1800's talk and fashion

[Czechbabe]

Anyone know what the people in the 1800's talked like and what they wore?

[Dwiesel McAllister]

What country are we talking about here? What class?

I personally would use a more formal English, and NO contemporary slang. I recently did a production of The Marriage of Figaro, and the English translation had Figaro say, "Susanna, what's up?". I almost killed myself. :(

[Czechbabe]

Paris, France and Aristocrats. Also, the working class.

[Tundra]

And when in the 1800s? That's a whole hundred years! Fashion changed quite drastically in that time.

[Czechbabe]

I keep forgetting! I've never done a story set in the 1800's. 1870's

[Tundra]

I'm not an expert on France, but I do believe that there were still issues with aristocrats for quite a while in France, due to the revolution.

edit: 1870s... hmn. I'm not sure... I know what the English were wearing, and I know a lot of that was based on French Fashions. I'll see if I can find some pictures.

[Czechbabe]

Are there any books on the 1870's?

[Dwiesel McAllister]

http://www.fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm

http://www.sensibility.com/vintageimages/1800s/

These are both sites with images of women's garments.

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/mens_victorian_clothing.php

And this one has some good illustrations of men's clothing.

The Classical period was very cosmopolitan, so to speak. Unlike the Baroque era, where countries had their own national styles of music, clothing, etc., people travelled abroad more often, creating a homogenous European style style of music, and I would assume clothing. I am a Music major, so I know a lot about Music History. I can only assume that what applied to Europe's music also applied to its clothing, at least for the upper classes. Peasants and other rural types continued to wear traditional clothing for much longer. I only dabble in historical fashion, so I could well be wrong, but I believe they continued on with traditional costumes at least until the late 1800s or early 1900s.

ETA: Damn. I think all the links I have are only to Regency costumes. Sorry!

There are plenty of resources available, both books and on the internet. I believe women were wearing hoop skirts and bustles back then, but again, I could be wrong here. I also think cravats and those little bow things around the neck were in vogue for the men.

[Dwiesel McAllister]

The French revolution was almost a hundred years before when you're writing, so they wouldn't have been true aristocrats, not like royalty or anything. Still, they did have wealthy members of the upper class.

France in the 1870's? Sounds like Phantom of the Opera to me. :)

[Czechbabe]

Phantom of the Opera? What's that?

[Tundra]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qTDAEasFLtU/RgfhC97pXDI/AAAAAAAACbk/A108ykf_KGQ/s400/Budapest%2Bfashion%2B1870s.jpg 1870s fashion, though this is from Hungary, not France.

They favoured long bodies on women, forced by a corset of course, and with a fairly low end to the bodice. It had a curve to it rather than the point of the later 1800s or the blousing of the very late 1800s/early 1900s. There was a bustle. It wasn't as 'thin' as some of the styles of clothing either, but nowhere near as large a skirt as the 1850s. It fell straightish at the front as well, rather than coming out at an angle like earlier, crinoline years.


http://www.19thcenturypost.com/Mourning%20Dress%20and%20hat,%20Black%20Silk%20Taf feta,%201870%27s%20,%20USA,.jpg Here's what a widow wore.

http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/topicimages/1/18/1870s_in_fashion.gif
From a french artist.

A bit of copy and paste:

By 1870, fullness in the skirt (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Skirt)Skirt

A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In European culture, skirts are usually considered woman clothing....
had moved to the rear, where elaborately draped overskirts were held in place by tapes and supported by a bustle (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bustle)Bustle

A bustle is a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery of the back of a woman's dress, occurring predominantly between the mid- to late 1800s....
. This fashion required an underskirt, which was heavily trimmed (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Trim_%28sewing%29)Trim (sewing)

Trim or trimming in clothing and home decorating is applied ornament, such as Gimp , tassel#passementerie, ribbon, ruffles, or, as a verb, to apply such ornament....
with pleats, flounces, rouching, and frills. This fashion was short-lived (though the bustle would return again in the mid-1880s (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/1880s_in_fashion)1880s in fashion

Fashion in the 1880s in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by the return of the bustle. The long, lean line of the 1870s in fashion was replaced by a full, curvy silhouette with gradually widening shoulders....
), and was succeeded by a tight-fitting silhouette with fullness as low as the knees: the cuirass bodice (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bodice)Bodice

A bodice is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist.The term comes from pair of bodies .In common usage, bodice refers to an upper garment that has removable sleeves or no sleeves, often low-cut, worn in Europe from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, either over a corset or in...
, a form-fitting, long-waisted, boned bodice that reached below the hips, and the princess sheath dress. Sleeves were very tight fitting. Square necklines were common.

Daytime dresses had high necklines that were either closed, squared, or V-shaped. Sleeves of day dresses were narrow throughout the period, with a tendency to flare slightly at the wrist early on. Women often draped overskirts to produce an apronlike effect from the front.

Evening dresses had low necklines and very short, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and were worn with short (later mid-length) glove (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Glove)Glove

A glove is a type of garment which covers the hand of a human. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves"....
s. Other characteristic fashions included a velvet (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Velvet)Velvet

File:Ottoman cover.jpgVelvet is a type of tufted textile in which the cut yarns are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinct feel....
ribbon (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ribbon)Ribbon

A ribbon or riband is a thin band of flexible material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying....
tied high around the neck and trailing behind for evening (the origin of the modern choker (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Choker)Choker

A choker is a close-fitting necklace, worn high on the neck. This type of jewellery can consist of one or more bands circling the neck. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, beads, metal and leather....
necklace (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Necklace)Necklace

A necklace is an article of jewellery which is worn around the neck. Necklaces are frequently formed from a metal chain, often attached to a locket or pendant....
).

http://www.maggiemayfashions.com/1870simple.jpeg
A simple day dress.
http://i12.ebayimg.com/05/s/000/77/56/846d_2.JPG
ladies in evening gowns, and a little girl.
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/dress/historic/romantic/1870prin.gif judging by the neckline and sleeve length, I'd say these are fancier day dresses.

They would have been wearing underwear by this stage too. Stockings, garters, corsets, chemises, petticoats, a bustle and a bit of frame work crinoline.

http://lecanape.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/crinolines-9e01e.jpg crinoline- but ones in 1870s didn't bulge as much at the front there.

http://www.costumes.org/History/victorian/women/fashionplates/1870godey4.jpg

http://www.costumes.org/History/victorian/women/fashionplates/1870godey.jpg


Hopefully this will get you started.

[Tundra]

Dwiesel... that's 1810-30s fashion you've got linked there...
Ah sorry you edited! Yep, it's just regency. So, Czech, ignore the ones Dwiesel posted- they're what your character's grandmothers would have worn when young!

[Tundra]

Phantom of the Opera? What's that?

... we need to take that to another thread lol. Meet you in the TV/Movies section of the forum?

[Tundra]

http://www.notebookinhand.com/forum/showthread.php?p=271735#post271735

Here's the thread on Phantom of the Opera.

I've only given you pictures for 1870s rich people. I'll have to try and find some illustrations of poor people too.