The Evolution of Fashion Part 2

The wearing of false hair and periwigs was left to the sterner s.e.x 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 II.; and this fashion had a softening effect on the face, and was known as the "Sevigne style."

[Ill.u.s.tration: END OF 17TH CENTURY.]

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 a.s.sumed enormous dimensions, so much so, that in some cases it was found necessary to make doorways broader and higher than they had hitherto been, to allow fashionably-dressed ladies to pa.s.s through without displacing the elaborate erections they carried. Stuffed with horsehair, clotted with pomade and 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 ribbons. Naturally, the aid of the barber was called in, as ladies were incapable of constructing and manipulating such a ma.s.s of tangled locks. We may imagine, on the score of expense and for other reasons, the hair was not dressed so frequently as cleanliness demanded, for in a book on costume a hairdresser is described 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, therefore, 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.

Planche, in his work on British Costume, informs us that powder maintained its ground till 1793, when it was discarded by Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, Consort of George III., and the Princesses.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FASHIONABLE COIFFURE OF AN ELDERLY LADY IN THE 18TH CENTURY.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FASHIONABLE HEAD-DRESSES IN THE TIMES OF THE GEORGES.]

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-sh.e.l.l side-combs. The simplicity of this coiffure was compensated 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 profusion, and bows and strings of gauze ribbon floated in the wind. In this bewitching costume were our grandmothers wooed and won by suitors who evidently, from the impa.s.sioned love letters still in existence, believed them to be perfect types of loveliness.

Towards the middle of Queen Victoria's reign, the hair was dressed in a simple knot, and the front arranged in ringlets, which fell gracefully on the chest and shoulders. Even youthful married ladies, in the privacy of their homes and for morning dress, were expected, by one of those potent but unwritten laws of the fickle G.o.ddess Fashion, to wear muslin or net caps, with lace borders, embellished with ribbons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1830.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1855.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BIRD'S-NEST CHIGNON, 1872.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PRESENT DAY, 1894.]

The labours of Hercules would be mere child's play compared to giving a faithful record of the chameleon-like changes which have affected that kaleidoscope, public taste, during the last forty years, and a very limited study of this fascinating subject at once convinces us that, whatever peculiarities may appear, they are certain to be revivals or 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 resemblance to the exaggerated coiffures of the 18th 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 surrounded 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 resembling 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 uppermost, 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 ill.u.s.trated, 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 the 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 accompanying 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.

"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."

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: GLOVE OF HENRY VI]

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 Planche'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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HAWKING-GLOVE OF HENRY VIII.]

In the early Christian Church gloves played an important part. In A.D.

790 Charlemagne granted an unlimited right of hunting 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 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 clean hands, for to this day persons sworn in our law courts are compelled to remove their gloves." In the ancient Consecration Service for the Bishops of the Church, a blessing was invoked on the gloves they wore. Those of William of Wykeham preserved at New College, Oxford, are adorned with the sacred monogram in red silk, and ecclesiastical gloves were often lavishly decorated with embroidery and jewels, and were bequeathed by will with other valuables.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GLOVE OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS]

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 a.s.size (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 centuries 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 present those who attended weddings and funerals with gloves as a souvenir.

Shakespeare often mentions gloves, and some a.s.sert 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 Corporation of Stratford-on-Avon at the Shakespearian commemoration in 1789.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GLOVE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.]

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 of 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 ill.u.s.tration is given, may be seen in the Ashmolean Museum.

It is of a simple character, evidently intended for use rather than ornament.

Gloves were not generally worn by women till after the Reformation; but during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries their use gradually extended to the middle cla.s.ses. 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 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GLOVE OF JAMES I.]

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 embroidered 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 Queen Victoria generally wears black kid gloves, except for Court functions, when white glace kid gloves are invariably 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 _bien 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.

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

--_Milman's "Fazio."_