decking herself in
muslin, crepon, net, and similar materials,
because in the long since past they suited
her particular style. Gossamers belong to
the young, with their dimpled arms, shoulders
of snowy whiteness, and necks like columns
of ivory. Their eyes are brighter than jewels,
and their luxuriant locks need no ornament
save a rose nestling in its green leaves, a
fit emblem of youth and beauty.

With the education and art training at
present within the grasp of all classes of the
community there is nothing to prevent our
modifying prevailing fashions to our own
requirements; and common sense ought to
teach us (even if we ignore every other senti-
ment which is supposed to guide reasoning
creatures) that one particular style cannot be
appropriate to women who are exact opposites
to each other. If each person would only
think out for herself raiment beautiful in
form, rich in texture, and adapted to the
daily needs of life, we should be spared a
large number of the startling incongruities
which ofifend the eye in various directions.

Chapter II.
CURIOUS HEADGEAR.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter II.
CURIOUS HEADGEAR.

" Here in her hair
The painter plays the spider, and hath woven
A golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men
Faster than gnats in cobwebs."

The Merchant of Venice.

HOLY Writ simply teems with allusions
to the luxurious tresses of the fair
daughters of the East, and there is
little doubt that at an early period in the
world's history women awakened to the fact
that a well-tired head was a very potent
attraction, and had a recognised market
value. Jewish women were particularly
famed in this respect, and employed female
barbers, who, with the aid of crisping pins,
horns, and towers, prepared their clients for
conquest. These jewelled horns were gene-
rally made of the precious metals, and the
position denoted the condition of the wearer.
A married woman had it fixed on the right
side of the head, a widow on the left, and
she who was still an unappropriated blessing
on the crown. Over the horn the veil
was thrown coquettishly, as in the illustration.
Assyrian women delighted in long ringlets,
confined by a band of
metal, and the men were
not above the weakness of
plaiting gold wire with their
beards. Rimmel, in " The
Book of Perfumes," relates
a curious anecdote of Mau-
solus. King of Caria, who
turned his people's fond-
ness for flowing locks to
account when his exche-
quer required replenishing.
" Having first had a quan-
tity of wigs made and
stored in the royal ware-
houses, he published an
edict compelling all his
subjects to have their heads
shaved. A few days after,
the monarch's agents went
round, offering them the perukes destined to
cover their denuded polls, which they were
delighted to buy at any price " It is not

surprising that Artemisia could not console
herself for the loss of such a clever husband,

ANCIENT JEWISH HEAD-DRESS

EGYPTIAN HEAD-DRESS.

and that, not satisfied with drinking his ashes
dissolved in wine, she spent some of her
lamented lord's ill-gotten
revenue in building such a
monument to his memory
that it was counted one of
the wonders of the world.

The Egyptians were also
partial to wigs, some of
which are still preserved
in the British Museum.
Ladies wore a multitude of
small plaits and jewelled
head-pieces resembling pea-
cocks and other animals,
which contrasted with their
dark tresses with brilliant
efiect \ or a fillet orna-
mented with a lotus bud.
The coiffure of a princess
was remarkable for its size
and the abundance of ani-
mal, vegetable, and mineral treasures with
which it was adorned. In Egyptian tombs
and elsewhere have been discovered small

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

wooden combs resembling the modern tooth-
comb, and metal mirrors of precisely the
same shape as those in use at the present

famous instance of the consecration of hair is
that of Berenice, the wife of Ptolemy Ever-
getes. It is related that when the king went
on his expedition to Syria, she, solicitous for

ANCIENT GRECIAN.

ANCIENT ROMAN.

day, as well as numerous other toilet appli-
ances.

Grecian sculpture affords us the opportu-
nity of studying the different modes in favour
in that country, and it is
astonishing to find what a
variety of methods were
adopted by the belles of
ancient Greece for enhanc-
ing their charms. A loose
knot, fastened by a clasp in
the form of a grasshopper,
was a favourite fashion.
Cauls of network, metal
mitres of different designs,
and simple bands, and
sometimes chaplets, of
flowers, all confined, at
different periods, the luxu-
riant locks of the Helens,
Penelopes, and Xantippes
of ancient times.

It was a common custom
among heathen nations to
consecrate to their gods the hair when cut off,
as well as that growing on the head, and it
was either consumed on the altar, deposited
in temples, or hung upon the trees. A

ENGLISH HEAD-DRESS OF THE
13TH CENTURY.

his safety, made a vow to consecrate her
hair (which was remarkable for its fineness
and beauty) to Venus, if he returned to her.
When her husband came back she kept her
word, and offered her hair
in the temple of Cyprus.
This was afterwards miss-
ing, when a report was
spread that it had been
turned into a constellation
in the heavens, which con-
stellation, an old writer tells
us, is called Coma Berenices
(the hair of Berenice) to
the present day. Another
remarkable instance is that
of Nero, who, according to
Suetonius, cut off his first
beard, put it in a casket of
gold set with jewels, and
consecrated it to Jupiter
Capitolinus.

The hair of the head and
beard appears to have been
held in great respect by most nations, and
perhaps we may trace the use of human hair
in spells and incantations to this fact.
Orientals especially treat the hair which falls

THE EVOLUTION OE EASHIOK.

HORNED HEAD-DRESS OF 15TH CENTURY.

troin Effigy of Countess of Arundel in Arundel

Church,

from them with superstitious care, and bury
it, so that no one shall use it to their preju-
dice.

Roman matrons generally preferred blonde

hair to their own ebon tresses, and resorted

o wigs and dye when Nature, as they consi-

dered, had treated them unkindly. Ovid
rebukes a lady of his acquaintance in the
plainest terms for having destroyed her hair.
" Did I not tell you to leave off dyeing
yoar hair? Now you have no hair left to
dye : and yet nothing was handsomer than
your locks : they came down to your knees,
and were so fine that you were afraid to
comb them. Your own hand has been the
cause of the loss you deplore : you poured
the poison on your own head. Now Ger-
many will send you slaves' hair — a vanquished
nation will supply your ornament. How

\ vor"

STEEPLE HEAD-DRESS OF 15TH CENTURY.

EARLY TUDOR HEAD-DRESS.

many times, when you hear people praising
the beauty of your hair, you will blush and
say to yourself : ' It is bought ornament to
which I owe my beauty, and I know not
what Sicambrian virgin they are admiring in
me. And yet there was a time when I
deserved all these compliments.' "

It would puzzle any Jin de siecle husband
or brother to express his displeasure in more
appropriate words than those chosen by the
poet.

The Britons, before they mixed with other
nations, were a fair-haired race, and early

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

writers referred to their washing their auburn
tresses in water boiled with lime to increase
the reddish colour. Boadicea is described
with flowing locks which fell upon her
shoulders; but after the Roman Invasion

HORNED HEAD-DRESS OF EDWARD IV. 's
REIGN.

the hair of both men and women followed
the fashion of the conquerors.

From Planch^'s "History of British
Costume," we learn that " the female head-
dress among all classes of the Anglo-Saxons
was a long piece of linen or silk wrapped
round the head and neck." It appears to
have been called a head-rail, or wimple, but
was dispensed with in the house, as the hair
was then as cherished an ornament as at the
present day. A wife described by Adhelm,
Bishop of Sherborne, who wrote in the
eighth century, is said to have had " twisted
locks, delicately curled by the iron ; " and in
the poem of " Judith " the heroine is called
"the maid of the Creator, with twisted locks."
Two long plaits were worn by Norman ladies,
and were probably adopted by our own
countrywomen after the Conquest.

During the Middle Ages feminine head-
gear underwent many changes. Golden nets,
and linen bands closely pinned round the
hair and chin, were followed by steeple-
shaped erections and horned head-dresses in

a variety of shapes, of which the accompany-
ing sketches will give a better idea than any
written description.

During the sixteenth century matrons
adopted either a pointed hood, composed of
velvet or other rich fabric, often edged with
fur, a close-fitting coif, or the French cap to
be seen in the portraits of the unhappy Mary
Stuart. Those who were unmarried had
their hair simply braided and embellished
with knots of ribbon, strings of pearls, or
Nature's most beautiful adornment for the
maiden — sweet-scented flowers.

The auburn tresses of Her Gracious
Majesty Queen Elizabeth, were always bien
coiffee, if we may judge from her various
portraits. She scorned the hoods, lace caps,
and pointed coifs, worn by her contempo-
raries, and adopted a miniature crown or
jaunty hat of velvet, elaborately jewelled.
Her fair complexion and light hair were
thrown into relief by rufiles of lace, and this

ELIZABETHAN HEAD-DRESS.

delicate fabric was stretched over fine wire
frames, which met at the back, and remotely
suggested the fragile wings of the butterfly,
or the nimbus of a saint, neither of which
ornaments was particularly appropriate to the
lady in question. The front hair was turned
over a cushion, or dressed in stiff sausage-

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

like curls, pinned close to the head, and was
adorned with strings and stars of flashing
gems and a pendant resting on the forehead.
That ^splendid historian, Stubbs, who has
left us such minute particulars of the fashions

A BEAUTY OF THE COURT OF CHARLES II.

of his time, quaintly describes the coiffure of
the ladies of the Court. He states : " It
must be curled, frizzled, crisped, laid out in
wreaths and borders from one ear to the
other, and lest it should fall down, must be
underpropped with forkes and weirs, and
ornamented with gold or silver curiously
wrought. Such gewgaws, which being un-
skilful in woman's tearms, I cannot easily
recount. Then upon the toppes of their
stately turrets, stand their other capital orna-
ments : a French hood, hatte, cappe, kircher
and suchlike, whereof some be of velvet,
some of this fashion and some of that.
Cauls made of netwire, that the cloth of gold,
silver, or tinsel, with which their hair was
sometimes covered, might be seen through ;
and lattice caps with three horns or corners,
like the forked caps of popish priests." The
Harleian MSS., No. 1776, written in the
middle of Elizabeth's reign, refers to an ordi-
nance for the reformation of gentlewomen's
head-dress, and says : " None shall wear an
ermine or lattice bonnet unless she be a
gentlewoman born, having Arms." This
latter phrase, we may conclude, refers to
armorial bearings, not to physical develop-
ment.

The wearing of false hair and periwigs was

left to the sterner sex for some years after the
restoration of the House of Stuart, and
women were satisfied with well -brushed
ringlets escaping from a bandeau of pearls,
or beautified by a single flower. The hair
was often arranged in small, flat curls on the
forehead, as in the sketch of a Beauty of the
Court of Charles H.; and this fashion had a
softening effect on the face, and was known
as the " Sevigne style."

Dutch fashions naturally prevailed in the
Court of William and Mary, and this queen
is represented with a high muslin cap,
adorned with a series of upright frills, edged
with lace, and long lappets falling on the
shoulders. Farquhar, in his comedy " Love
and the Bottle," alludes to the " high top-
knots," and Swift, to the " pinners edged
with colberteen," as the lace streamers were
called. About this period the hair was once
again rolled back from the face, and assumed
enormous dimensions, so much so, that in
some cases it was found necessary to make

END OF 17TH CENTJRY.

doorways broader and higher than they had
hitherto been, to allow fashionably-dressed
ladies to pass through without displacing the
elaborate erections they carried. Stuffed
with horsehair, clotted with pomade and

c 2

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

powder, and decked with every conceivable
ornament, from a miniature man-of-war in
full sail, to a cooing
dove with outspread
wings, presumably
sitting on its nest, or
a basket of flowers
wreathed with rib-
bons. Naturally, the
aid of the barber was
called in, as ladies
were incapable of
constructing and
manipulating such a
mass of tangled locks.
We may imagine, on
the score of expense
and for other reasons,
the hair was not
dressed so frequently
as cleanliness de-
manded, for in a
book on costume a
hairdresser is de-
scribed as asking one
of his customers how
long it was since her
hair had been opened
and repaired. On
her replying, " Nine
weeks," he mildly
suggested that that
was as long as a head
could well go in
summer, "and, there-
fore, it was proper to
deliver it now, as it
began to be a little
hazarde." Various
anecdotes of this
nature make us feel
that personal hygiene
was a matter of
secondary importance
to our ancestors.

Planch<^, in his
work on British Cos-
tume, informs us
that powder main-
tained its ground till
^793) when it was
discarded by Her
Majesty Queen Charlotte, Consort of George
III., and the Princesses."

FASHIONABLE COIFFURE OF AN ELDERLY LALY
IN THE I 8th century.

Varied, indeed, have been the fashions of
the 19th century, the close of which is fast
approaching. Only
"* a few of the styles

adopted can be
briefly touched upon,
and, naturally, those
will be selected which
form the greatest
contrast to each other.
The belle of 1830
was distinguished by
upstanding bows of
plain or plaited hair,
arranged on the
crown of the head,
and the front was
generally in bands or
short ringlets, held
in place by tortoise-
shell side-combs. The
simplicity of this
coiffure was compen-
sated for by the
enormous size of the
hats and bonnets
generally worn with
it. These had wide
and curiously-shaped
brims, over which
was stretched or
gathered silk, satin,
aerophane, or similar
materials. Garlands
and bunches of
flowers and feathers
were used in profu-
sion, and bows and
strings of gauze rib-
bon floated in the
wind. In this be-
witching costume
were our grand-
mothers wooed and
won by suitors who
evidently, from the
impassioned love let-
ters still in existence,
believed them to be
perfect types of love-
liness.

T o war d s the
middle of Queen Victoria's reign, the hair
was dressed in a simple knot, and the front

FASHIONABLE HEAD-DRESSES IN THE TIMES OF
THE GEORGES.

THE EVOLUTIOA OF FASHION 21

arranged in ringlets, which fell gracefully on The labours of Hercules would be mere

the chest and shoulders. Even youthful child's play compared to giving a faithful

married ladies, in the privacy of their homes record of the chameleon-like changes which

and for morning dress, were expected, by have affected that kaleidoscope, pubhc taste,

1830.

i8S5i

bird's-nest chignon, 1872.

PRESENT DAY, 1 894.

one of those potent but unwritten laws of the during the last forty years, and a very limited
fickle goddess Fashion, to wear muslin or net study of this fascinating subject at once con-
caps, with lace borders, embellished with vinces us that, whatever peculiarities may
ribbons. ajipcar, they are certain to be revivals or

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

modifications of styles favoured by our more
or less remote ancestors.

In 1872 loomed upon us that ghastly
horror the chignon, which bore a faint resem-
blance to the exaggerated coiffures of the
1 8th century. Upon this monstrous edifice,
with its seductive Alexandra curl, were tilted
bonnets so minute that they were almost
invisible in the mountains of hair that sur-
rounded them. These were replaced by
hats a la Chinois, like shallow plates ; while
for winter wear, others of fur or feathers were
introduced, with an animal's head fixed
firmly on the brow of the wearer, and resem-
bling nothing so much as the fox foot-
warmer, with which ladies now keep their
pedal extremities at a proper temperature
when enjoying an airing. Besides these,
there were pinched canoes turned keel upper-
most, and flexible mushrooms, which flapped
and caught the wind till it was necessary to
attach a string to the edge, to keep them
snug and taut ; such hats as Leech has
immortalised in his sketches. Turbans and
facsimiles of the delicious but indigestible
pork-pie, Gainsborough, Rousby, and Langtry
hats, all named after styles worn by their
respective namesakes ; and hats made of
straw, leghorn, crinoline, lace, satin, and of

silver and gold tissue, of every shape and
size that fancy could devise, or the heart of
the most exacting woman of fashion could
desire. The hair beneath was dressed like
the frizzy mop illustrated, in plaited wedges
flowing like a pendant hump half-way down
the back, or in a cascade of curls reaching
from the crown of the head to the waist.
These were followed by gigantic rolls at the
back of tbe skull, Grecian knots, varying
from the dimensions of a door handle to
those of a cottage loaf, and latterly by that
hideous monstrosity, the " bun." Another
turn of the wheel of fashion has given us a
simple mode of dressing the hair, which is
well adapted to the average English head,
and which is fully explained by the accom-
panying sketch. It may be taken as a safe
rule, when the forehead is low and face
small, that the hair may be drawn back with
advantage, but a long face is generally
improved by arranging the hair in soft curls
on the forehead, and by waving it slightly at
the sides, which adds to the apparent width
of the countenance. But whatever style is
in fashion, it is sure to have its admirers, for
has not Pope left on record :

" Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare,
And beauty draws us by a single hair."

Chapter III.
GLOVES.

THE EVOLUTION OE FASHION.

Chapter III.
GLOVES.

" Gloves as sweet as damask roses." — Shakespeare.

" See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek."

— Koineo and Juliet.

THE glove as an article of dress is of great
antiquity, and among the fossils of the
cave-dwellers of pre-historic times,
which have been recently discovered in
France, Belgium, and Switzerland, there is
ample proof of its existence, Probably the

(sLove

H€NRY \\

first gloves were formed of skins, sewn
with bone needles, and were long enough to
reach above the elbow.

Xenophon, speaking of the Persians, gives
as an instance of their effeminacy "that
they not only covered their head and
feet, but guarded their hands from cold
by thick gloves." Homer, describing Laertes
at work in his garden, represents him with
gloves on his hands to protect them from
thorns. Pliny the younger, in speaking of
his uncle's visit to Vesuvius, states that his
secretary sat by ready to write down anything
that was remarkable, and had gloves on his
hands that the coldness of the weather need
not impede his work. Varro, an ancient
writer says: — "Olives gathered with the
naked hand are preferable to those plucked
in gloves;" and Atheneus speaks of a glutton
who wore gloves at table so that he might

handle the meat while hot and devour more
than the others present.

That the Anglo-Saxons wore gloves we
gather from their being mentioned in an
old romance of the seventh century known
as the " Poem of Beowulf," and according
to the laws of Ethelred the Unready, five
pairs of gloves formed part of the duty paid
to that Prince by certain German merchants.
In Planchi's "History of British Costume,"
an Anglo-Saxon lady appears to be wearing
a glove with a separate division for the
thumb but without fingers, and exactly
resembling an infant's glove of the present
day. In 1462 Edward IV. forbade the
importation of foreign gloves to England, a
law which remained in force till 1826.

In the early Christian Church gloves played
an important part. In a.d. 790 Charle-
magne granted an unlimited right of hunt-
ing to the Abbot and monks of Sithin, so
that the skins of the deer they killed could
be used in the manufacture of gloves,
girdles, and covers of books. In some cases
it was commanded that the clergy should

HAWKINS
-(SLove

H6NRY
Nil)

wear gloves in administering the Sacrament,
and a writer in the "Antiquary" states: —
" It was always looked upon as decorous for
the laity to take off their gloves in church
where ecclesiastics alone might wear them.
It was perhaps regarded as a proof of cleaq

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

hands, for to this day persons sworn in our
law courts are compelled to remove their
gloves." In the ancient Consecration Ser-
vice for the Bishops of the Church, a bless-
ing was invoked on the gloves they wore.
Those of William of Wykeham preserved

(SLOVe Of
COARY

QueeNofScoT^

at New College, Oxford, are adorned with
the sacred monogram in red silk, and
ecclesiastical gloves were often lavishly deco-
rated with embroidery and jewels, and were
bequeathed by will with other valuables.

Formerly judges were forbidden to wear
gloves when engaged in their official duties,
but are no longer bound by this restriction,
and receive as a memorial of a maiden assize
(that is, when there are no prisoners to be
tried) a pair of white kid gloves from the
sheriff, and during the time fairs were held
their duration was marked by hanging a
glove outside the town hall. As long as it
remained there all persons in the place were
exempt from arrest, but directly it was
removed it was the signal for closing the
fair, and the privilege was at an end.

Throwing down a glove was regarded as a
challenge to combat, and this curious old
custom is still retained in the English
coronation ceremony. Kings were also
invested with authority by the delivery of a

glove. As un gage d'amour it has for cen-
turies been esteemed, and in the days of
chivalry it was usual for knights to wear
their ladies' gloves in their helmets, as a
talisman of success in arms. In old records
we also meet with the term " glove money,"
a sum paid to servants with which they were
to provide this portion of their livery, and
till quite recently it was the custom to pre-
sent those who attended weddings and
funerals with gloves as a souvenir.

Shakespeare often mentions gloves, and
some assert that he was the son of a glover.
A pair which belonged to the dramatist is
still preserved. They are of brown leather,
ornamented with a stamped pattern, and are
edged with gold fringe. They were presented
by the actor Garrick to the Mayor and Cor-
poration of Stratford-on-Avon at the Shake-
spearian commemoration in 1789.

OLOve OF
QueeweuzABeTN.

Many royal gloves have found a place in
private collections. Henry VI.'s glove has a
gauntlet, is made of tanned leather, and is
lined with deer-skin, and the hawking glove
of Henry VIII. is another interesting relic pf

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

a bygone age. The King kept his hawks at
Charing Cross, and in the inventories taken
after this monarch's death we read of " three
payre of hawkes' gloves, with two lined with
velvet ;" and again at Hampton Court there
were "seven hawkes' gloves embroidered."
The hawking glove, of which an illustration
is given, may be seen in the Ashmolean
Museum. It is of a simple
character, evidently in-
tended for use rather than
ornament.

Gloves were not gene-
rally worn by women till
after the Reformation; but
during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries their
use gradually extended to
the middle classes. Queen
Elizabeth's glove may be
seen at the Bodleian
Library, Oxford, and is
believed to have been worn
at the visit of the Virgin
Queen to the University in
1566. It is fringed with
gold, and is nearly half a
yard in length ; it is made
of white leather worked
with gold thread, and the
cuff is lined with drab silk.
Mary Queen of Scots'
glove in the Saffron
Walden Museum is of
light buff leather, wrought
with silver wire and silk of
different colours. It is
lined with crimson satin, edged with gold
lace enriched with sequins, and the opening
is connected with bands of satin finished
with lace insertion. This glove was presented
on the morning of her execution to a member
of the Dayrell family, who was in attendance
at Fotheringay Castle. In happier days
Queen Mary gave an exquisitely embroidered
pair of gloves, with a design in which angels'
heads and flowers appear — her own work — to
her husband. Lord Darnley ; and the gloves
generally of the Tudor period were more
ornate than those which adorn beauty's hands
on the eve of the nineteenth century, and
were, in most cases, wrought with the needle.
Though the history of gloves savours of

(£>LOVG

romance, there is every reason to believe
that^they have sometimes been used with
sinister motives, as a large trade was done at
one time in poisoned gloves, delicately
perfumed, to conceal their deadly purpose.

Some gloves which were the property of
James I. are of brown leather lined with white,
and the seams are sewn with silk and gold
thread. The embroidery
is in gold and silver thread
on crimson satin, with a
lining of red silk. They
are finished with gold
fringe, and have three loops
at the side. A glove of
chaste design, worn by
Charles I. on the scaffold
is made of cream-coloured'
kid, the gauntlet embroid-
ered with silver and edged
with silver fringe. Queen
Anne, on the other hand,
wore highly - decorated
gloves of Suede kid, with
raised silken flowers on the
gauntlet, and three loops
of rose-coloured ribbon, to
allow them to be slipped
over the hands. They are
further enriched with gold
lace and embroidery, A
yellow Suede Court glove
of George IV. gives the
impression that the first
gentleman of Europe had
a fist of tremendous
proportions. Her Majesty
generally wears black kid
for Court functions, when
kid gloves are invariably

jAroesi.

Victoria

except

glac^

Queen
gloves,
white
used.

Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
has a delicately-formed hand with tapering
fingers, and her size is six and a-half. Her
Royal Highness adapts her gloves to the
occasion and toilette, and is always bten
gante.

The first Napoleon gave an impetus to
this branch of industry by insisting on
gentlemen wearing gloves on State occasions
and at festive gatherings, and the fashion
spread through the countries of Europe with
astonishing rapidity.

Chapter IV.
CURIOUS FOOT-GEAR.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter IV.
CURIOUS FOOT-GEAR.

" A tasteful slipper is my soul's delight."

— Mil man's ''^ Fazio,"

A WELL-SHAPED foot has been con-
sidered from the earhest times one of
Nature's kindest gifts, and sober
history and fairy lore have combined to give
us many interesting particulars respecting
this portion of the human anatomy. The
similarity of the foot-gear of both sexes
makes it impossible to treat the matter
separately, and as the subject is practically
inexhaustible, I propose only to illustrate the
most curious and notable examples.

One of the finest collection of shoes in the
world is that at the Cluny Museum, Paris,
formed by the eminent French engraver, the late
Jules Jacquemart. This was enlarged by the
purchase of the collection of Baron Schvitter.
The Queen of Italy has also acquired a large
number of historical boots and shoes ; and
to Mr. Joseph Box, another enthusiastic
collector, I am indebted for some of the
drawings used for illustrating this article.

A quaint story is told in a rare book,
entitled "The Delightful, Princely, and
Entertaining History of the Gentle Craft of
Crispin, the Patron Saint of Shoe Makers,
and his Brother Crispianus," According to
this authority, they were the two sons of the
King of Logia (Kent), and lived in the city
of Durovenum, otherwise Canterbury, or the
Court of the Kentish men. Having
embraced Christianity, during the Roman
invasion, they were in considerable danger,
and at their mother's instigation, to conceal
their identity, adopted humble attire, and
devoted themselves to the modest craft of
shoemaking, under the auspices of a shoe-
maker at Faversham, to whom they bound
themselves for seven years. This industrious
citizen appears to have received the appoint-
ment of shoemaker to the Court of Maxi-
minus, whose daughter Ursula fell in love
with Crispin. After removing the usual
obstacles (which, even in those remote times,
seem to have obstructed the paths of those

who had fallen under the sway of Cupid),
this energetic lady engaged the services of a
neighbouring friar, and cut the gordian knot
by marrying her faithful adorer.

When primitive man first conceived the
idea of producing some contrivance to
defend himself from cold, sharp stones, or
the heated sand of the desert, his first effort
was to fasten to the bottom of his feet soles
of bark, wood, or raw hide, which were
followed, in due course, by more elaborately
made sandals of tanned leather. These
were fastened in various ways, but generally
by two leathern straps, one round the instep,
while the other passed between the first and
second toes. Egyptian sandals were some-
times prolonged to a sharp point, and occa-
sionally were made of papyrus, or some
flexible material ; but the commoner kinds
were, as a rule, of wood or leather. Often
they had painted upon them the effigy of the
wearer's enemy, who was thus literally trodden
underfoot. Owing to their proximity, the
habits and customs of the Egyptians and
Jews were in many respects similar. The
same Hebrew word denotes both a sandal
and a shoe ; and it has been concluded that
shoes were probably confined to the upper
classes, while sandals were used by those
compelled to work ; and slaves went bare-
foot.

It will be seen from the sketches of
Grecian and Roman shoes that they eventu-
ally became an elaborate article of dress,
bound to the foot and leg with lacings, and
ornamented in different ways. The senators
had boots of black leather, with a crest of
gold or silver on the top of the foot ; and
soldiers wore iron shoes, heavily spiked, in a
similar manner to those now used for cricket,
so as to give the wearers a better hold when
scaling walls in the attack of fortified places.
An iron boot was also used for torturing
Christians. As an instance of the luxury so
characteristic of the age, it is stated that
Roman soldiers often had the spikes on their

THE F. VOLUTION OF FASHION.

shoes made of gold. According to the testi-
mony of Seneca, Julius Caesar wore shoes of
the precious metal, a fashion emulated by
Cardinal Wolsey many centuries after ; and
Severus was fond of covering his with jewels,
to attract the attention of the people as he
walked through the streets. The Emperor
Aurelian forbade
men to wear red,
yellow, white, or
green shoes, re-
serving these
colours for wo-
men ; and differ-
ent shapes were
precribed by legal
enactments to be
worn for the easy
distinguishment of
various trades and
professions. In
the reign of Domi-
tian, the stalls of
shoemakers in the
public streets were
so numerous as to
necessitate an
edict for their re-
moval.

Our own ances-
tors, the Anglo-
Saxons, wore shoes
of raw cow-hide,
reaching to the
ankles ; and the
hair turned out-
ward. Those used
b y ecclesiastics
were a kind of
sandal fastened
with bands of
leather round the
instep. The Nor-j
man half - boots
had soles of wood,
while the uppers

were of a more pliable material. Those
worn by the Crusaders were of chain, and
later of plate armour. Very pointed toes
were in fashion during the Middle Ages, and
these were carried to such a ridiculous length
that the dignitaries of the Church considered
it necessary to preach against the practice.
However, this did not result in its abolition,

FOOT-GEAR OF DIFFERENT PERIODS

for we find the courtiers of the day improved
upon the prevailing mode by stufKing their
shoes, and twisting them into the shape of a
ram's horn ; the point of which was attached
to the knee by a chain. The common
people were permitted by law to wear " the
pykes on their shoon" half-a-foot, rich
citizens a foot,
while nobles and
princes had theirs
two-and-a-half feet
long.

During the
Plantagenet period
it was usual to wear
two shoes of dif-
ferent colours, and
they were often
slashed on the
upper surface, to
show the bright
hose beneath.
These were super-
seded by a large,
padded shoe,
gored over the
foot with coloured
material, a fashion
imported from
Italy, and exag-
gerated as much
as the pointed
shoe had been.
Buskins were high
boots, made of
splendid tissue,
and worn by the
nobility and gen-
try during the
Middle Ages,
generally on occa-
sions of State.
They were also
largely adopted by
players of tragedy.
They covered the
tied just below. The sock,
the other hand, was the

knee, and were
or low shoe, on
emblem of comedy.

One of the greatest follies ever introduced
was the chopine, a sort of stilt which increased
the height of the wearer. These were first
used in Persia, but appeared in Venice about
the Sixteenth Century, and their use was

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

encouraged by jealous husbands in the hope
of keeping their wives at home. This desire,
however, was not realised, as the ladies went
out as usual, and required rather more
support than hitherto. Chopines were very
ornate, and the length determined the rank
of the wearer, the noblest dames having them
half-a-yard high.
Shakespeare re-
fers to them when -^<2^*^
he makes Hamlet ^-^^^
say: — "Your
ladyship is nearer
heaven than when
I saw you last
by the altitude
of a chopine.'"
He also alludes
to the general use
of shoes for
the left and right
a man : —

ANGLO-SAXON AND NORMAN SHOES,

foot, when he speaks of

" Standing in slippers which his nimble haste
Mad falsely thrust upon contrary feet."

The exercise of the gentle craft of shoe-

an abbot. It is said, however, that Pope
John, elected in 1316, was the son of a shoe-
maker at Cahors ; and in the description of
Absalom, the Parish Clerk, Chaucer tells us,
" the upper leathers of his shoes were carved
to resemble the windows of St. Paul's Cathe-
dral," which inclines one to believe in their
priestly origin.

From various
sources, we have
descriptions of
royal shoes.
Richard Cceur de
Lion had his boots
striped with gold ;
those of his
brother John were
spotted with gold
in circles. Henry
in. had his boots
chequered with golden lines, and every
square enriched with a lion. In the splendid
Court of Edward III., the royal shoes were
elaborately embroidered. The coronation
shoes of Richard III. were covered with
crimson tissue cloth of gold. Henry VIII.

GREEK AND ROMAN SHOES.

making was for a long time carried on in
monastic institutions, and increased the
revenues of the clergy. Richard, the first
Abbot of St. Albans, objected to canons and
priests of his era associating themselves with
tanners and shoemakers, not one of whom,
in his opinion, ought to be made a bishop or

MEDIAEVAL SHOES.

is described as wearing square-toed shoes,
which were slashed with coloured silk, and
exposed a portion of the foot. Some worn
by his daughter. Queen Elizabeth, of bro-
caded silk, are remarkably clumsy in appear-
ance, and have lappets which fasten over the
instep. They form a striking contrast to

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

those used by the unfortunate Mary Queen
of Scots (now in the possession of Sir James
William Drummond), which are of kid, em-
broidered with coloured silks ; the toes are

below the knee, either in close rolls, like the
hay-bands of the modern ostler, or crossing
each other sandal-wisc, as they are now worn
in some districts of Europe, particularly in

QUEEN ELIZABETH S BOOTS.

SHOE OF MARY QUEEN
OF SCOTS.

SHOE WORN BY CHARLES L

somewhat squarer, but in other respects re-
semble those in fashion at the present day.

In speaking of curious foot-gear, the under
covering of the leg and pedal extremities
must be briefly referred to. Ancient works

A. CHOPINE ; B, BUSKIN ; C, PEAKED SHOE ;
D, TUDOR SHOE.

on costume frequently mention hose, socks,
and stockings, which were made of woollen
cloth, leather, or linen, and held in place by
cross-bands of the material twisted to a little

MILITARY BOOTS AND SPURS USED AT THE
BATTLE OF NASEBY.

Russia and Spain. Cloth stockings, em-
broidered with gold, are among the
articles of dress ordered by Henry III.
for his sister Isabel ; and of a woman

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

mentioned in the ** Canterbury Tales," it is
said : " Hire hosen weren of fine scarlet
redde, ful streite yteyed (tied), and shoon
full moist (supple) and newe."

In the reign of Henry VH. clocks on
stockings are dis-
cernible; and the
Poet Laureate of
this king, describ-
ing the dress of
the hostess of an
inn, gives an indi-
cation of how
boots were clean-
ed:

•'She hobbles as she
goes,
With her blanket

hose,
Her shoone smear-
ed with tallowy

It is supposed
that hose or stock-
ings of silk were
unknown in this
country before the
middle of the i6th
century. A pair
of Spanish silk
hose was present-
ed by Sir Thomas
Gresham to Ed-
ward VL, his
father never hav-
ing worn any but
those made of
cloth. In the reign
of good Queen
Bess, nether socks
or stockings were
of silk, jarnsey,
worsted crewel, or
the finest yarn,
thread, or cloth,
and were of all
colours, "cunning-

stockings, made in England ; and from that
time she wore no others, in the laudable
desire to encourage their home manufacture
by her own example. The Queen's patron-
age, and the invention, in 1599, of a weaving

frame, by William
Lee, Master of
Arts, and Fellow
of St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge,
gave a great impe
tus to the stocking
trade, which has
been carried on
with considerable
success ever since,
particularly in the
Midland counties
of England.

Spurs can be
traced back to the
Anglo-Saxon pe-
riod, which is
quite far enough
for this purpose.
They had no row-
els, but were made
with a simple
point like a goad,
and were fastened
with leathers.
Early in the 15 th
century spurs were
screwed on to a
steel shoe, instead
of being fastened
with straps. They
were long in the
neck, and the
spikes of the row-
els of formidable
dimensions. From
a sketch of a spur
worn at the Battle
of Naseby, in the
reign of Charles I.,

ly knit and curi- ancient shoes— a, b, c, d, e, Egyptian j f, Persian ; it will be seen that,'
ously indented in g, h, greek; i, j, k, l, Phrygian and dacian. as progress was
every point, with made in armour

querks, clocks, openseams, and everything and military gear, considerable attention was

else accordingly." Planche states, in the
third year of Elizabeth, Mistress Montague,
the Queen's silk-woman, presented Her
Majesty with a pair of black silk knit

paid to this portion of the soldier's outfit ;
indeed, it was more elaborate in design than is
now considered necessary. From a very early
period spurs have been used by both sexes.

I) 2

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

A curious custom was in vogue at the
beginning of the present century for ladies to
make their own indoor shoes. This fashion
was inaugurated by Queen Charlotte, who
was particularly deft in handling a beautiful
set of shoemaker's tools, mounted in silver,
with ivory handles. Tradesmen bitterly com-
plained that work tables in boudoirs were
strewn with the implements of their craft ;
but, like many other feminine fads, it soon
passed away. About this period clogs were
also used. These were made of wood, and
served as a protection to shoes out of
doors. A similar contrivance, with the addi-
tion of an iron ring, leather strap and toe-cap,
is still sometimes worn by farm servants, and
is called a patten. Another form of clog,
consisting of a laced leather boot with wooden
sole, is extensively used by the working
classes in the North of England, and the
sabot, a wooden shoe, is the ordinary foot-
gear of peasants on the Continent.

It is well known that Chinese women of
high rank deform their feet by compressing
them in such a manner that it is afterwards
almost impossible to walk ; and in Davis'
interesting description of the Empire of
China, he relates that whenever a judge of
unusual integrity resigns his post, the people
accompany him from his home to the gates
of the city, where his boots are drawn off
with great ceremony, and are afterwards pre-
served in the Hall of Justice.

In Japan a peculiar wooden sandal, having
a separate compartment for the great toe, is
in common use. Straw slippers are also
worn, and a traveller starting on a journey
will strap a supply on his back, so that he
may have new shoes in case of need. They
are lefts and rights, and only cost a halfpenny
the pair. Here one never finds those defor-
mities of the feet so common in China, and
even in our own country. A graceful carri-
age depends so much upon the shoes worn.
Heavy and stiff ones oblige the wearer to
plant the foot solidly at every step. If the
toes are very pointed it is at the sacrifice of
elasticity, and if the heels are too high the
muscles in the ball of the foot are little used.

Orientals indicate reverence by uncovering
their feet, and do so on all occasions when
Western nations would remove their hats.
Their heads, being generally shaven, are
always covered, and are surmounted by a
head-dress which could not be replaced with-
out considerable trouble ; while for the feet
they have loose slippers, with a single sole,
made of coloured morocco or embroidered
silk, which are easily thrown off. Few things
inspire them with greater disgust than for
anyone to enter their rooms with shoes on.
They think such conduct an insult to them-
selves and a pollution to their apartment ;
and it is considered the height of irreverence
to enter a church, mosque, or a temple with-
out removing them. Even classical heathen-
ism affords instances of this usage. The
Roman women were obliged to go barefoot
in the Temple of Vesta ; the same rule
existed in that of Diana, at Crete ; and those
who prayed in the Temple of Jupiter also
followed this custom.

In the East, the public removal of the
sandal or shoe, and the giving it to another,
accompanied by certain words, signifies a
transfer of authority or relinquishing posses-
sion. We are told in the case of Ruth and
Boaz, when her kinsman gave up his right to
marry her, in favour of her second husband,
"he drew off his shoe." Among the
Bedouins, when a man permits his cousin to
marry another, or divorces his runaway
spouse, he generally says, " She was my
slipper; I have cast her off." Again, when
shoes are left at the door of an apartment,
they denote that the master or mistress is
engaged, and even a husband does not
venture into a wife's room while he sees
the slippers on the threshold. The idea
is not altogether unknown among our-
selves, as it is expressed in the homely
proverb, " to stand in another man's shoes ;"
or when we speak of coming into a
future inheritance as stepping into a " dead
man's shoe." Also in flinging the slipper
after a departing bride, signifying that
the father transfers his authority to the
husband.

Chapter V.
BRIDAL COSTUME.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter V.
BRIDAL COSTUME.

CERTAIN curious customs have been
associated with the Ordinance of

Marriage from a very early period, and
among others may be mentioned the union
of near relations in barbaric or semi- barbaric
tribes ; the providing of husbands and wives
for a family according to seniority (so that
the younger members had to possess their
souls in patience till the elder ones were dis-
posed of) ; the paying of an equivalent for
the bride's services to
her father in money or
kind ; and festivities
often lasting over several
days to celebrate the
nuptials. The Rabbins
acquaint us with the
fact that seven days'
feasting was an indis-
pensable obligation on
all married men, and
that the bride was not
consigned to her hus-

until after the

of feasting had

They were

spent in the

dower in case of divorce. Rich shawls, fine
dresses, personal ornaments, money, and a
complete outfit of domestic utensils are
always included in such a gift. Among
some of the Arab tribes the dower received
on such occasions, and called the "five
articles," consists of a carpet, a silver nose
ring, a silver neck chain, silver bracelets, and
a camel bag. Matrimonial overtures are
generally made by the parents of the con-

band
days
expired,
generally
house of

the woman's
father, after which she
was conducted in great
state to her husband's
home. When the bride
was a widow, the festi-
vities only lasted for
three days. Customs
in the East are perpetuated from one genera-
tion to another, and we now find among the
inhabitants of the Orient the same mode of
life as was adopted by the patriarchs of old.
The description of the wooing of Isaac and
Rebekah, for example, so graphically told in
Genesis, differs in few respects from that of
a young couple of the same rank in the
present day. Handsome presents, consisting
of jewels, apparel, &c., are presented to the
woman and her family, "and form part of her

MARRIAGE PROCESSION OF A BRIDE IN LEBANON.

tracting parties in Persia, but after all has
been concluded, the bride-elect has nomi-
nally the power, though it is seldom exercised,
of expressing her dissent before the connec-
tion receives its final sanction. Among
many Bedouin tribes the woman is not
suffered to know until the betrothing cere-
monies announce it to her who is to be her
husband, and then it is too late to negative
the contract, but she is permitted to withdraw
from her husband's tent the day after her

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

marriage, and to return to her father ; in
which case she is formally divorced, and is
henceforward regarded as a widow. On the

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BRIDAL COSTUME.

value of her ornaments the Eastern bride
bases her claim to consideration ; and though
the Arab, as a rule, cares
little for his own dress,
he decks his wife as
richly as possible, that
honour may be reflected
upon himself and his
circumstances. The leg
ornaments and bracelets
are often enormously
thick, and have no fast-
enings, but open and
compress by their own
elasticity. It is not un-
usual to wear several on
the same arm, reaching
to the elbow. They
form a woman's sole
wealth, and are not
treasured up for special
occasions, as is usual
among Western nations,
but are used as part of
of the daily costume.

Various materials are employed in their
manufacture ; gold is necessarily rare, silver
less so, while others are composed of amber,
coral, mother-of-pearl, and beads.

We are told, when Rebekah approached
her future home and saw a man walking in
the distance, she evinced a curiosity, natural
under the circumstances, and inquired about
him ; and on discovering that it was Isaac,
" she took a veil and covered herself" It
is still almost universal in the East for a
woman, whose face is not concealed on other
occasions, to envelop her head and body in
an ample veil before she is conducted to her
husband, and it is considered an indispens-
able part of the bridal costume. The details
of the home coming are modified by the
local usages and religions of the different
countries. In Syria, Persia, and India, the
bridegroom, in person, brings home the bride :
in some other countries this duty devolves on
a near relative, and he remains at home to
receive the lady on her arrival. From various
sources, but particularly from indications in
Scripture, we may gather that the Jews
employed either of these methods, according
to circumstances. Again, in Egypt the
bridegroom goes to the Mosque when his
bride is expected, and returns home in pro-
cession after she has arrived. In Western
Asia the procession usually walks, if the

FESTIVITIES AT AN EASTERN MARRIAGE.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

bride's future house is at no great distance in
the same town. In such cases she is often
partially covered by a canopy, and in Central
and Eastern Asia it is the rule for her to be
mounted on a mare mule, ass, or camel,

A GREEK BRIDESMAID.

unless she is carried in a palanquin. Much,
of course, depends on the social position of
those married. Music attends such proces-
sions, and often dancing ; the Jews certainly
had the former, and some think the latter
also, at least, in the time of our Saviour.

In Halhed's translation of the Gentoo
Laws, and in Mr. Roberts's " Oriental Illus-
trations," reference is made to the custom ot
marrying the elder sister first, and the same
usage is observed with regard to the brothers.
When, in India, the elder daughter happens
to be blind, deaf, dumb, or deformed, this
formality is dispensed with ; and there have
been cases when a man, wishing to obtain a
younger daughter, has used every means in
his power to promote the settlement of his
future sister-in-law, so as to forward his own
nuptials. Fathers, too, will sometimes exert
their powers to compass the marriage of the
elder daughter, when a very advantageous
offer is made for the younger one.

It is generally believed that Psalm xlv.,
commonly known as " The Song of Loves,"
was composed on the occasion of Solomon's
marriage — probably to Pharaoh's daughter;

and here we find the Egyptian bride's dress
described as "all glorious within and wrought
of gold, a raiment of needlework." Both
expressions refer to the same dress, and
imply that the garment was embroidered
with figures worked with threads of gold.
The Egyptians were famous for their
embroideries, and some mummies have been
found wrapped up in clothing curiously orna-
mented with gold lace. At the present day,
both in Egypt and Western Asia, it is usual
for ladies of the highest rank to employ much
of their time in working with the needle linen
and cotton tissues in gold and silver thread
and silk of different colours.

The use of nuptial crowns is of great anti-
quity. Among the Greeks and Romans they
were chaplets of flowers and leaves, and the
modern Greeks retain this custom, employing

MODERN GREEK BRIDAL COSTUME.

such chaplets, decorated with ribbons and
lace. Modern Jews do not use crowns in
their marriage ceremonies, and they inform
us that they have been discontinued
since the last siege of Jerusalem by the

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Romans. The information which Gemara
gives on this subject is briefly that the crown
of the bridegroom was of gold and silver, or
else a chaplet of roses, myrtle, or olives, and

the reverse side of the circle being formed by
two clasped hands. This is a very common
shape, and is shown in the illustration of the
English wedding-ring E, dated 1706, where

A, JEWISH WEDDING RING, GERMAN, 17TH CENTURY; B, MODERN ITALIAN; C, ITALIAN, 14TH

century; D, VENETIAN, i6tH CENTURY; E, ENGLISH, 1706; F, ENGLISH BRONZE

BETROTHAL RING, 17TH CENTURY.

that the bride's crown was of the precious

metals. There is also some mention of a

crown made of salt and sulphur, worn by the

bridegroom, the salt transparent as crystal,

the figures being represented

thereon in sulphur. Crowns

play an important part in the

nuptial ceremonies of the

Greek Church ; they are also

still used by Scandinavian

brides.

The ring in former days
did not occupy the prominent
position it does now, but was
given, with other presents, to
mark the completion of the
contract. Its form is a symbol
of eternity, and signifies the
intention of both parties to
keep the solemn covenant of
which it is a pledge, or, as the
Saxons called it, a "wed,"
from which we derive the
term wedding. The Jews
have a law which proclaims
that the nuptial ring shall be
of certain value, and must not
be obtained by credit or gift.
Formerly they were of large
size and elaborate workman-
ship, but now the ordinary plain gold hoop
is used.

A wedding ring of the Shakespearian era
has a portrait of Lucretia holding the dagger,

AN EASTERN BRIDE,

white enamel fingers support a rose diamond.
The modern Italian peasant wedding-ring B
is of gold in raised bosses, while C is of
silver ; F, bearing initials on vezet, is of
bronze. A is a handsome
Jewish wedding-ring, bearing
the ark, and D also has a
Hebrew inscription.

The gimmal betrothal ring
was formerly a favourite pat-
tern, and consisted of three
circlets attached to a spring or
pivot, and could be closed so
as to appear like one solid
ring. It was customary to
break these asunder at the
betrothal, the man and woman
taking the upper and lower
ones, and the witness the
intermediate ring. When the
marriage took place these
were joined together and used
at the ceremony. During the
sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies it was a common prac-
tice to engrave these emblems
of affection with some appro-
priate motto. It was from
Pagan Rome that European
nations derive the wedding-
ring, as they were used in their betrothals
long before there is any trace of them else-
where.

In describing the bridal costumes of

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

different nations, it should be distinctly
borne in mind that a large majority of the
upper classes wear on such occasions the
traditional white satin and orange blossoms
with which we are all familiar. Many, how-
ever, prefer the picturesque national costume
associated with the land of their birth, and it
has been my principal object, in selecting the
illustrations, to make them as typical as
possible.

The Greek marriage service is full of
symbol, and the sketch gives a good
idea of the bridal costume.
The bridesmaid is attired in a
gold embroidered jacket, a
skirt of brilliant colouring, and
the crimson fez — the usual
head-gear of a Greek maiden.
She is depicted scattering
corn, an ancient rite always
performed at the conclusion
of the ceremony. As she
gracefully sways backwards
and forwards, to the accom-
paniment of the jingling coins,
which do double service as
dowry and trimming, it is a
pose and dress at once graceful
and free. Formerly a wedding
garment was often passed
down from mother to daugh-
ter, and such an example is
given in the soft yellow silk
robe, lined with white and
enriched with elaborate em-
broidery. Tiny stars in deli-
cate shades of red, blue, and
green, divided by black lines
form the design and proclaim
the industry and skill of the worker. These
robes, however, have not been used in
Greece since the beginning of the seventeenth
century.

In Japan, the beautiful land of the lily and
chrysanthemum, the bride usually takes little
more to her husband's home than her trous-
seau, which is ample enough, as a rule, to
satisfy even a woman's passion for dress.
The nuptials take place in the evening, and
the bride is garbed in virgin white robes,
figured with a lozenge design. These gar-
ments are the gift of the bridegroom, and in
them she passes from the home of her girl-
hood to that of her husband. The house-

GARMENT FORMERLY WORN

BY GREEK BRIDES.

{From South Kensington Museum )

hold gods of both families are assembled
before an altar decked with flowers and
covered with offerings. Near stands a large
table, with a dwarf cedar; it also holds
the Japanese Adam and Eve, and the mystic
turtle and stork. The two special attendants
of bride and bridegroom are called butterflies,
and in their dress and colouring rival these
beautiful insects, which in this country are
the symbol of conjugal felicity. The most
solemn part of the marriage ceremony is
the scene of the two-mouthed vase. At a
signal, one butterfly fills the
vase, and the other offers it to
the kneeling couple, the hus-
band drinking first, and after-
wards the wife. This draught
signifies that henceforward
they are to partake equally of
the bitters and sweets of the
coming years. Rice is thrown
from either side, so as to
mingle, and the wicks of two
candles are placed together,
to symbolize the joining of
body and soul.

The marriage processions
of other Oriental nations
have already been referred to,
and in India it is customary
to perform the ceremony
under a species of canopy
richly ornamented and lighted
by lamps. The bride wears,
in addition to the native cos-
tume, a curious veil composed
of strings of gold beads and tas-
sels. In Hindu marriages the
sacred fire or oman (which is
constantly renewed by throwing upon it scented
oils, sandalwood, incense, and other aromatic
perfumes) is a prominent feature, and the
union of a couple is consecrated by sprink-
ling a handful of saffron, mixed with rice
flour, on their shoulders. Finally, the
husband presents his wife with a little golden
image called talee^ a substitute for the
wedding ring, and worn by Indian women as
their symbol of matrimony.

A missionary thus describes a Buddhist
marriage : — " The bride, loaded with jewel-
lery, accompanied by women richly attired,
entered the room, and sat down with the
bridegroom on the floor. A number of

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

candles were then lighted, and the company
saluted and congratulated the happy couple,
and expressed their kind wishes by blowing
smoke towards them, while a band of string
instruments discoursed sweet music. Two
cushions were placed before the bridegroom,
on which a sword was laid, and food was
also near them. Next the hands of each
were bound together, then the two to each
other with silken threads. This act was
performed by the nearest relative present,
and completed the ceremony." Brief,
indeed, are the forms of marriage indulged
in by the people of Borneo. Each of the
contracting parties chews a betel nut ; an
elderly woman mutters some sort of incanta-

member of the family who can contract a
marriage in the legal sense as we understand
it, but all his brothers are accepted by the
wife as inferior or subordinate husbands.
By this means they are kept well under the
control of the superior husband, whom they
regard as the " Big Father," and, as a matter
of form, any children who may be born are
accepted by him.

Thus the whole family are attached to the
soil, and seem to work in concord, and the
women have the satisfaction of knowing that
in the average course of Nature they can
never become widows, and that there will
always be someone to work for them and
their offspring. " It is the custom for the men

HINDU bridegroom's PROCESSION.

tion, and brings the heads of bride and
bridegroom in close contact, after which they
are declared man and wife, and are no longer
regarded as twain, but one flesh. The
Cherokee form of marriage is perhaps the
most simple. The two join hands over a
running stream, emblematic of the wish that
their future lives, hopes, and aspirations,
should flow on in the same channel. A
peculiar custom of the Lascars is the putting
of a ring on the great toe when they marry.
Mrs. Bishop, who has explored Tibet and
studied the habits and customs of the people,
informs us that polyandry is favoured by the
women of that country. The heir of the
land and eldest son appears to be the only

and women of a village to assemble when a
bride enters her home with her husbands,
and for each of them to present her with three
rupees. The Tibetan wife, far from spending
these gifts on personal adornment, looks
ahead, contemplating possible contingencies,
and immediately hires a field, the produce of
which is her own, and accumulates from
year to year, so that she may not be portion-
less should she desire a divorce."

The African tribes, of course, differ mate-
rially in their marriage customs, but some
form of exchange for the services of the
woman are insisted on, and often take the
shape of a present of cattle to the bride's
father. On the West Coast, in the neigh-

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

bourhood of Gaboon, where slavedom is
recognised, there is an understanding that
a wife may be purchased for a slave bundle,
valued at about ^^6 in English money, and

VEIL OF HINDU BRIDE.

there appears to be no sliding scale as to
youth, beauty, form, or degree. A bundle
contains specimens of every article sold by a
general store-
keeper. The most
important features
of a slave bundle
are a Neptune, or
brass pan used
for making salt,
which is a current
article of com-
merce, and a piece
of native cloth,
manufactured by
these people for
dress purposes,
from a species of
palm which grows
on the river banks
in great luxuri-
ance. Both sexes
anoint themselves
with palm oil and
other greasy sub-
stances, and no

greater compliment can be paid to an African

belle than to say she looks "fat and shining."

Mr. Hutchinson, in his interesting work,

"Ten Years in Ethiopia," gives a quaint and

amusing account of the toilet of a Fernandian
bridegroom: "Outside a small hut, belonging
to the mother of the bride expectant, I soon
discovered the happy bridegroom undergoing
his toilet at the hands of his future wife's
sister. A profusion of Tshibbu strings being
fastened round his body, as well as his legs
and arms, the anointing lady, having a short
black pipe in her mouth, proceeded to rub
him over with Tola pomade. He seemed
not altogether joyous at the anticipation of
his approaching happiness, but turned a sulky
gaze now and then on a piece of yam which
he held in his hand, and which had a parrot's
red feather fixed on its convex side. This
was called ' Ntshoba,' and is regarded as a
protection against evil influences on the
important day. The bride was borne down
by the weight of rings and wreaths and
girdles of Tshibbu. Tola pomatum gave her
the appearance of an exhumed mummy, save
her face, which was all white ; not from
excess of modesty, for the negro race are
reported to blush blue, but from being
smeared over with a white paste, the emblem
of purity." What a hideous substitute for
the classical wreath of orange blossoms, and

HINDU MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

what a contrast must be offered when the
cosmetic peels off and displays the dusky
skin upon which it is laid !

According to Russian law, no man can

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

marry before he is eighteen years of age, or a
woman before she is sixteen ; nor after he is
eighty, and she is sixty. Priests are permitted
to marry once. Secret marriages without
witnesses are regarded as invalid, and both

A RUSSIAN BRIDE.

bride and bridegroom must be baptized
persons. If a Russian takes a foreigner for
a wife, she must bind herself in writing to
bring up any children she may have in the
Greco - Russian faith. According to an
ancient custom the bridegroom presents his
bride with the costume and jewellery worn at
the marriage. The dowry comes from her
family, and consists of a complete wardrobe,
silver, linen, and household furniture of all
kinds. The hair of an unm.arried woman
of the peasant class in Russia is dressed
in a single plait hanging loose upon
the shoulders, and tied with ribbon.
After marriage it is arranged in two
braids coiled round the head, covered with
a cap tied behind, or with a cotton or silk

handkerchief, and a little lappet of linen rests
on the forehead, and is considered an
inevitable symbol of marriage. Marriages
are performed after banns, and much of the
finery used by the lower classes is hired for
the occasion; and the crowns used in the
Russian ceremony are generally the property
of the Church. Formerly they were worn
for a week, but this practice has been discon-
tinued.

There are three distinct periods in the life
of a Norwegian woman, and each one has
marked characteristics, particularly as regards
dress. During girlhood, up to the time of
confirmation, a solemn occasion for which
there is much preparatory training, girls do
not usually go from home to work, or earn

NORWEGIAN PEASANT BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.

their own living. Among the poorer classes
this ceremony takes place when they are
about fifteen. Their petticoats are short and
their hair is arranged in two long plaits.
After confirmation they are supposed to

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

ORNAMENT WORN

BY SWEDISH

PEASANT BRIDE.

regard life from its more serious aspect, and
to engage themselves with various duties,
according to their station. The third stage,
of course, is married life, and it should be
stated that neither men
nor women can enter
upon the holy contract
unless they can bring
proof of their confirma-
tion, and can show ample
evidence of sufficient
means to provide for a
household. The marri-
age is preceded by a
betrothal ceremony, when
the young couple go to
the church, accompanied
by their friends, and ex-
change rings of plain gold
and presents of jewellery
and apparel, which must be worn on the
wedding day. At her marriage the peasant
bride wears the crown. It has a rim of
brass to fit the head, and the upper
portion is of silver and gold, sometimes
embellished with precious stones.
Such crowns are generally heirlooms,
and it is not uncommon for all the
brides of one family for centuries to
wear the same adornment for the head.
A very usual dress on such an occasion
is a plain skirt of some woollen mate-
rial, with a bodice and full sleeves of
snowy linen, a corselet of red and
green, ornamented with bands and
buckles, and a white apron trimmed
with embroidery. A silver-gilt breast
ornament is worn by Swedish brides.
The band is wrought with bosses,
and depending from it are small
beaten discs, and a medallion bear-
ing the sacred initials I.H.S. The
bridegroom's hat in the illustra-
tion was probably an heirloom too,
from its shape and fashion. He
wears a red waistcoat cut short and
fastened with brass buttons, and a loose
cloth coat ornamented with embroidered
revers. The black small clothes show
to advantage a well-shaped leg, and on
the feet are low shoes. Usually the
festivities in connection with a peasant
wedding in Norway are kept up for
three days, and during the time there

is much feasting and merrymaking among
the friends of bride and bridegroom.

Gipsies are, as a rule, married at a very
early age. A girl is generally betrothed at
fourteen, and becomes a wife two years
later. The marriage ceremony is performed
by a priest wearing a ram's horn as a sign of
office, and, as becomes a nomadic race, the
four elements — fire, air, earth, and water —
take a prominent position. The horn is the
symbol of authority, and is often made use
of in Scripture. So much were rams' horns
esteemed by the Israelites that their priests
and Levites used them as trumpets in the
taking of Jericho ; and modern Jews when
they confess their sins announce the cere-
mony by blowing a ram's horn. In ancient
Egypt and other parts of Africa, Jupiter
Ammon was worshipped under the figure of
a ram, and to this deity one of these animals
was sacrificed annually. It seems to have
been an emblem of power from the remotest
ages. It would therefore appear that the

A bridegroom's toilet at FERNANDO PC.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

practice of the gipsy priest wearing a ram's
horn suspended from a string round his
neck at a marriage is derived from the
highest antiquity, and undoubtedly points to
the Oriental origin of the gipsy race.

Various expedients have been resorted to by
different rulers of sparsely
populated kingdoms to
encourage men to enter
the married state. In
ancient Rome the law
forbade that a bachelor
should inherit any legacy
whatever, and in Sparta,
under the rule of Lycur-
gus, they were not per-
mitted to have a part in
the government, nor
might they occupy any
civil or military post.
They were excluded
from participation in
public festivals, except
on certain fixed occa-
sions, and then the
women had the right to
lead them to the altars,
where they were beaten
with rods to the sound
of scornful songs. As
late as the reign of
William and Mary,
widowers were taxed in
England at the following rates : — Dukes,
;^i2 I OS.; lower peers a smaller sum, and
commoners one shilling each, if they
elected to remain in a state of single
blessedness. Widows also, especially those
of high degree and fortune, were encouraged
to dip again in the matrimonial lottery, and
children were betrothed at a very tender
age.

Bridesmaids in Anglo-Saxon times attended
on the bride, and performed specified duties,
particularly in the festivities which usually
followed on such occasions. Even during

AN ENGLISH BRIDE.

the earlier portion of the present century
it was a common custom for one to accom-
pany the bridal couple on their honey-
moon ; and it was also her duty to prepare
and present the "benediction posset," which
is referred to by Herrick in " Hesperides:" —

" A short sweet prayer shall

be said,
And now the posset shall be

made
With cream of lilies not of kine
And maiden blush for spiced

wine."

The fashion of brides
wearing spotless white is
a comparatively modern
one. From accounts of
bridal gowns in bygone
times, we find rich bro-
cades, golden tissues, and
coloured silks were em-
ployed for this purpose;
and at the present day
white is considered only
appropriate to the virgin,
and is absolutely dis-
pensed with by those
women who have been
married before.

Of modern marriage
customs in England
there is no occasion to
speak, for what woman
is there among us who
has not made an exhaustive and complete
study of this vital matter ? It may, however,
comfort those who are beginning to wonder
if marriage and giving in marriage is going
out of fashion, to know that during the first
quarter of 1894,95,366 persons were joined
together in the British Islands, an increase of
18 per cent, over the first three months of the
previous year, 1893, and 9 per cent, over the
mean rate for the same quarter for the pre-
ceding ten years. Figures are incontro-
vertible facts, so our ears need no longer be
assailed by the bitter cry of

"Darkest Spinsterdom."

Chapter VI.
MOURNING.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter VI.
MOURNING

"The air is full of farewells to the dying
And mourning for the dead." — Lougfellcmj.

THE signs of mourning in ancient times
were by no means confined to the
apparel. Fasting, laceration of the
flesh, throwing dust on the head, and shaving

for men, so common at funerals a few years
ago. In " A History of ISIourning," by
Richard Davey, from which many interesting
facts on this subject may be gathered, we
learn that the Egyptians, over three thousand
years ago, selected yellow as the colour for

ANCIENT JEWISH FUNERAL PROCESSION.

the hair, were outward and visible signs of
grief, accompanied by piercing cries of the
most heartrending description. It was also
customary to abstain from ornaments, to
rend the cloth-
ing, and to put
on filthy gar-
ments of sack-
cloth. This
fabric was, and
is still in the
East, made of
hair, which has
an irritating ef-
fect upon the
skin, and was
for this purpose
adopted as a
pen it ent ial
dress by the
early Roman
Church. The
covering of the

head was another manifestation of sorrow — a
practice indicated by the hoods worn by
female mourners, and the flowing hat-bands

LAVING OUT AND MOURNING THE DEAD.

mourning garments. The Greeks chose
black as the most appropriate — a fashion
followed by the Romans. The women of
Rome had robes of black cloth, with veils

of the same
shade; but by
a wise dispen-
sation, young
children were
not compelled
to adopt the
symbols of woe.
A year was the
usual period for
mourninga hus-
band, wife, fa-
ther, mother,
sister, or bro-
ther ; but rela-
tions who had
been outlawed,
imprisoned, or
bankrupt, were
not accorded this mark of respect. Numa
published certain laws for the guidance of
mDurners, including one forbidding women

E 2

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

to scratch their faces, or to make an excep-
tional display of grief at funerals. The
Emperor Justinian (a.d. 537) also turned his
attention to this subject, and regulated the
expenses at funeral ceremonies, so as to
secure those who remained from the double
calamity of losing their friends and, at the
same time, incurring heavy pecuniary lia-
bilities on their
account. Pro-
vision was made
for burying
each person free
of cost, and for
protecting the
survivors from
various extor-
tions. Funds

were appropriated for the purpose of inter-
ments, which were conducted by those
appointed for the purpose. All persons were
to be buried in the same manner; though
those who desired to do so could, at their
own cost, indulge in certain display, but this
additional expense was limited. On state
occasions, as, for example, on the death of

THE MODE OF ENFOLDING THE DEAD

sexes were expected to abstain from going to
public ceremonies and places of amusement ;
and women were not allowed to marry till a
year had elapsed from the husband's death,
without the special permission of the
Emperor. History, however, does not
record that their lords and masters applied
this rule to their own conduct.

The Greeks
buried their
dead before
sunrise, so as
to avoid osten-
tation. Mourn-
ing women took
part in the pro-
cession, and
accompanied
the chief female mourner in her visits to the
grave, on the seven days following interment.
This custom, which was derived from the
East, was a usual feature in Jewish, Roman,
and Egyptian, as well as in Greek funerals.

The funeral feast was a common practice
among the classical ancients, and was kept
up to a comparatively recent period, in various

THE CUP OF CONSOLATION.

an Emperor or a great defeat, the whole
nation assumed the mourning garb. The
defeat of Cannae, the conspiracy of Catalina,
and the death of Julius Caesar, were all con-
sidered of sufficient importance for the
observance of this custom. Private mourn-
ing could be broken among the Romans by
certain domestic events, as the birth of a son
or daughter, the marriage of a child, or the
return of a prisoner taken in war. Both

European countries. The Cup of Consola-
tion consisted of light refreshments prepared
and sent in by the friends of mourners, who
were not supposed to busy themselves with
domestic affairs at such a time. The illus-
tration gives a good idea of the mourning
habit adopted by the immediate family of the
deceased. Caves were used for the disposal
of the dead, as well as elaborately constructed
sepulchres, of which many remain to this

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

day. Earth burial was in favour with some
nations, but in time of war or pestilence
cremation was resorted to. The practice of
embalming we owe to the Egyptians, who
carried it to a great state of perfection.
One of the earliest embalmments on record
is that of Joseph, whose body accompanied
the Israelites on their journey through the
Wilderness. He was placed in a cofifin, a
distinction in the East only accorded to those
of the highest rank, the usual mode being
to simply swathe the corpse closely in
wrappers and bandages, thus retaining the
shape of the human form. The Jews largely
used spices and perfumes, which were em-
ployed both for anointing and for wrapping up

AN ANGLO-SAXON WIDOW.

the body — a very necessary precaution in hot
climates. The Egyptians, on the death of a
relative or sacred animal (the cat, for
instance), attired themselves in yellow gar-
ments and shaved off their eyebrows. Their

funeral processions were magnificent. When
a king quitted this mortal sphere, the temples
were closed for seventy-two days, and there
were no sacrifices, solemnities, or feasts.
Companies of two or three hundred men and

PRIEST OF THE lOTH CENTURY, WEARING A

BLACK DALMATIC EDGED WITH FUR,

READY TO SAY REQUIEM MASS.

women, in mean attire paraded the streets,
singing plaintive songs and reciting the
virtues of him they had lost. They ate
no meat, or food dressed by fire, and
omitted their customary baths and anoint-
ings. Every one mourned as for the death of
a favourite child, and spent the day in
lamentations. The Pyramids, those wonder-
ful monuments to Egyptian monarchs, are
memorials of the reverence and industry of
the nation, whose high state of civilization
is attested to by their works.

Burial clubs were common among the
Anglo-Saxons, and heavy fines were inflicted
on those who did not attend the funeral of a
member. The corpse was placed on a bier,
and on the body was laid the book of the

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Gospels, a code of belief and a cross as a
symbol of hope. A silken or linen pall was
used, according
to the rank of
the dead per-
son. The cler-
gy bore lighted
tapers and
chanted the
psalter, the
mass was per-
formed, and a
liberal offering
made to the
poor.

From a 9th
century MS. in
the National
Library, Paris,
is given a sketch
which clearly
defines the
mourning habit
of that period. The gown is evidently of
black woollen cloth, trimmed with black and
white fur; and a gauze veil of the same
sombre tint envelops the head. From the
same source a drawing of an Anglo-Saxon
priest is given, on account of his wearing a
black dalmatic, edged with fur, a vestment
only adopted when a requiem mass was per-
formed.

In the Middle Ages black was used for

HIRED MOURNERS

mourning as a rule, though purple and brown
were occasionally substituted. Chaucer, in

" The Knight's
Tale," speaks
of " clothes
black all drop-
ped with tears,"
and, again, of
" w i d d o w c s
habit of samite
brown." In
many cases, on
the death of
her husband,
the wife retired
for a year to a
convent, when
she assumed
the nun's dress,
of which the
widow's weeds
of the present
day are a sym-
bol. The mourning adopted by Katherine
of Valois, wife of Henry V., the hero of

Agincourt, who
died at Vin-
cennes in 1422,
may be regard-
ed as the typi-
cal widow's
dress of that
period. It con-
sisted of a
black brocade
cote hardi,
edged with
white fur, and
further embel-

with
glass
which

MOURNING IN SACKCLOTH.

widow's dress of queen katherine
dk valois, in the year 1 42 2

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

for ornamenting the winged head dress.
Her black woollen gown has a deep border-
ing of white fur. Some mourning habits of

Planche tells us dukes and marquises were
allowed sixteen yards for their gowns, sloppes
(or mourning cassocks) and mantles; an earl,

COSTUMES WORN BY KING PHILIP II. OF SPAIN AND HIS ATTENDANTS AT THE FUNERAL

PROCESSION OF HIS FATHER.

this period are represented in a splendid
manuscript " Liber Regalis," still preserved in
Westminster Abbey.
They are composed of
black fabrics in the pre-
vailing fashion, and are
furred with ermine.
Froissart relates that the
Earl of Foix, on hearing
of the death of his son,
Gaston, sent for his
barber, ana was close
shaved, and clothed
himself and his house-
hold in black. At the
funeral of the Earl of
Flanders, all the nobles
and others present were
attired in black gowns ;
and on the death of
John, King of France,
the King of Cyprus
clothed himself in black
mourning.

At the end of the
fifteenth century, it was
considered necessary in
England to pass sump-
tuary mourning laws,
owing to the extrava-
gance of the nobility in
the superfluous usage of
cloth and other items at funerals. Habits
and liveries were limited to certain quantities.

gentleman's MOURNING — TIME
HENRY VII.

fourteen; a viscount, twelve; a baron, eight;

a knight, six ; and all inferior persons, two
yards only; but an arch-
bishop had the same
privilege as a duke.
Hoods were only per-
mitted to those above
the degree of esquire of
the king's household.

Margaret, Countess
of Richmond, the
mother of King Henry
VII., issued, in the
eighth year of his reign,
an ordinance for " the
reformation of apparell
for great estates of wo-
men in the tyme of
mourninge." " They
shall have their surcottes
with a trayne before and
another behynde, and
their mantles with
traynes. The queen is
to wear a surcotte, with
the traynes as aforesaid,
and playne hoode, and
a tippet at the hoode
lying a good length
upon the trayne of the
mantell, being in breadth
a nayle and an inche.

After the first quarter of a year, the hood to

be lined with black satin, or furred with

THE EVOLUTION OF FASfffON.

ermine ; and all ladies down to the degree of
a baroness, are to wear similar niourninge,
and to be barbed at the chin." Thesurcotte,
with trayne, hood, barbe, and tippet, are
visible in the sketch of a lady of the sixteenth
century, taken from Pietro Vercellio's famous
work on costume. The gentleman's mourn-
ing of black cloth and fur, is reproduced from
a contemporary MS.

Among the obsolete funeral customs, may
be mentioned the Death Crier, the lying-in-
state of all classes, and the waxen effigies of
those of royal rank. Before newspapers
published obituary notices, it was customary
for the Death Crier, armed with a bell and
attired in a black livery, painted or em-
broidered with skulls and cross-bones, to
announce to the townspeople, and inhabitants
of surrounding villages, that another had gone
over to the majority. This functionary was

FRENCH LADY OF i6th CENTURY IN

widow's weeds.

in the employ of the Corporation, or civil
authorities, and on the death of a member of
the Royal Family, he was usually accompanied
by the Guild of Holy Souls, who walked in
procession, bearing lighted tapers and other
religious emblems. Lying-in-state usually

lasted for three days, by which time the
arrangements for a simple interment were
completed, and the body was placed rever-
ently in the ground. The obsequies of kings
and queens, however, were carried over a
protracted period, consequently a waxen

GERMAN widow's DRESS OF TO-DAY.

figure was prepared, which was dressed in
regal robes, and substituted for the body as
soon as decomposition set in. This fashion
was in vogue till the time of William snd
Mary, and in Westminster Abbey there is a
collection of waxen effigies, which may be
viewed by permission of the Dean. As like-
nesses they are interesting, and they are also
useful as costume studies.

Of late years, in this country, mourning
has been considerably modified, particularly
for the male sex, who often content them-
selves with a black hat-band and another on
the left sleeve of dark-coloured clothes. By
Scotch law, whether a man dies solvent or
insolvent, his widow may claim out of his
estate, sufficient for mourning suitable to
her rank, and the same privilege applies to
each of her children, who are old enough to be
present at their father's funeral. This right
takes precedence over any debts the dead man

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

may have contracted, and is a distinction
not accorded to English, Welsh, or Irish
widows.

In most European countries black is the
accepted colour for mourning ; though in
different parts of the globe white, yellow, red,

THE DEATH CRIER.

brown, and even blue garments are prescribed
by custom as the emblem of death.

These shades have been selected for the
following reasons : — Black is symbolical of
the gloom which surrounds one when those
who are nearest and dearest are taken. Black
and white express sorrow mixed with hope,

and white alone the light which follows the
night of mourning. Blue, the tint of the
heavens, to which it ii hoped the spirit forms
have taken flight. Yellow is typical of the
dead autumn leaf, and brown the earth to
which the body returns. Violet, a royal colour,

ENGLISH WIDOW S DRESS OF TO-DAY.

is generally used for the mourning of kings
and high dignitaries of the Church. Scarlet
is also used for royal mourning occasion-
ally.*

* For permission to reproduce some of the drawings
from Davey's " History of Mourning," I am indebted
to Messrs. Jay, Regent Street, London.

Chapter VII.
FXCENTRICITIES OF MASCULINE COSTUME.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter VII.
ECCENTRICITIES OF MASCULINE COSTUME.

" The fashion wears out more apparel than the man."
— Mtuh Ado about Nothing.

" Through tattered clothes small vices do appear,
Robes and furred gowns hide all." — King Lear.

'ANITY, thy name is woman," "As
vain as a woman," and similar
epithets, are hurled at our defence-
less heads by our teachers and masters : yet
how few of them pause for a moment to con-
sider whether they are altogether free from
this human weakness or exempt from that
love of dress
which they so
strongly condemn
in others. It does
not require a deep
study of the his-
tory of costume
to reveal some
curious anomalies
in this respect,
and the sketches
chosen for the
purpose of illus-
trating this chapter
will only give a
faint idea of what
has been con-
sidered appropri-
ate and becoming
to the manly form
at different
epochs. In
Pelautier's " His-
toire des Celtes,"
we learn that
"the toilet of the
ancient inhabitants of Britain, somewhat re-
sembled that of the North American Indian
of the present day, and consisted of a series
of elaborate paintings over the whole surface
of the body, which were no doubt originally
intended to protect the skin, from the incle-
mencies of the weather, but were afterwards
used as a mode of embellishment and a
means of distinguishing the different classes,
for it was reserved to freemen, and strictly
forbidden to slaves. The lower classes con-

BRITON CLAD IN SKINS.

fined themselves to small designs drawn at a
considerable distance from each other; but
the nobles had the privilege of ornamenting
their persons with large figures, chiefly of
animals, subsequently transferred to their
shields, after they adopted a less scanty
costume, and this may be looked upon as
the origin of family arms." The Picts, who
inhabited the north of Britain, were remark
able for their pictorial decorations, hence
their name, derived from an ancient word,
picti^ which signifies painted. Our remote
ancestors also added to their other charms
(which were doubtless irresistible to the
belles of that period), by deepening the tone
of their naturally ruddy locks, by washing
them in
water boiled
with lime.
Their cloth-
ing was of
skins of ani-
mals killed
in the chase,
and they
were armed
with imple-
m ents of
bone and
flint. The
Tyrian tra
ders taught
them how
to construct
various
weapons of
war from a
composition
of copper
and tm, and briton at the time of the
their flat roman invasion.

wicker

shields were superseded by those of metal
ornamented with concentric circles. After
the Roman Conquest of Britain, the skin
garments were laid aside for dyed tunics and
close trousers. Over the tunic was worn a
sagum, or short cloak, so named by the

THE EVOLUTION OF FAS HID .

Romans from saicy a word of Celtic origin,
which signified a skin or hide. When the
head was covered it was with a cap, from the
British cab, a hut, which, from its circular
shape, it somewhat resembled, for the dwelling-
places were composed of wattles firmly fixed
in the ground and fastened together at the

CANUTE.

top. A curious remnant of this fashion is the
horn-like cap of rushes still made by Welsh
children. The hair was usually long and
flowing. Men of rank shaved the chin and
allowed the moustache to grow to an extra-
ordinary length.

The Saxons and Danes are spoken of as
wearers of " scarlet, purple, and fine linen,"
and the latter combed their hair once a day,
bathed once a week, and frequently changed
their clothing. By these means they found
favour in the eyes of the women, and de-
lighted the wives and daughters of the
nobility. In a curious MS., written in the
reign of King Canute, the monarch is repre-
sented in a tunic and mantle embellished
with cords and tassels. The tops of his
stockings are embroidered, but he wears
simple leather shoes. A vestment presented
by Canute to Croyland Abbey was of silk,
embroidered with golden eagles, and the rich
pall which he ordered to be laid over the

tomb of Edmund Ironside, was "embroidered
with the likeness of golden apples and orna-
mented with pearls." From this, we see that
the needle played an important part in the
ornamentation of clothing, and to it we also
owe the splendid Bayeux tapestry, worked
by Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror.
This priceless curiosity is not only remark-
able as a magnificent piece of workmanship,
but affords a good idea of the dress of that
period — the nth century. A tunic reaching
to the ankle, leg bandages and shoes, a
flowing mantle and flat cap, were the chief
characteristics of the civil dress of this and
succeeding reigns. The Normans, however,
were clean-shaven.

During the Middle Ages extravagance pre-
vailed in both male and female costume.
Handsome furs were in great request, and
several times sumptuary laws were passed.
Men wore eight indispensable articles of
dress, the shirt, breeches, stockings, shoes,
coat, surcoat or cotehardie, mantle, and head
dress. The coat or under-dress corre-
sponded with the tunic of the ancients, and
was entirely hidden, with the exception of

WILLIAM THE NORMAN, FROM BAYEUX
TAPESTRY.

the sleeves, by the surcoat. There were two
kinds of mantles, one open in the front, the
two sides connected by a strap resting on the
chest, the other was open on the right side
and had one end thrown over the left
shoulder. Head coverings were of various

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

descriptions ; but many adopted hoods with

long points, which were used to attach them

to the belt when not in use. The assembling

of Parhament in the reign of Richard II.

gives the lay, spiritual, and legal peers in

their usual costumes,

and is reproduced from

Planche's " History of

British Costume." The

Bishops are in cowls

near the throne, the

judges in coifs and

furred robes, the Earls

of Westmorland and

Northumberland stand

in front. The Duke of

Hereford, in high cap, is

to the left of the throne,

and Exeter, Salisbury,

and other peers are

seated opposite the

judges. During the

reign of Richard II.,

which lasted over twenty

years (1377 to 1399),

there were many curious

fashions in masculine

attire. The peaked

shoes, chained to the

knee, were not more ridiculous than the

deep, wide sleeves commonly called pokeys,

GENTLEMAN OF THE
14TH CENTURY.

PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED IN THE REIGN OF RICHARP IL

which were shaped like a bagpipe and were
worn by all classes. Many writers refer to
them as the devil's receptacles, as whatever
could be stolen was hidden away in their
folds. Some were wide and reached to the
feet, others to the knee, and they were full of
slits. Hose were often of different colours.
Parti-coloured suits were also in favour, and
these were frequently scalloped at the edges
and embroidered with mottoes and other
devices. Chaucer, who wrote the " Canter-
bury Tales " towards
the end of Richard's
reign, describes in the
most graphic manner
the apparel of his con-
temporaries. "The
haberdasher, carpenter,
weaver, dyer, and
tapestry worker, all
wealthy burghers of the
City of London, were
clothed in a livery, and
the handles of their
knives, pouches, and
girdles were ornamented
with silver. The clergy
were not to be dis-
tinguished from the
laity, and rode on horseback, glittering with
gold, in gowns of scarlet and green, fine with
cut work. Their
mitres embellished
with pearls like the
head of a queen,
and staffs of pre-
cious metals set
with jewels."
Even the parish
clerk is said to be
" spruce and fop-
pish in his dress."
The author of an
anonymous work
called the " Eulo-
gium," of this date,
says : — "The com-
moners were be-
sotted in excess of
apparel. Some
in wide surcoats
reaching to their
loins, some in a
garment reaching

A CAPUCHON OR

HOOD, TIME OF

EDWARD II.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

to their heels, closed before and sticking out
at the sides, so that at the back they make
men seem hke women, and this they call by
the ridiculous name gowne. Their hoods are
little, and tied under the chins. Their lirri-
pipes (tippets) pass round the neck, and
hanging down before, reach to the heels."

Towards the end of the 14th century men
began to wear short clothes made to fit the
body so closely that it often required the
assistance of two people to remove them,
and it is from this period we can distinctly
trace the difference between ancient and
modern dress ; in fact, our present fashions
— masculine and feminine — resemble to a
certain extent those worn during mediaeval
times. Then, as
now, men wore
overcoats with
tight sleeves,
felt hats also with
feathers, worn
over a skull cap,
and slung behind
the back, and
closely-fitting
shoes and boots.

The Tudor
monarchs paid
considerable at-
tention to the
adornment of
their persons,
and were respon-
sible for strin-
gent legal enact-
ments calculated
to encourage

home manufacturers. Felt hat-making — one
of our oldest industries — was introduced into
this country from Spain and Holland. A
great impetus was given to this branch of
trade by a law passed in 157 1 which enjoined
" every person above the age of seven years
to wear on Sundays or holidays a cap of
wool, knit made, thickened, and dressed in
England by some of the trade of cappers,
under the forfeiture of three farthings for
every day's neglect." In 1603 the felt
makers became a Corporation with grants
and many privileges. Throughout the
Middle Ages the upper classes frequently
engaged in commerce. Bishops, abbots, and
nobles personally superintended the disposal

COSTUME OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VII

of the produce of their estates, and a con-
siderable number of the younger sons of
good families were the leading traders of the
15 th and 1 6th centuries.

The "frocke" frequently mentioned, and of
which the modern frock coat is the degene-
rate descendant, was a sort of jacket or
jerkin made occasionally with skirts, a style
associated especially, with Holbein's portraits
of Henry VHI, and his contemporaries.

The uniform worn at the present day by
the Yeomen of the Guard stationed at the
Tower of London, gives us the military
costume of the Tudor period. It is the
oldest corps in her Majesty's service, and
was instituted by Henry VII. as the body-
guard of the
sovereign. In
the dress of the
Bluecoat Boys
at Christ's Hos-
pital we have
that of the citi-
zens of London
during the reign
of Edward VI.
and Mary, when
blue coats were
habitually used
by apprentices
and serving men,
yellow stockings
also were in
common use.
The badges on
the jackets
of firemen and
watermen date
from this time; they were made of metal and
placed on the sleeve, in the i6th century,
instead of being embroidered on the back or
breast of the garment as they had been pre-
viously. Retainers in the households of the
wealthy, were provided with surcoats and
mantles twice a year, of their patron's
favourite colour, and this was called the
livree, from a French word signifying to dis-
tribute. Trade guilds and members of the
learned professions, also adopted a distinct
style of costume. Lawyers, who were origi-
nally priests, of course wore the tonsure; but
when the clergy ceased to interfere with
secular affairs the lay lawyer continued this
sign of office, and also wore a coif. Th^ir

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

gowns were capacious and lined with fur:
and the Justices of the King's Bench were
allowed liveries by the King, of cloth and
silk. Budge, or lambskin, and
miniver were provided for the
trimming thereof, and the
colour appears to have varied
in different reigns, but for a
long time green prevailed.

The courtiers of Elizabeth
discarded the " frock e cote" for
quilted and stuffed doublets and
trunk hose, slashed and orna-
mented in the most quaint and
extravagant manner. Below
these were worn stockings em-
broidered with birds, beasts,
and other devices, "sewed up
close thereto as though they
were all of one piece." Trunk
hose were appropriately named,
as they were often filled with
wool, bran, and other materials.
At last they became of such
enormous size that it was neces-
sary to construct swings in the Rouses of
Parliament in place of the ordinary fixed
seats, for the accommodation of those wear-
ing this singular article of attire. Enormous
ruffs of muslin and lace encircled the necks
of dandies of the Elizabethan era, and they
appear to have had waists which would excite
the envy of the belles of the latter part of the
19th century. In fact, the gallants of that
day were even in advance of the fair sex, in
their love of fantastic costume : and as

EARL OF SURREY, TIME
OF HENRY VIII.

and those

Hollingshead, in The Chro7iicle, justly states
in reference to the fashions of the period :
" Nothing was more constant in England
than inconstancy of attire."

A few years since, behind
some ancient panelling at Had-
don Hall, Derbyshire, was dis-
covered a washing bill (with
other things appertaining to
the i6th and 17th centuries)
which gives us a good idea of
the various articles of dress
then worn. Reference is made
to the ruff, which is too well
known to need description ; to
bafides made of linen and
cambric, from which those now
used by the clergy took their
origin, and from which we de-
rive the modern word bandbox.
There were three kinds — some
that stood upright, others were
allowed to lie flat upon the
shoulders, as shown in the
drawings of Charles I. and II.,
which were embroidered and
trimmed with lace. The shirt applied to the
under-garment of both sexes, and the half-
shirt referred to

the
over
dress
Boot

stomacher
which the
was laced.
hose were

COURTIER IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH.

made of a variety
of materials, and
were occasionally
called nether
stocks ; socks were
sometimes put
over them ; and
tops were of Hol-
land linen or lace,
and formed the
lining of the full
hanging boots of
the Cavaliers.

During the
Civil War the
dress worn by the King's adherents, consisted
of a doublet of silk or satin with loose sleeves,
slashed up the front; the collar was generally
of point lace, and a short cloak rested care-
lessly on one shoulder. The hat was a broad-
brimmed beaver with a plume of feathers,

CHARLES L

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

and trunk hose gave way to breeches. The
Roundheads or Republican Party went to
the opposite extreme. They cut their hair

mistresses." The beard was worn in different
ways, but the most usual shape was what
Beaumont and Fletcher, in their '' Queen of

CHARLES II. AND HIS QUEEN
(1662).

WILLIAM III. (1694) GENTLEMAN AND LADY OF i8tH

CENTURY.

close, avoided lace and jewels, had plain
linen or cloth suits of a grey or brown tint,
with a hat somewhat resembling the modern
chimney pot.

About this period we also hear of the
waistcoat, which was cut
high at the neck, and was
made with sleeves. Neck-
cloths and cravats of
Brussels and Flanders lace
were tied in a knot under
the chin, and had square
ends. Another peculiar
feature of masculine cos-
tume towards the end of
the 17 th century consisted
of petticoat breeches with
drooping lace ruffles, such
as adorn the nether limbs
of Charles II. Patches
and perukes were also
adopted, and the former
fashion, a revival of an old
Roman custom, had politi-
cal significance according
to where they were placed
on the face, and were bitterly ridiculed by
numerous satirical writers. " I know many
young gentlemen," says Middleton, in one of
his plays, " who wear longer hair than their

WALKING DRESS, 1830.

Corinth," call the T beard, consisting ot a

moustache and imperial : —

"His beard,
Which now he put i' the form of a T,
The Roman T ; your T beard is the fashion,
And two-fold doth express the enamoured courtier."

Shakespeare also tells us,
it was often dyed different
colours.

Everyone tried to rival
his neighbour in the size
of his peruke, till they be-
came so preposterous that
Charles II. showed his dis-
favour by writing a letter
to the University of Cam-
bridge forbidding the
members to wear periwigs,
smoke tobacco, or read
their sermons. History
does not relate what effect
the King's censure had
upon the head - gear of
students attending the col-
leges, but it is absolutely
proved that they paid no
heed to his latter com-
mands. It was the fashion for men to comb
their perukes in public, and curiously-chased
combs of bone and tortoise-shell, were carried
in the pocket with the snuff-box, another

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

indispensable appendage of a fine gentle-
man.

In the 1 8th century the broad hat brims
were turned up at the sides, and, in the racy
vernacular of the day, " each gallant cocked
his hat according to his fancy." Shoe buckles
became general in the reign of Queen Anne,
and displaced the ribbon rosettes formerly
worn. Planche accurately describes the
fashions of that day. "The square-cut coat
was stiffened with wires and buckram, and
the long-flapped waistcoat with pockets almost
met the stockings. There were hanging cuffs
with lace ruffles, square-toed shoes with red
heels, and hats laced with gold or silver
galloon."

At the beginning of the 19th century many
important changes took place. Excepting
for Couit dress, cloth was substituted for
velvet and other rich fabrics. The coat was
open, displaying an elaborate shirt-front,
stock and flowered waistcoat ; and the skirt,
though full, fell in natural folds. Trousers
were very tight, and held in place by a strap
beneath the foot, and hats displayed narrow
curved brims.

We have only to cast our eyes down the
vista of ages to find that British costume has
been suited to the needs, habits, and customs
of the people, and periods at which it was
worn. Skins of animals were approptiate to
the hardy cave dwellers who inhabited this
country at an early period m the world's
history. The simple dress of the Anglo-
Saxons fulfilled the requirements of a primi-
tive race ; and the furs and rich fabrics
brought home by the Crusaders were adapted
to the higher state of civilization which pre-
vailed in the Middle Ages. In the i6th
century the Renaissance (of art and culture)
was specially noted for richness of attire.
During the i8th century a mixture of styles
which had found favour with previous
generations was the most marked feature in
the costume of that period, and this equally
applies to the two first decades of the present
one. Masculine attire at the present day,
though simple and practical, has few points
of beauty to recommend it. Briefly, it
resolves itself into a series of woollen
cylinders which changeth not from genera-
tion to generation.

Y 2

Chapter VIII. ^

A CHAT ABOUT CHILDREN AND THEIR CLOTHING.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter VIII.
A CHAT ABOUT CHILDREN AND THEIR CLOTHING.

" The childhood shows the man,

As morning shows the day." — Milton.

OF children's dress in olden times we have
singularly few details, and, as a rule,
it may be concluded that their raiment
was fashioned on similar lines to that worn
by the men and women of the country in
which they lived, and was more or less orna-
mented, according to their station in life.

One or two biblical references enlighten us
as to Eastern customs. On the authority of
St. Luke, our Saviour in infancy was wrapped
in swaddhng clothes. "Samuel," we are
told, " being a child, was girded with a linen
ephod," which appears
to have been a close
robe or vest reaching
from the shoulders to
the loins, and confined
by a girdle. Consider-
ing the chmate and the
habits of the people, it
was probably the only
garment used in sum-
mer, but in cold weather
was supplemented, we
presume, by the little
coat his mother bought
him from year to year,
when she and her hus-
band came to offer the
annual sacrifice, at Shi-
loh, where Eli, the High
Priest, lived. A coat of
many colours was also
presented to Joseph in his youth as a mark
of Jacob's affection for the child of his old
age.

Greek and Roman children of the gentler
sex are usually represented in the chiton, or
loose classical gown, combined with a shawl
or himation weighted at the four corners, so
as to assist the wearer in adjusting it. How
to put on this garment was carefully taught
as part of a girl's education. The long end
was first thrown over the left shoulder. The
front part was arranged in folds across the

CHILDREN OF CHARLES L
{After a painting by Vandyck.)

body, passed under the right arm and over
the left shoulder or forearm. The girdle
sometimes consisted of a cord, at others of
metal bands, and by drawing the chiton over
it, a double thickness of the fabric covered
the vital organs of the body. Boys wore the
tunic and toga, and the latter is supposed to
have been oblong, with the corners rounded
off, so as to give a semicircular effect. Hats
were not commonly worn, except by the poor
or when on a journey, a fold of the toga or
mantle serving for a head covering, and
sandals protected the feet.

The Egyptian labouring classes allowed
their children to be nude,
and infants were un-
familiar with swaddling
clothes. The working
man and boy had simply
a loin cloth and girdle,
and the girl a loose
tunic fastened with
strings at the neck and
reaching to her feet.
On the other hand,
children of the upper
classes in Egypt were
repetitions of their elders
on a small scale. Girls
wore a linen skirt em-
broidered in colours
and fastened with a
bright sash, or suspended
from the shoulders, and
over this a loose trans-
parent robe with long sleeves. The male cos-
tume consisted of a loin cloth, and a full robe
with short sleeves, or a tunic, and both sexes
had elaborately curled or plaited wigs, as the
natural hair was only allowed to grow in
times of mourning.

The Roman occupation of Britain left its
impress for a long period on the costume of
the Anglo-Saxon race. The long-sleeved
banded tunic was the usual habit of the
industrial classes through the Middle Ages
and leg bandages and cross gartering preceded

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

breeches. Quite young
boys appear in this dress,
and little girls are seen in
ancient MSS. in the kirtle
and gunna, the equivalents
of the modern petticoat and
dress. Their hair, how-
ever, was allowed to fall
naturally, or was dressed
with two pendant plaits,
and was not concealed, as
was so often the case with
adult females, by means of
the head-rail. The mate-
rials used in clothing were
to a great extent the pro-
duce of household industry.
The women servants were
employed in spinning,
weaving, and sewing, and
ladies of the highest rank
did not disdain to partici-
pate in such labours.
Several articles of dress
were derived from the
tanner, who worked up his
leather into shoes, ankle
leathers, and leathern hose.
The art of tanning skins
with the wool or hair on,
was also practised, and
dyeing was in great request,
for in a rude
age a love of
gaudy co-
lours is a
natural cha-
racteristic of
the people.
The most
skilful artifi-
cers were
found in the
r elig i ous
houses, but
under each
landowner
serfs were
trained in
the mecha-
nical arts.
Silk was
worn by the
wealthy, but

CHILDREN S COSTUME, PRESENT DAY,

the common materials for
wearing apparel in this
country were cotton, linen,
and woollen.

Among the Anglo-Saxons
and their pagan ancestors
the desertion of children
sometimes occurred, but as
the influence of Christianity
increased, it was regarded
as a crime, and a law was
passed for its repression.
For fostering a foundling
the State allowed 6s. the
first year; 12s. the second;
and 30s. for the third year;
and afterward the foster
parent was to receive a sum
varying according to the
appearance of the child.
Children bereft of their
father, remained under the
mother's care, but until the
eldest child became of age
were subject to the guard-
ianship of the husband's
relations. Mothers usually
nursed their own children,
cradles were used, and for
the first few months their
clothing was swathed with
a bandage. In this com-
pact form
they were
more easi-
ly carried,
though
the con-
straint to
which they
were sub-
jected, pro-
bably pre-
vented that
free deve-
lopment ■ of
the limbs,
which we
now consi-
der so essen-
tial to health
and beauty.
If very poor,
the father

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

7?,

was allowed to sell his son into slavery for
seven years, providing the consent of the
child was obtained, and one ten years old
could give evidence. Until a daughter was
fifteen years of age, her father could marry

her as he pleased, but afterwards had no
power to do so. A boy of fifteen could enter
the monastic life if so disposed, and a girl at
a somewhat later period. Monasteries offered
the best education then procurable, and the
clergy were directed to " teach youth with
care, and to draw them to some craft."
Schoolboys appear to have been kept in
order, by the dread of personal chastisement,
and great respect and reverence was exacted
by their elders.

In the dress of the Blue-coat School
(Christ's Hospital), we see the ordinary
costume of boys of the Tudor period. It
consisted of a long coat reaching to the heels
and knee-breeches, a striped vest, yellow

stockings, and a small round cap placed on
the side of the head. The dress of little
girls niay be found on various monumental
effigies, in which they appear like their
mothers, in full skirts, sometimes distended
by a fardingale, the body imprisoned in
whalebone to the hips, a folded ruff encircUng
the neck, and their stockings (according to
Stubbs) were of the finest yarn, silk, thread,
or cloth that could possibly be had, of
changeable colours, cunningly knit, with
curiously indented points, clocks, and open
seams. The shoes were of black, green,
white and yellow velvet, or of leather

stitched with silk and embroidered with gold
and silver all over the foot."

The paintings of Vandyck bring graphically
before us the picturesque elements of the dress
of the Stuart era. There is an air of richness
and refinement about the long skirted silken

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

frocks embellished with lace, the pointed
collars, and beaver hats with trailing feathers
universally worn, and the quaint lace caps,
which, by a turn of fashion's wheel, have been
remodelled for the children of to-day.

At no period in the history of costume
were the styles so offensive to those with a

true conception of colour and form than in
the first half of the nineteenth century. We
have only to turn to the sketches of Leech
and contemporary artists to find bare necks
and arms, conspicuous underwear, very short
skirts distended by a stiffened petticoat or
crinoline, white cotton stockings, low shoes
fastened by a strap and single button, mush-
room hats, aprons and pinafores devoid of
elegance and grace, and the hair cut close
to the head or arranged in rows of stiff ring-
lets. Nor did the boys of England, in
trousers buttoned high on short jackets, or
with tunics worn with frilled linen collars and

leathern belts, show to greater advantage.
Queen Victoria inaugurated a new system of
clothing for boys, when she dressed the young
Princes in Scotch and sailor suits, and the
wardrobes of all classes have been consider-
ably extended of late, by the open-air life and
outdoor sports in which every self-respecting
lad indulges. Cricket, tennis, boating, foot-
ball, and cycling, all imperatively demand
appropriate apparel, and tailors now give
reasonable attention to this important branch
of their business, and provide fabrics and
designs suited to the needs of the rising
generation.

Habits of personal cleanliness and the
influence of dress on the minds of growing

girls is hardly realized except by those
directly concerned in education. Many a
sensitive child's character has been warped
by the thoughtless jeers of schoolfellows,
who were quick to perceive that her clothing

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

was not up-to-date or of
such good material as their
own. On the other hand,
vanity, envy, and uncharit-
ableness have been engen-
dered by foolish mothers,
who have provided their
daughters with inappropri-
ate and extravagant outfits.
Though many advocate
uniforms with distinctive
trimmings for girls' colleges,
there are drawbacks to the
scheme being adopted.
Such a course would pro-
bably destroy the individu-
ality which we all desire to
see applied to the choice
of clothing, and it would
leave no field for original
ideas. Children must be
trained to select and wear
their clothes to the best
advantage, and it is folly to
think that they will do so
by intuition. Some may
possess naturally an artistic
sense and a keen eye for
colour, but they are cer-
tainly in the minority, and
rational dress
reformers have
pushed sensi-
ble ideas to the
verge of absurd-
ity, till now the
name is almost
regarded as a
term of re-
proach.

How much
we owe to pio-
neers of chil-
dren's dress re-
form, and espe-
cially to Messrs.
Liberty, who
evolved what
is generally
known as the
aesthetic style
in dress. From
sketch e- cour-
teously placed

at my disposal, I am enabled
to put before the reader
examples of children's
clothing which are artistic in
form, light of texture, and
which in no way impede
the physical development.
Those who have the care
of children should remem-
ber what a sacred charge
is imposed upon them, and
that their future health
mainly depends, upon the
manner in which they are
clothed during the first few
years of life. There must
be no tight bands, belts, or
garters to prevent circula-
tion and to cause organic
troubles; and where corsets
are dispensed with, as hap-
pily they are in many cases
where growing girls are
concerned, the weight of
the clothing should be borne
by the shoulders, not the
waist, and this is ensured by
cutting undergarments in
the princess or combination
forms. Many young peo-
ple suffer from
being carelessly
shod, and
hideous mal-
formations of
the feet arise
in c o n s e-
quence, while
obscure di-
seases of the
brain can
sometimes be
traced to heavy
head-gear,
and the strain
of over-study.
Hats should be
of light con-
struction, and
afford a grate-
ful shade to
the eyes, if
that far-reach-
ing ailment of

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

civilisation, short sight, is to be successfully
combatted ; and special attention must be
paid to infants, who may often be seen in
public thoroughfares with a hot sun beating
down upon them, and the nurse oblivious to
the fact. The sight of a tender infant en-
trusted to the care of a young woman, who
has not the glimmering of a notion of how to
look after its fragile body, must fill any
right-minded person with indignation. Is it
unreasonable to expect those who undertake
the charge of children to acquaint themselves

with at least an elementary knowledge of the
construction and functions of the human
body ? The ignorance of the average nurse-
maid is appalling; and though a board school
education may have acquainted her with the
mysteries of the First Book of Euclid, or the
rudiments of music, the curriculum rarely
includes the simplest instruction on the
healthy training of children ; and, in
consequence, the high rate of infant
mortality in this country is a national
disgrace.

Chapter IX,
FANCY COSTUME OF VARIOUS PERIODS.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter IX.
FANCY COSTUME OF VARIOUS PERIODS.

" The dome, where pleasure holds her midnight reign,
Here richly decked, admits the gorgeous train ;
Tumultuous grandeur crowds the blazing square.
The rattling chariots clash, the torches glare."

DURING the Roman occupation of
Britain, many sports and pastimes,
with their appropriate costumes, were
introduced into this country from Southern
Europe and the East, and at a very early
period mummings were popular with the
people. These were primitive masquerades,
where the actors, if we may judge from
antique illuminations, generally mimicked
the brute creation rather than human beings.
They often appeared between the courses at
banquets, and on important occasions ela-
borate pageants were arranged. Ships filled
with mariners were sometimes introduced, or
towers garrisoned with armed men, while the
actors portrayed some allegorical lesson or
historical incident.

A well-known event intimately connected
with masking was the narrow escape from
death by fire of Charles VI, of France, on
January 29th, 1392. The king, with eleven
of his knights, for the amusement of the
Court, dressed like savages, in tight-fitting
garments of linen covered with flax, and
were dancing before the Queen and the
Duchess de Berri, when the Due d'Orleans
with a torch accidentally ignited the inflam-
mable costume of a masker, who was chained
to four others. The Duchess protected the
King by wrapping him in the train of her
mantle, but four persons died in great agony.

Edward III. issued an ordinance against
vagrants who exhibited scandalous mas-
querades in low ale-houses, and directed that
such persons should be whipped out of
London. The Feast of Fools was one of
the most singular of these exhibitions. It
somewhat resembled the Roman Saturnalia,
and was enacted at Christmas. In England
the celebration of this festival does not
appear to have been attended with the same
excesses as were commonly practised on the
Continent, but it was nevertheless a season
of licence, in which order and discipline

were reversed. The churl was elected to
represent the Pope; the buffoon was made a
cardinal; and the lowest of the mob assumed
for the time being the garb of the priesthood,
and took possession of churches, where they
parodied every part of the sacred service,
and sang masses composed of obscene songs.

Dramatic representations were so tainted
by the grossness and licentiousness of the
age, that priests were prohibited from attend-
ing them, till the Church introduced religious
plays, founded on scriptural incidents, and
which were known as miracles and mysteries.
For these' the actors were trained by the
clergy, and sacred edifices and vestments
were placed at their disposal, to give truth
and lustre to the representations.

There were frequent tournaments after the
Norman Invasion, and these were patronized
and encouraged by Richard Coeur de Lion.
From this era they occupied a prominent place
in the national institutions and history, and
afforded many opportunities for the display
of picturesque costume. Ladies on these
occasions were conspicuous, and sometimes
rode in parti-coloured tunics with short
hoods and tippets wrapped about their
heads. Their girdles were decorated with
gold and silver, and they carried small swords.
The space marked out for the combat was
surrounded by raised seats for high - born
dames, princes, and the judges of the conflict.
Knights wore their ladies' colours on their
helmets, emblazoned on their clothing, and
on the trappings of their horses; and throngs
of troubadours, heralds, and minstrels dressed
in gorgeous attire, were present to discharge
their duties, and to give importance to the
spectacle.

The ancient English Morris Dance, per-
formed with other quaint usages on the ist
of May, is supposed to be of Moorish origin.
It is depicted on an antique stained glass
window at Betley, in Staffordshire. The
May-pole and the Man with the Hobby
Horse (who represents a Moorish King, and
is the consort of the May Queen), occupy a
prominent position. The other characters

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

are the Fool, the Lesser Fool, Tom the
Piper, a Spaniard, the Franklin or private
gentleman, a Churl or peasant, the May
Queen, a Nobleman, and a Friar. The
dresses were adorned with bells, intended to
sound the measure of the dancers. They
were of different sizes, and were called the
fore bell, the second bell, the treble, the
tenor, and the great bell.

Planche, in his valuable work, the " Cyclo-
paedia of Costume," states the earliest illus-
tration of a bal costume is in a MS. of the
fifteenth century, in the Ambrosian Library
at Milan, and he gives a reproduction from
an old painting on wood dating from 1463,
representing a dance by torchlight at the
Court of Burgundy. Each person holds a
long lighted taper, and this dance, up to the
sixteenth century, was usually reserved for
wedding festivities. In England masked
balls were rare before the reign of William
III., and in France they first took place
during the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans,
when the Opera House was converted into a
ball-room. Father Sebastian, a Carmelite
friar, devised a means of elevating the floor
of the pit to the level of the stage, and of
lowering it at pleasure.

Ranelagh and Vauxhall Gardens, and
Belsize House, Hampstead, were also places
of popular resort, and scenes of many enter-
tainments during the eighteenth century.
There were pyrotechnic displays, bands of
music, frequent balls, and facilities for dinner
and supper parties. The lawns were dotted
with arbours, lakes, and artificial cascades ;
the trees were festooned with coloured lamps,
and the costumes of those who frequented
these gatherings were elaborate and costly.

From the writings of Horace Walpole and
others, we learn that private open-air galas
were of common occurrence among the aris-
tocracy, and he gives a description of a
festino at Northumberland House in honour
of the Marquess of Tavistock and his bride;
when arches and pyramids of lights alter-
nately surrounded the enclosure, and festoons
of lamps edged the railings. In 1761 Her
Majesty Queen Charlotte surprised her hus-
band on his birthday with a splendid garden
party, followed by fireworks, a cold supper of
a hundred dishes, and an illuminated dessert.
The Duke of Richmond celebrated a similar
occasion with a masked ball and music — the

vocal parts performed by many of the nobility,
in fancy dress. Here, too, there was a display
of fireworks in the garden and from the river.
Almack's new Subscription and Assembly
Room was opened in February, 1765, under
distinguished patronage; and Gibbon men-
tions a masquerade at a rival establishment,
the Pantheon, which he states was above par
in magnificence, and below par in humour,
and cost jQ'^(ioo.

Five o'clock was the dinner hour of
fashionable people during the eighteenth
century, and three for those of lower rank.
At eleven p.m. supper was usually served,
and breakfast was from nine to eleven a.m.
The House of Commons commenced sitting
at two, and the Opera began at seven.

At this period the domino (evolved from
the priestly cowl) was in great request, and
was used in the boxes of theatres for purposes
of concealment, and by those of questionable
morals. Though the large hoop towards the
close of the eighteenth century was only
worn at Court, or in full dress, the pocket
hoop for distending the panniers was still in
vogue. For the abolition of the Court hoop,
we are indebted to George IV., whose taste
in dress was unimpeachable. Powder and
patches maintained their ground till 1793,
when they were discarded by Queen Charlotte
and the Princesses. Aprons were regarded
as a necessary item of a fashionable costume
up to 1 750, and the watch and etui adorned the
waist, necklaces sparkled on the bosom, and
bracelets were worn over long gloves.

The French Revolution aff'ected masculine
costume; and in 1789 were introduced into
this country the muslin cravat, in which the
chin was partially concealed, stand-up collars,
Hessian boots, and round hats of beaver.
Scarlet coats were much in vogue about 1784,
and an anecdote in " The Life of Sir Astley
Cooper " represents him as returning from
a dancing academy in a scarlet coat, a three-
cocked hat, a black glazed stock, nankeen
knee-breeches, and silk stockings. This may
be regarded as the ordinary costume of a
gentleman at that period.

Wigs had begun to go out of fashion as
early as 1763, in which year the wigmakers
petitioned King George III. to support the
trade by his example. " The hair," says
Malcolm, "was dressed high on the head,
whitened with powder, and alternately plaited

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

and turned up or queued behind. When
the hair powder tax — one guinea per annum
— was enforced in 1795, thousands of heads
reverted to their natural colour.

Some brilliant fancy dress balls (with a
view to encouraging home trade) have taken
place during the
Victorian era. Of
the first, which
was given by the
Queen and Prince
Consort at Buck-
higham Palace in
1842, a permanent
memorial exists
in two handsome
volumes compiled
by J. R, Planche,
containing care-
fully coloured il-
lustrations of the
various dresses,
and autograph
portraits of the
wearers. They
form an invaluable
book of reference
for those desiring
accurate represen-
tations of the cos-
tume of the
period of Edward

III. (1327-1377)-
A special feature
of this ball was a
series of costume
quadrilles, ar-
ranged by ladies
of the Court and
others of high
rank. They were
danced in the fol-
lowing order : —

French quad-
r i 1 1 e, led by
H . R . H. the
Duchess of Cam-
bridge.

Spanish quadrille, led by the Duchess of
Buccleuch.

German quadrille, led by the Duchess of
Sutherland.

Crusaders' quadrille, led by the Mar-
chioness of Londonderry.

PRINCE ALBERT AS EDWARD III.

Waverley quadrille, led by the Countess
de la Warn

Scotch quadrille, led by the Duchess of
Buccleuch,

Cossack quadrille, led by Baroness Bremon.
Greek quadrille, led by the Duchess of
■ Leinster.

Prince Albert,
as Edward III,
wore a costume
copied from the
effigy of that king
in Westminster
Abbey. It con-
sisted of a long
tunic of gold and
blue brocade,
reaching to the
ankles. The
collar, which fitted
close round the
neck, was bor-
dered with purple
velvet, thickly
studded with
jewels. The tunic,
which had an
opening up the
centre to the
height of the knee,
was bordered and
enriched with
jewels to corre-
spond with the
collar, as were the
wristbands. The
hose were scarlet,
also the shoes,
which were em-
broidered with
gold. Over the
tunic. His Royal
Highness wore a
mantle reaching
to the heels, com-
posed of the rich-
est scarlet velvet,
bordered by a
broad gold figured lace, set on each side with
large pearls. It was lined with ermine, and
connected across the breast by a band of
purple velvet, studded with diamonds, rubies,
and emeralds, and in the centre was a tur-
quoise of immense size and perfect colour.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

The band was fastened to the mantle on
either side by a massive gold ornament
enriched with precious stones.

Her Majesty the Queen as Philippa of
Hainault, wife of Edward III., was attired in
a demi-trained skirt of crimson velvet, edged
with miniver. Over this was worn a surcoat
of blue and gold brocade, trimmed with fur
to match, and embellished with a stomacher
of jewels valued
at ;^6o,ooo. The
other portions of
the costume were
also studded with
jewels. The man-
tle was of gold
brocade, with a
floral design in
silver. .The hair
was encased in a
gold net, enriched
with precious
stones, and was
surmounted by a
crown.

Princess Au-
gusta of Cam-
bridge personated
Princess Claude,
daughter of Anne
of Bretagne,
Queen of France.
Her dress of sil-
ver tissue was
bordered with er-
mine, and the
tunic was of light
blue velvet,
worked with the
fleur - de - lis in
silver. The low
bodice was bor
dered with dia-
m o n d s. The
sleeves of silver

tissue reached to the wrist, and were
trimmed with rows of pearls. The gloves
were jewelled, and a white tulle veil
with silver embroideries depended from a
turquoise and pearl diadem. By Her
Majesty's command, her own dress, that of
Prince Consort, and most of the costumes
worn at this ball, were manufactured by the
silk-weavers of Spitalfields.

For the second royal ball in June, 1845,
the period of George II. (1727 - 1760)
was selected, and 1200 guests were invited.
The Queen looked extremely well in powder,
and her dress is described as of cloth of
gold and cloth of silver, with daisies and
poppies worked in silk, and shaded in natural
colours. The trimmings and ruffles of
exquisite point lace — had belonged to Queen

(•| » II , , . , ^ »

QUEEN VICTORIA AS PHILIPPA, WIFE OF EDWARD III.

Charlotte — and the stomacher was trimmed
with lace and jewels. The sacque was orna-
mented with ribbons, caught with diamonds.
On the powdered coiffure was a diamond
crown ; Her Majesty's white shoes had red
rosettes with diamond centres, and she wore
the star and ribbon of the Order of the
Garter. Prince Albert had a costume of
the same period, with the Star of the Garter,

THE EVOLUTION OE EASHION.

and the Order of the Golden Fleece in
briUiants. The Marchioness of Douro, the
Duke of Wellington's daughter-in-law, was
the acknowledged belle of this ball, and wore
;^6o,ooo worth of diamonds. Miss — now
the Baroness — Burdett Coutts was also
present, her dress trimmed with jewels once
the property of Marie Antoinette.

In 187 1 the Princess of Wales attended
the Waverley Ball at Willis' Rooms, with
several other members of the Royal
Family, and was much admired in the
character of the ill-fated Mary Stuart. On
July 22nd, 1874, a fancy dress ball was given
by their Royal Highnesses the Prince and
Princess of Wales at Marlborough House,
for which some beautiful costumes were
prepared. The Princess wore a handsome
Venetian dress, and danced in the first quad-
rille with the present Duke of Devonshire.
The Prince in a Cavalier costume opened
the ball with the late Duchess of Sutherland.
The chief costume quadrilles on this occasion
were the Venetian, the Vandyck, Characters
in Fairy Tales, and a Pack of Cards.

Another historic bal costume was given
in February, 1895, at Warwick Castle, by the
Earl and Countess of Warwick. No more
fitting background for such a function can
be imagined than this stately mansion, which
has been a centre of hospitality for countless
generations, but has never been presided
over by no more gracious and popular
chatelaine than the present Countess. Lady
Warwick looked very beautiful as Marie
Antoinette (the consort of Louis XVL of
France) in a petticoat and corsage of exqui-
site English brocade, with a design of shaded
roses, enriched with gold thread on a pearl-
coloured ground. The train of royal blue
velvet, embroidered in gold thread with the
fleur-de-lis, was attached to the shoulders by a
band of diamonds; and the Warwick jewels,
diamond stars, were arranged on the corsage
veiled with gold flecked gauze, which was
also employed for the puffed sleeves. Her
elaborate white coiffure was surmounted by
a white muslin cap edged with blue velvet
and adorned with diamond aigrettes and
plumes of pink, white, and blue feathers.
Lady Marjorie Greville (the only daughter of
Lord and Lady Warwick) with Miss Hamilton
acted as train - bearers. They wore the
daintiest white costumes of the period, com-

posed of broche silk, with fichus of white
chiffon, and silk hats trimmed with feathers.
Each carried a long crook tied with white
ribbons and bunches of flowers, and the
effect was charming. The Earl of Warwick
wore a French Court costume, the coat of
ruby velvet profusely trimmed with gold lace,
white cloth cuffs, and revers. The long
white kerseymere waistcoat was braided in
gold, and the white knee-breeches and low
shoes were ornamented with diamond buckles.
The Earl's wig, a la mousquetaire, was tied
with a bow of black ribbon, and he carried
a tricorne hat with white ostrich plumes, and
white gauntlet gloves. Lady Warwick's two
sisters, the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady
Angela Forbes, represented Marie Letzinka,
consort of Louis XV., and Lady Mary
Campbell. The former wore a magnificent
gown of white satin de Lyon. The skirt
embroidered with a flight of swallows in
silver and crystals, a deep bertha of Point de
Flandre, with ruffles of the same on the
short sleeves. The train of crimson velvet
was embroidered with the French emblem,
and Her Grace had a stomacher of splendid
diamonds. Lady Angela Forbes' dress was
of white muslin, with a blue sash, and
picturesque hat of turquoise silk, trimmed with
feathers and roses. Princess Henry of Pless,
as la Duchesse de Polignac, had a dress of
rich white satin, the skirt embroidered i8in.
deep, with turquoises and brilliants, a pow-
dered wig, and the same jewels in her hair.
Lady Eva Dugdale, sister to the Earl of
Warwick, and lady-in-waiting to Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of York, wore a Louis
Quinze white satin dress, covered with pink
roses, corsage en suite fastened with large
diamond ornaments. A silver trellis pattern
was worked round the hem of the skirt, and
white silk mittens and shoes completed the
costume. Lady Rosslyn chose a white
embroidered muslin petticoat, the overdress
of pink and red striped silk, fichu and ruches
of black lisse, and a picturesque hat. Lady
Flo Sturt, as Madame la Marquise de Pom-
padour, was in rich cream satin, with bodice
and sleeves of antique lace, and stomacher
of diamonds. A black satin toque, with
aigrette of diamonds, contrasted well with
the white wig. Count Deym, the Austrian
Ambassador, was in English Court dress.
Prince Henry of Pless, in mousquetaire cos-

G 2

THE F. VOLUTION OF FASHION.

tume, represented the Vicomte de Bragelonne.
The Duke of Manchester was in white satin
breeches, waistcoat to match, bordered with
gold, and coat of white and silver brocade
with moss roses and foliage.

The scene inside the Castle was one of
unparalleled brilliancy, while those who
glanced from the mullioned windows saw by
bright moonlight the Avon frozen, the ancient
cedars glistening with frost, and the surround-
ing country wrapped in a snowy mantle. The
entire ground floor of the Castle was thrown
open, and no pains were spared to give as
complete a representation as possible of the
gorgeous fetes which made the Court of
Marie Antoinette famous throughout Europe.
The finest spectacle presented itself when
the guests assembled at supper in the oak-
lined hall, where the light of a thousand
candles was reflected in the bright steel
armour which surrounded the walls. Several
high screens, hung with Beauvais tapestry
and shaded by huge palms, filled the angles
of the hall, and the stone walls were partially
concealed by yellow and silver embroideries.
In the huge fireplace logs crackled, and on
small round tables were placed silver can-
delabra with crimson shades and floral deco-
rations, consisting of scarlet geraniums and
maiden-hair fern. The centre table was
reserved for Marie Antoinette and her Court,
and here was the choicest display of family
plate, including, amongst other valuable
specimens of the goldsmith's art, a golden
cup modelled by Benvenuto Cellini. From
the hall you entered the Red Drawing-room,
which contains a marble table, inlaid with
flowers and fruit, and formerly the property
of Marie Antoinette. Next is the Cedar
Drawing-room, used as the ball-room, on
whose walls are many family portraits and
other paintings by Vandyck ; the remainder
of the suite of State apartments were used as
with drawing-rooms between the dances; and
at the opposite end of the Casde is the Library,
the Billiard-room, and the Countess's lovely
Louis Seize Boudoir, in ivory tints, with
festoons of delicately-shaded flowers.

Dancing was carried on with great spirit
till early morning, and the tardy winter sun
had risen ere the last carriage drove away
from one of the most successful balls of the
nineteenth century.

Among the many important entertainments

given by members of the English aristocracy
in honour of the sixtieth year of the reign of
Queen Victoria, was a Costume Ball at
Devonshire House, Piccadilly, on July 2nd,
1897, when the Duke and Duchess of
Devonshire received nearly all the members
of the Royal Family, many distinguished
guests from the Colonies, and members of
the Corps Diplomatique. This historic
mansion was built for the third Duke of
Devonshire, and it was here that Geogiana,
the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, held
her Court. It contains a fine suite of recep-
tion rooms on the first floor; a gallery of
pictures, in which the old masters are well
represented ; and extensive grounds in the
rear, which on this occasion were decorated
with thousands of Chinese lanterns and fairy
lamps. The principal feature of the ball was
a grand procession of the guests, headed by
the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the
former personating Charles V. of Germany,
and the latter attired with Oriental magnifi-
cence as Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in a
robe of silver tissue wrought with jewels.
The mantle was of cloth of gold similarly
treated, and the bodice was also studded
with precious stones. The head-dress con-
sisted of white ostrich plumes and a golden
and jewelled crown, from which depended
chains of pearls. H.R.H. the Princess of
Wales, as Margaret of Valois, was surrounded
by the ladies of her Court, their Royal
Highnesses Princess Charles of Denmark,
Princess Victoria of Wales, the Duchess of
Fife, and the Duchess of York. The
Princess of Wales wore a gown of white
satin wrought with silver, and a train of cloth
of gold lined with silver and superbly
jewelled. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, as
Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers of
St. John of Jerusalem and Chevalier of
Malta, wore a rich Elizabethan costume
carried out in black and silver, and bearing
the white cross of the Order on one shoulder.
The Duke of York represented the Earl of
Cumberland, one of Queen Elizabeth's
courtiers. Prince Charles of Denmark was a
Danish student. The Duke of Connaught
wore the uniform of a military commander
during the reign of Elizabeth, and the
Duchess looked charming as Queen Anne of
Austria in a picturesque gown with puffed
sleeves. The Eastern Queens were magnifi-

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

cently arrayed and blazing with jewels.
Lady de Trafford was Semiramis, Empress
of Assyria, in a dress copied from a vase in
the British Museum. Princess Henry of
Pless was Queen of Sheba, in a robe and
train of shot purple and gold tissue, elabo-
rately embroidered with turquoises and other
stones, and wore an Assyrian jewelled head-
dress, decorated with a diamond bird and
aigrette. Another Queen of Sheba was Lady
Cynthia Graham, and there were two Cleo-
patras — Lady de Grey and Mrs. Arthur
Paget. The husband of the latter accom-
panied her as Mark Antony. Lady Elcho
was a Byzantine Queen, Miss Muriel Wilson
was Queen Vashti, and the Countess of
Dudley, as Queen Esther, wore a dress of
white crepe, embroidered with gold and
studded with amethysts, turquoises, and
pearls.

The Elizabethan Court was represented by
Lady Tweedmouth as Queen Elizabeth, in a
gown copied from a picture in the National
Portrait Gallery. Her canopy was carried
by four yeomen in uniforms of crimson,
black, and gold, copied from Holbein's
picture of " The Field of the Cloth of Gold,"
in the Hampton Court collection. Lord
Tweedmouth was the Earl of Leicester, in
slashed doublet and hose of ruby velvet and
satin, enriched with gold embroidery. Lady
Edmondstone, as Mary Queen of Scots, wore
a dress of pale blue velvet, and tulle veil
head-dress and ruff worked with pearls. She
was attended by the Duchess of Hamilton,
dressed in the character of Mary Hamilton,
the Queen's favourite maid of honour. The
Countess of Warwick, as Marie Antoinette,

was beautifully dressed in a petticoat of rich
white satin and a Court gown of English
brocade, with a train of Royal blue velvet.
The hair was powdered, and she was attended
by four pages in white satin suits and three-
cornered hats, bearing over her ladyship a
canopy of blue velvet. This group included
the Duchess of Sutherland, as Charlotte
Corday,in a gown of red crepe de Chine, a
mushn fichu and cap, trimmed with point
d'Alengon lace, and dagger at waist. Lady
Westmorland made a lovely Hebe, and Lady
Angela Forbes, as the Queen of Naples, wore
an Empire gown of ivory duchesse satin,
embroidered with silver and diamonds, and
a train of lilac velvet, edged with jewelled
embroidery and lined with satin. The head-
dress consisted of a small jewelled crown and
two white feathers. Among many other
notable costumes should be mentioned the
Marchioness of Tweedale's, as the Empress
Josephine, as she appears in the Coronation
picture at the Louvre, Paris ; the Marchioness
of Londonderry, as the Empress Marie
Therese, of Austria, and the Marchioness of
Zetland's, as Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of
Charles L of England; Viscountess Rain-
cliffe, as the Empress Catherine IL of Russia,
wore white satin, and her dress was an exact
copy of the picture in the British Museum by
Lambi. The Court gown of the Duchess of
Portland, as Duchesse de Savoia, who headed
the Venetian procession, was composed of
white satin veiled, with lisse wrought with
silver, partially covered by a silver cloth
mantle, embroidered with pearls and dia-
monds, and diamonds and emeralds were
introduced in the coiffure.

Chapter X.
STAGE AND FLORAL COSTUME.

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

Chapter X
STAGE AND FLORAL COSTUME.

" All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts."

GARRICK was one of the first of our
English actors to realize how much
the success of a piece depended upon
appropriate costume, and, on his taking the
management of Drury Lane Theatre in 1747,
at once turned his attention to this important
branch of dramatic art. He refused to
tolerate the absurdity of a heterogeneous
mixture of the foreign and
ancient modes, which had
hitherto debased tragedies by
representing, for instance, Greek
soldiers in full-bottomed wigs,
and the King of an Oriental
Nation in trunk hose. The im-
provement, however, must have
been very gradual, for Garrick is
said to have played the part of
Macbeth ten years later in a
gold-laced suit of sky blue and
scarlet ; while Mrs. Yates as
Lady Macbeth appeared in a
hooped court petticoat of enorm-
ous dimensions, with tight-fitting
pointed bodice and elbow sleeves,
and her powdered hair dressed
over a high cushion. Garrick's
suits for the characters of King
Lear and Hamlet also followed
the fashions of the i8th century,
though he played Richard HL
in a fancy dress designed with
some regard to correctness of
detail. Even during the present
century, an equally absurd an-
achronism may be recorded. The late Mr.
Charles Mathews made his first appearance in
public, at the Theatre Royal, Richmond, as
Richmond in Richard HL, wearing the
helmet and jacket of a modern light horse
soldier.

The first pantomime or harlequinade was
played in England in 1 717, and the earliest

A TURKISH MAIDEN

illustration of an English harlequin in the
dress now familiar to us, is to be found in a
sketch of Bartholomew Fair, dated 1721.
Of the characters of columbine, pantaloon,
and clown, we have no contemporary
drawings. Of the French ballet dancers of
this period there are some carefully-executed
plates in Planche's "Cyclopaedia of Costume.'^
They are all represented in long, and some-
times in trained skirts. The first example of
the abbreviated ballet skirt, reaching to the
knee, is given in the portrait of an actress
personating Le Zephyr, about
the middle of the iSth century.
The peasant costume of various
nations has also been adapted
to stage purposes with excellent
effect.

The late Hon. Lewis Wingfield
devoted much time to designing
the stage dresses of the Victorian
era, and Madame Alias — who
has also passed away — provided
the costumes in Mr. Calvert's re-
vival of Henry VHL, and was also
responsible for dressing many of
the Alhambra ballets and the
plays at London and provincial
theatres. Madame Bernhardt,
Miss Ellen Terry, Mrs. Langtry,
Sir Henry Irving, and the late
Sir Augustus Harris have also
brought their influence, money,
and taste to bear on correct stage
costume, with the result that we
have had many sumptuously-
dressed revivals and new plays,
which otherwise might have sunk
into oblivion. Such spectacles
as are often to be seen at our leading Metro-
politan theatres and music halls, if they fail
to touch the public fancy, mean absolute and
irretrievable ruin to their promoters; and when
it is remembered that many thousands are
spent annually in staging theatrical enter-
prises, before a single seat is booked, it will
at once be seen what enormous sums must

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

be involved in furthering dramatic interests
The public, who have for the last sixty years
been catered for so generously, are some-
times apt to overlook the difficulties with
which the scenic artist has to contend.

It would be impossible within the circum-
scribed limit of a single volume to minutely
describe even the most notable theatrical
costumes of the last half century, but a few
of the most effective floral costumes will be
appended for the benefit of those who desire
to introduce them into various entertain-
ments.

The steady patronage of Her Majesty the
Queen and the Royal Family
have done much to remove any
prejudices which existed against
the drama, and as a powerful
auxiliary to education the
stage is rapidly gaining ground.
Dull, indeed, must the theatre-
goer be if he leaves without
having assimilated some valu-
able lesson. To Shakespeare
we owe many ideal types of
womanhood, all the more
precious now that some of
the weaker sex, in an insati-
able desire for progress, some-
times neglect those lesser arts
which in the past proved to
them a shield and buckler.
The classical and historical
pieces allow us to live again
in scenes which occurred when
the world was young, and con-
vince us, though the tastes
of the people were simpler,
human nature, with its passions
and aspirations, has changed
but little. Who can deny the moral influence
of such plays as " The Sign of the Cross,"
" Hypatia," " The Daughters of Babylon,"
''Virginius," or those of the Robertson
school, of which " Caste " and " Ours " are
examples? A love of music is not considered
a marked trait of the English nation, yet
have not Italian and comic opera stimulated
a desire for a concord of sweet sounds among
all classes of the community ? Such plays as
•Patience" and the "Mikado" have de-
veloped our instinct for colour and form, and
we are taught the value of industry and
restraint when we watch well-trained actors.

capable of controlling every gesture, and of
charming us with their well-modulated voices.
Our lives are cheered by viewing the comic
side of things, and on our clothing and
household possessions, the stage has also laid
a refining hand.

FLORAL COSTUMES.

A POPPY.

The bodice and skirt of red accordion,
pleated mousseline de soie, the petals of the
flower and belt in bright red silk. Large
silk poppies appear on the
shoulders and bust, and one
of extra size is used for a
head-dress. With this cos-
tume neat black shoes and silk
stockings should be worn, and
a palm-leaf fan covered with
poppies and foliage should be
carried.

LILY OF THE VALLEY

Corsage and skirt of white
pleated Valenciennes lace
mounted on green silk. A
full berthe of the flowers.
White lace hat entirely
covered with these blooms,
and fan to correspond.

MOSS ROSE.

Gown of pink satin, veiled

with tulle and flecked with

rose buds. A ruche of moss

A POPPY. roses at the hem of the skirt

and on the bodice. A Dolly

Varden hat trimmed with moss roses and

pink ribbon.

WILD ROSE.

Dress of shot pink and white satin, em-
broidered or painted with clusters and trails
of wild roses and foliage. Skirt edged with
full ruche of pink tulle studded with roses,
and corsage trimmed to correspond. Coiffure
poudre dressed with small basket of roses and
pink ribbon.

WHITE ROSE.
Gown with Watteau train of white satin

THE EVOLUTION OF FASHION.

edged with leaveless roses, chains of the
same flowers carried across the front of the
dress, and outhning the square-cut bodice,
and elbow sleeves. Ruffles of lace. A
wreath of white roses in the powdered hair,
and a crook decorated with flowers and
ribbon streamers.

SUMMER ROSES.

Gown of cream-coloured brocade, with
design in shaded roses and foliage, trimmed
with garland of roses of different tints em-
bedded in tulle. Decollete corsage trimmed
to correspond, and a damask rose worn in
the hair.

WILD FLOWERS.

Dress of pale blue satin, veiled with green
tulle. Trails of forget-me-nots, poppies,
marguerites, buttercups, and grass depending
from the waist-belt to edge of skirt, and
bodice trimmed to correspond. A Leghorn
hat garnished with wild flowers, grass, and
blue ribbons.

GARDENL^.

Greek dress of white crepe de Chinei
embroidered in classical design with silver-
In front diagonal trails of gardenias and their
dark foliage arranged from the right shoulder
to left side of dress. The hair bound with
silver bands. A shower bouquet to corre-
spond.

THE SHAMROCK.

Gown of emerald green satin appliqued
with velvet shamrocks of a darker shade.
The stomacher a large trefoil in emeralds,
and the short sleeves cut to resemble the
Irish emblem. Corsage veiled with green

tulle strewn with tiny shamrocks,
coronet of the same in the hair.

and a

THE THISTLE.
High dress of eau de nil satin. The

ikirt

edged with a wreath of thistles, which are
also embroidered in a bold design on the
front of gown and bodice. Satin hat trimmed
with thistles and ribbon, and black staff tied
with thistles and ribbon streamers, r,

DANDELION.

Gown of yellow accordion, pleated chiffon
finished on the skirt with trails of flowers from
the waist to hem of the skirt, interspersed
with the seed pods commonly known as blow-
aways. The bodice of pleated yellow chiffon
with dandelions across the berthe and clusters
on the shoulders. A wreath and aigrette to
correspond.

IRIS.

Dress of white satin, veiled with mauve
chiffon, flecked with iris petals. Trails of
mauve and white flowers tied with bows of
satin in alternate shades, and carried across
the skirt. Square cut corsage to correspond,
and elbow sleeves. A muslin cap trimmed
with the same flowers. Powdered hair.

LILAC.

Gown of cream satin brocaded with mauve
and white lilac, Marie Antoinette, white chiffon
fichu, and cap trimmed with clusters of
shaded lilac and foliage. Elbow sleeves with
chiffon ruffles. The white satin fan painted
to correspond, and caught by a flower chate-
laine. The hair dressed with the same
flowers, and a twisted scarf of mauve and
white chiffon.

PRINTED BY G. REVEIRS, GRAYSTOKE PLACE, FETTER LANE, E.G.

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