Fashion In The Time Of Jane Austen (3 page)

In defiance of the French Revolution, both men and women wore their hair
à la Victime
, with the front brought forward in a tousled fringe; this was later modified as the Titus coiffure.

Portrait of Pierre Seriziat (Jacques Louis David, 1795). The cut-away redingote, formhugging suede buckskins, top boots, tall hat and pristine neckcloth spoke of a bolder, faster lifestyle more natural in the fresh air of the countryside.

F
OR MALE FASHION
it was the ‘battle between broadcloth and silk’ as Balzac had termed it in 1798, and the broadcloth had triumphed. Gone were the old prim white stockings and buckle shoes of the eighteenth century; the mannered ennui of pretty silks and vile gossip was overtaken by young men who stepped in with fresh air clinging to their clothes and mud spattered on their boots. Their style and virility spoke of a bolder, faster life more natural in the fresh air of the countryside. Casual yet suave, the riding coat or redingote became the central piece of the male wardrobe. It could be singleor double-breasted, either tapering towards the back in the style of a morning coat (which remained the more formal), or the sporty square ‘cut-in’ coat with the front amputated below the waist to leave only tails at the back. This became the norm for informal ‘undress’ after 1810 and was, with longer tails, the style preferred by the Dandies.

Where neckcloths became hugely important, shirts were not regarded as such and were one of the sewing tasks assigned to female relatives rather than professional tailors. In November 1800 Jane rushed to complete a batch for her brother: ‘I have heard from Charles, and am to send his shirts by halfdozens as they are finished; one set will go next week. The “Endymion” is now waiting only for orders, but may wait for them perhaps a month’. In
Mansfield Park
Fanny Price works diligently to ensure that her brother’s linen is ready when he goes to sea, and in
Northanger Abbey
Catherine Morland is supposed to be making cravats for her brother but finds other activities far more interesting.

Breeches, the staple of the eighteenth-century wardrobe, were increasingly neglected in favour of more comfortable sporting wear. As they made an aristocratic statement they were sidelined into formal ‘full dress’ and remained the only garment acceptable at Court, at the smartest Pleasure Gardens, and also the prestigious Almack’s Club.

The name derived from the character from
commedia dell’arte
, the ‘Pantalon’ or pantaloons became the forerunner to trousers. Pantaloons were considered so worryingly revolutionary that in 1807 the Russian Tsar had troops set up roadblocks to examine travellers’ leg wear, and anyone discovered wearing them had their pantaloons forcibly cut off at the knees. Related to the tight buckskin breeches worn for riding by English gentlemen since the mid-eighteenth century, they were frequently made of a semistretch fabric like stockinette or were bias cut, the skin-tight pantaloons giving the virile look of a classical statue. Worn with knee-length half boots or Hessians, pantaloons came to mid-calf and were tied with ribbons at the sides.

Journal des Dames 1790.
The redingote at the beginning of its evolution; worn in bold striped silk with breeches and buckle shoes, it still retains the old refined formality.

Young Gentleman on the Grand Tour 1812
. The redingote having reached its Regency ideal; the practical lines and practical fabrics equipped the gentleman for a new era of action.

Le Bon Genre
,
c
. 1810. Double-breasted waistcoats with shawl collars became popular in the 1790s and remained so into the second decade of the nineteenth century. Tied at mid-calf, pantaloons could be worn as they are here with striped stockings and modern lace up shoes, or with boots.

Boots were the democratic ideal, taken up by the Parisian
bon ton
; the English boot reigned supreme for its superior quality and fit. The most fashionable were the ‘top-boot’: worn with breeches and buckskins and looking like a riding boot, they were black knee-length leather with a light coloured top. Worn with pantaloons and inspired by the uniform boots worn by the Hussars, Hessians had a high curved front reaching just below the knee where the ‘V’ shaped notch was decorated with a hanging gold tassel, or silver for mourning. Also to be worn with pantaloons, Hussar boots or ‘buskins’ resembled short calf-length Hessians but without the tassel. After 1819 the Wellington boot was added to the available repertoire – named for the Duke, they were very similar to the top-boot but without the coloured turnover.

Tom and Jerry Sporting a Toe among the Corinthians at Almacks
(
Life in London
by Pierce Egan, 1822). Nothing less than formal ‘full dress’ was acceptable at the prestigious Almack’s Club, as the Duke of Wellington discovered to his chagrin when even he was turned away for wearing trousers in 1814.

Previously, hats had been confined to the tricorne model, but even though highwaymen had managed, they were impractical for riding to hounds as they were apt to fly off at high speeds. A high crown was useful (if scant) protection against head injuries, and also had a nice status look. The receding brim and growing crown which combined in the round hat eventually grew into the top hat.

An Evening at Frascati
, 1809. For Court or evening wear the opera hat or cocked hat resembled the military bicorne (see gentleman background left). It was worn with the points to front and back like Nelson rather than side-to-side like Napoleon. It was a
chapeau bras
, most frequently tucked under the arm rather than worn.

This full dress evening gown with asymmetrical Grecian style tunic from 1811 shows that the romance with Neoclassicism continued unabated.

The divergence of the lives of men and women was marked entirely by their clothes: when they both wore silk and lace and habituated the same drawing rooms, they shared courtly love or gossipy intrigue. With the advent of the nineteenth century, if they weren’t at war or at sea, gentlemen were eyeing horses at Tattersall’s, racing curricles, or were at their club. The only time they would really interact with women was in the evenings at the theatre, opera, Pleasure Gardens, or dancing, where formal full dress of the old order was required.

Although women’s styles were simpler there were still the demarcations of ‘full dress’, ‘half dress’ and ‘undress’ that ruled the propriety of fashion, and English etiquette was set almost like a trap to pull rank on newly moneyed arrivistes even if fashions were more democratic. ‘Undress’ or
déshabillé
referred to simpler gowns worn at home in the morning, often with a cap. Made of warmer, more practical materials, they would often be looser and more comfortable for sitting writing letters, sewing or reading. ‘Half dress’ covered smarter more formal ensembles for activities such as afternoon promenades, visiting, or even trips to the opera. ‘Full dress’ was the most formal, the most ornate, and had the lowest décolletage. Worn for balls, Almack’s, the premier Pleasure Gardens, and the most luscious parties, it was also the correct wear for attending Court, where it was worn with a headdress of upright ostrich feathers.