During the 1870s, Harper Franklin says, women’s clothing “became more complex, colorful, and restrictive”. During the late 1860s, the volume of the skirt had started swinging backwards instead of being circular. The trend into into the 1870s until they produced skirts that fell flat against the body in front and were concentrated in the back. The decade had two distinctive silhouettes, both with the focus on the back of the skirt.
The first began in 1870 with the huge oval or circular crinolines of earlier decades collapsing into the first bustle style. This bustle was “a softly draped protrusion at the back of the waist,” created by “a manipulation of fabric and drapery.” It was supported by “horsehair-ruffled petticoats” called crinolettes, which consisted of rows of fabric-covered steel half-hoops. The dresses of this period sported layers of ruffles, pleats, and gathers, and many featured “looped skirts or long bodices that were draped up over the hip.” Franklin notes that these were often called “polonaise” style.
Fashion historian James Laver quoted an 1876 writer who said, “It is now impossible to describe dresses with exactitude: the skirts are draped so mysteriously, the arrangement of trimmings is usually so one-sided and the fastenings are so curiously contrived that if I study any particular toilette for even a quarter of an hour the task of writing down how it is all made remains hopeless.”
The silhouette of the first half of the decade was also defined by a high waistline and sloped shoulders. The bodice often featured a “basque,” which was “a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman’s jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce.” The basque extended past the waistline and “combined with the overskirts to create a layered look.” The trim on both basque and overskirts usually matched.
In the first half of the decade, dresses continued to sport bell-shaped sleeves. The bodice was often just as highly-decorated as the skirt. Daytime bodices began with high necklines, but during the 1870s it became common for them to have V-shaped or square necklines. The open necklines were usually trimmed with lace, ribbons, ruffles, or braid, which usually matched the trim of the skirt. Even more importantly, the necklines created a trend for prominent necklaces which could be displayed in the opening, like jet pendants or velvet chokers.
Around 1876, the second silhouette appeared. The bustle collapsed into the “princess line” style, named for Alexandra, Princess of Wales (who popularized the look). This was a dress without a horizontal waist seam, “fitted instead with long, vertical tucks and darts to create an extremely slim, body-conscious look.” The princess line was “echoed in the cuirass bodice,” which had no waistline seam and was lengthened to fit over the hips. Since they were snug at the hips, the dresses had no bustle. The volume spilled from below the hips instead, sometimes even below the knees. This “could extend into long trains, even in day dresses.”
In the “princess line,” the waistline dropped to the natural waist and shoulder seams began to creep upwards, with tightened sleeves. This look “further accentuated the long, slim line.” The figure-framing style needed more severe corsetry, with corsets “lengthened over the hips to secure the body into the fashionable slim princess silhouette.” These tightly-fitted gowns required fewer undergarments and women started wearing “combinations,” a single garment connecting the chemise and the drawers. These were actually available in the late 1850s, but became more popular in the late 1870s.
It wasn’t unusual to have two bodices for each skirt: a day and evening version. Outerwear also changed during the decade. Before the bustle, scarves and capes had been the norm, but the new styles “were better served by coats and jackets.” Even the men’s Chesterfield and ulster coats became fashionable women’s garments.
Vivid colors were quite popular. The new synthetic dyes made bright purples, pinks, blues and yellows possible. Often, dresses had multiple colors, alternating between bodice and trim, and layered bustle skirts. Fashion historian C. Willett Cunningham wrote, “It is perhaps in their colors that the dresses of the 70s are most striking to the eye; the monochrome has vanished.”
Trims also became weightier. Dresses were heavy with bows, flounces, tassels, braids, laces, etc. The “complexity and restriction” of the new fashions led to the invention of the tea gown in the early 1870s. These loose dresses, meant to be worn at home with female friends, allowed women to reduce their corsets–or perhaps go without one entirely. By the end of the decade, the gowns were suitably adorned with “cascades of lace and frills,” so they were just as elaborate as the day dresses.
Women during the 1870s were restricted by more than fashion–but that’s a topic for a later post.