George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, tells us what he thought of such attire. He wrote satirically:—
“If one have store of ribands hanging about his waist or his knees and in his hat; of divers colours red, white black or yellow, O! then he is a brave man. He hath ribands on his back, belly and knees, and his hair powdered, this is the array of the world. Are not these that have got ribands hanging about their arms, hands, back, waist, knees, hats, like fiddlers’ boys? And further if one get a pair of breeches like a coat and hang them about with points, and tied up almost to the middle, a pair of double cuffs on his hands, and a feather in his cap, here is a gentleman!”
These beribboned garments were a French mode. The breeches were the “rhingraves” of the French court, which were breeches made wholly of loops of ribbons—like two ribboned petticoats. They caught the eye of seafaring men; we know that Jack ashore loves finery. We are told of sea-captains wearing beribboned breeches as they came into quiet little American ports, and of one English gallant landing from a ship in sober Boston, wearing breeches made wholly from waist to knee of overlapping loops of gay varicolored ribbon. It is recorded that “the boys did wonder and call out thereat,” and they “were chided therefor.” It is easy to picture the scene: the staring boys, born in Boston, of Puritan parents, of dignified dress, and more familiar with fringes on the garments of savage Indians than on the breeches of English gentlemen; we can see the soberly reproving minister or schoolmaster looking with equal disapproval on the foppish visitor and the mannerless boys; and the gayly dressed ship’s captain, armed with self-satisfaction and masculine vanity, swaggering along the narrow streets of the little town. It mattered not what he wore or what he did, a seafaring man was welcome. I wonder what the governor thought of those beribboned breeches! Perhaps he ordered a pair from London for himself,—of sad-colored ribbons,—offering the color as a compromise for the over-gayety of the ribbons. Randle Holme gave in 1658 three descriptions of the first petticoat-breeches, with drawings of each. One had the lining lower than the breeches, and tied in about the knees; ribbons extended halfway up the breeches, and ribbons hung out from the doublet all about the waistband. The second had a single row of pointed ribbons hanging all around the lower edge of the breeches; these were worn with stirrup-hose two yards wide at the top, tied by points and eyelet-holes to the breeches. The third had stirrup-hose tied to the breeches, and another pair of hose over them turned down at the calf of the leg, and the ribbons edged the stirrup-hose. His drawings of them are foolish things—not even pretty. He says ribbons were worn first at the knees, then at the waist at the doublet edge, then around the neck, then on the wrists and sleeves. These knee-ribbons formed what Dryden called in 1674 “a dangling knee-fringe.” It is difficult for me to think of Dryden living at that period of history. He seems to me infinitely modern in comparison with it. Evelyn describes the wearer of such a suit as “a fine silken thing”; and tells that the ribbons were of “well-chosen colours of red, orange, and blew, of well-gummed satin, which augured a happy fancy.”
In 1672 a suit of men’s clothes was made for the beautiful Duchess of Portsmouth to wear to a masquerade; this was with “Rhingrave breeches and cannons.” The suit was of dove-colored silk brocade trimmed with scarlet and silver lace and ribbons.
The ten yards of brocade for this beautiful suit cost £;14. The Rhingrave breeches were trimmed with thirty-six yards of figured scarlet ribbon and thirty-six yards of plain satin ribbon and thirty-six of scarlet taffeta ribbon; this made one hundred and eight yards of ribbon—a great amount—an unusable amount. I fear the tailor was not honest. There were also as trimmings twenty-two yards of scarlet and silver vellum lace for guards; six dozen scarlet and silver vellum buttons, smaller breast buttons, narrow laces for the waistcoat, and silver twist for buttonholes. The suit was lined with lutestring. There was a black beaver hat with scarlet and silver edging, and lace embroidered scarlet stockings, a rich belt and lace garters, and point lace ruffles for the neck, sleeves, and knees. This suit had an interlining of scarlet camlet; and lutestring drawers seamed with scarlet and silver lace. The total bill of £;59 would be represented to-day by $1400,—a goodly sum,—but it was a goodly suit. There is a portrait of the Duchess of Richmond in a similar suit, now at Buckingham Palace. Portraits of the Duke of Bedford, and of George I, painted by Kneller, are almost equally beribboned. The one of the king is given facing this page to show his ribbons and also the extraordinary shoes, which were fashionable at this date.
George I.
“Indians gowns,” or banyans, were for a century worn in England and America, and are of enough importance to receive a separate chapter in this book. The graceful folds allured all men and all portrait painters, just as the fashionable new china allured all women. The banyan was not the only Oriental garment which had become of interest to Englishmen. John Evelyn described in his Tyrannus or the Mode the “comeliness and usefulnesse” of all Persian clothing; and he noted with justifiable gratification that the new attire which had recently been adopted by King Charles II was “a comely dress after ye Persian mode.” He says modestly, “I do not impute to this my discourse the change which soone happened; but it was an identity I could not but take notice of.”
Rugge in his Diurnal describes the novel dress which was assumed by King Charles and the whole court, due notice of a subject of so much importance having been given to the council the previous month; and notice of the king’s determination “never to change it,” which he kept like many another of his promises and resolutions.