The original three-cornered hat remains in the head-dress of State coachmen of Royal and noble families, and of the Lord Mayor of London, while the chapeau-de-bras is still worn as part of the Court dress.
The French Revolution also affected the wig. It had, during the latter half of the 18th century, become smaller and smaller, and the natural hair was plastered and powdered till it was, at last, as ugly as a wig. This fashion remains in the present day in the powdered hair of footmen in full dress. About 1793, French fashions, copied from the costumes of the leaders of the Revolution, became very much the vogue in this country. A high sugar-loaf hat covered the head, and the flowing hair was powdered; a frilled shirt, a white striped waistcoat, a loose cravat of white cambric tied in a large bow, were worn, and a long green coat covered the upper part of the body. The breeches were tight, and reached to the ankle, being buttoned from the bottom, up the sides to the middle of the thigh, and low top-boots were worn.
Towards the end of the reign, the shirt collar appeared, and the ruffle vanished. The coat was made with lapels and with a tail cut square in front above the hips, like the modern dress-coat. The waistcoat was cut ridiculously short, and pantaloons and Hessian boots were introduced about the same time.
PLATE 53.
(Fig. 1): Costume of a gentleman at the commencement of the reign of George III. It is remarkable only for the extra quantity of lace with which it is decorated, and the small black cravat which he wears. (Fig. 2): Side view of head-dress of a Maccaroni, showing (1) the height to which the hair was raised and plastered, (2) the row of curls around it, and (3) the large “club” tied with a broad ribbon. (Fig. 3): Complete costume of a Maccaroni (1772) showing a different treatment of the hair from that in Fig. 2, the ridiculously small hat, and the ornamented coat are also shown. (Fig. 4): A hat of the style worn in 1786. (Fig. 5): The last form of the cocked hat. Both Figs. 4 and 5 may be taken as specimens of the latter days of the wig, “large curls, ties and bob, ending in a single pigtail.” (Fig. 6): Fashionable riding dress in 1786. The costume consists of a broad brimmed hat with band and buckle, powdered wig and pigtail, a long-tailed coat with large buttons, tight buckskin breeches buttoned at the knee, and high boots. (Fig. 7): A hat of the newest fashion of 1792, gaily decorated with gold strings and tassels. The natural hair is worn powdered, and the high coat collar is very characteristic of the time. (All the above are from contemporary prints.)
[FEMALE COSTUMES.]
Both George III. and his wife were decorous and retiring in their habits, and during their reign the fashions were started and maintained by the nobility and gentry of their Court.