MALE COSTUMES.
The reign of Anne (a Stuart), is taken with those of the early Hanoverians, as the costumes of the three reigns were so similar.
Anne and George I.
With the former of these reigns, all the chivalric costume except the sword disappeared, the latter still completing the full dress of the Court of St. James’.
Planché, in his “History of British Costume,” very tersely describes the costume of the gentlemen of these reigns:—
“Square-cut coats and long-flapped waistcoats with pockets in them, the latter meeting the stockings, still drawn up over the knee so high as to entirely conceal the breeches, but gartered below it; large hanging cuffs and lace ruffles; the skirts of the coats stiffened out with wire or buckram, from between which peeped the hilt of the sword, deprived of the broad and splendid belt in which it swung in the preceding reigns; blue or scarlet silk stockings, with gold or silver cloaks; lace neckcloths; square-toed, short-quartered shoes, with high red heels and small buckles; very long and formally curled perukes, black riding-wigs, bag-wigs and nightcap-wigs; small three-cornered hats laced with gold or silver galloon, and sometimes trimmed with feathers, comprise the habit of the nobleman and gentleman during the reigns of Queen Anne and George I.”
The large-skirted coat is really the precursor of the modern frock-coat. Full-bottomed wigs were very expensive to the wearer, for in a wig-maker’s bill, dated December 17th, 1712, we find an item as follows:—“For a long, full-bottomed periwig, £12:10:0.” Many interesting peeps are given us at the costume of the time from the advertisements which appeared in the public papers of the losses or robbery of clothes.
In 1714 a gentleman advertised that he was robbed of his wardrobe, consisting of “a scarlet cloth suit, laced with broad gold lace, lined and faced with blue, a fine cinnamon cloth suit with plate buttons, the waistcoat fringed with a silk fringe of the same colour; and a rich yellow flowered satin morning-gown lined with a cherry-coloured satin, with a pocket on the right side.”
George I. was not inclined to changes in dress, for he was by no means young when he succeeded to the throne. Indeed, it is said that from the days of Charles II. till the accession of George III. the Court gave little encouragement to dress.
The beau of 1727 is described as dressed in “a fine linen shirt, the ruffles and bosom of Mechlin lace, a small wig with an enormous queue or tail, his coat well garnished with lace, black velvet breeches, red heels to his shoes and gold clocks to his stockings, his hat beneath his arm, a sword by his side, and himself well scented.”
There were many minor changes in articles of dress, such as the introduction of the Ramilies cock of the hat (Fig. 3) soon after the battle of Ramilies, and a wig also took its name from the same event. It was invented by an enterprising wig-maker, and had the tail plaited to the taste of the Swiss female peasant, having a black tie at the top and another at the bottom. It is not flowing at the sides, but consists of a bushy heap of well-powdered hair (Fig. 3). The fashion of “cocking” the hat or turning up the brim, had many changes, and by the cock of the hat, the occupation of the man who wore it was known; and it varied from the modest broad brim of the clergy and countrymen to the slightly upturned hat of the country gentleman or citizen.
A large hat, called the Kevenhuller hat, of extravagant proportions, was worn (Fig. 7), and it was generally patronised by military men or bullies about town after the type of the Mohocks, Bloods, &c.
In the reign of George II. there was no alteration in the general character of male costumes. The pigtail appeared in 1745, and some young men wore their own hair, dressed and powdered, about 1751.
The costume of the ordinary classes during these reigns was very simple, and consisted of a plain coat, buttoned up the front, a long waistcoat reaching to the knees, both having capacious pockets with great overlapping flaps, plain bob (short and round) wigs, hats slightly turned up, and high quartered shoes.
The works of Hogarth afford abundant examples of the costumes of the reign of George II. Thanks to his skilful pencil we are familiar with the square-cut coats, flapped waistcoats and knee breeches of the first half of the 18th century. The use of muffs by men may be traced back to the exquisites of Louis XIV., and were as commonly carried by men as by women.
PLATE 51.
(Fig 1): Costume of a gentleman of the time of Queen Anne and George I. (Fig. 2): A clergyman’s hat (1745), from Hogarth. (Fig. 3): A fashionable cock, as worn by merchants and well-to-do Londoners, known as the Ramilies cock, with the Ramilies wig. (Fig. 4): Costume of a gentleman of the time of George I. (1720). (Fig. 5): Costume of a gentleman of 163the time of George II., from “The School of Venus, or the Lady’s Miscellany,” 1739. He wears a small wig and hat, and a long wide-skirted coat. (Fig. 6): A plain and decisively cocked hat, which was in fashion in 1745, and a bag-wig beneath it. (Fig. 7): The Kevenhuller hat, of extravagant proportions, as worn by military men, or bullies about town. (Fig. 8): Costume of a gentleman, from a print dated 1744.
[FEMALE COSTUMES.]
At Anne’s accession little change was made in the costumes of ladies, as the Queen was of too retiring a disposition to introduce any originality in that direction.
In 1711 Addison, in the “Spectator,” devoted a whole number to the subject of ladies’ head-dress, commencing with a declaration “that there is not so variable a thing in nature,” adding, “within my own memory I have known it rise and fall about 30 degrees. About ten years ago it shot up to a very great height, insomuch that the female part of our species were much taller than the men” (allusion to the Commode). “I remember several ladies that were once very near seven feet high, and at present want some inches of five feet.” After about fifteen years the high Commode again came into fashion, but the startling novelty was the hoop-petticoat. It widened gradually from the waist to the ground, the gown being looped up round the body in front and falling in loose folds behind (Pl. [52], Fig. 1.). A writer of the time says of this fashion: “Nothing can be imagined more unnatural, and, consequently, less agreeable. When a slender woman stands upon a basis so inordinately wide, she resembles a funnel, a figure of no great elegancy.”
About this time, ladies, particularly in their riding costumes, imitated the costumes of the men, wearing a cocked beaver hat and feathers, hair curled and powdered and tied like a man’s, coat and waistcoat like a man, with a petticoat below the waist. Sir Roger de Coverley, when looking at a young sporting lady, was about to address her as “Sir,” until he cast his eye lower and saw her petticoat.
In contrast with the extravagance shown in the quantity and quality of the materials used for ladies’ dresses, how cheaply the poor could dress at this time may be gathered from an entry in some parish accounts in Norfolk in 1719: “Paid for clading of the Widow Bernard with a gown, petticoat, bodice, hose, shoes, apron and stomacher, 18s. 6d.”
In the time of George I. there were few innovations in fashion set by the Court.
In the reign of George II. the ladies still laced as tightly, and their hoops were as ugly and inconvenient as ever; but generally speaking, every lady dressed only as pleased herself, so that there was an enormous variety of costumes worn at all public assemblies. At the close of this reign there was a great rage for pastoral plays and Court masques, in which the ladies of the Court and the noblemen appeared as country-folk, shepherds, shepherdesses, milkmaids, &c.
Their garments were cut in a simple style after the characters whom they represented, but they were of very costly materials, with diamonds and other precious stones as ornaments. Ladies often wore white muslin aprons similar to that of a modern waitress, and it is said that Beau Nash, the Master of the Ceremonies, and “King of Bath,” disliked them so much at social gatherings, that he took one off a Duchess at one of the assemblies, and threw it among the waiting women.
The fashions in dress changed so rapidly, however, and were so numerous, that it is impossible to record all the variations of the times. Their diversity and variety will be seen by looking at any of the prints recording social events, which are found in our public collections and are reproduced in the magazines.
PLATE 52.
(Fig. 1): A lady with a very tightly laced bodice and hoop petticoat, in fashion about 1718. (Fig. 2): A lady in the fashion of 1755, showing a later development of the hoop petticoat, when, owing to the torrent of invectives levelled at it, it became more constricted in its dimensions. In this form it much resembles the farthingale of Elizabeth’s time. (Fig. 3): Hooded head-dress worn in 1727; a complete envelope for the head, commonly used in riding and travelling, as well as when walking in the parks. It was called a Nithisdale, because when Lord Nithisdale escaped from the Tower dressed as a woman, by the assistance of his devoted wife, his features were concealed in a hood like this. (Fig. 4): Hat of the milk-maid type, such as was affected by ladies in 1727 (from the “Musical Entertainer”). (Fig. 5): High-heeled and small-pointed shoe of embroidered silk, with a thin sole of leather such as was worn by the lady in Fig. 7. (Fig. 6): The clog for the shoe seen in Fig. 5 is made of leather, ornamented by coloured silk threads worked with a needle. Figs. 5 and 6 are from Hone’s “Everyday Book.” (Fig. 7): A good specimen of the fashion in the hoop petticoat, from a curious print called the “Review,” published about 1740. 165-166 The hoop, which was formed of whalebone, stretches the dress on all sides, so that it rises from the ground, and allows the small-pointed, high-heeled shoes to be seen. The wearer had to double the hoop round in front, or lifted it up on each side when she entered a door or carriage, and, when seated, she occupied the space usually allotted for half a dozen of the male sex. (All the above are from contemporary engravings.)