crinoline 1840—1865

CRINOLINE 1840—1865 (the French word for
horsehair)
The Age of Optimism The Industrial
Revolution Crinoline cutaway diagram Punch magazine, August 1856 Your Professor (l.) and her sister, Jeana (r.) in Mobile, Al in the late 1950 s
dressed in Antebellum style to serve at functions at Oakleigh an antebellum
historic home
ABOUT the PERIOD
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This period is named for the undergarment that held the skirts out at an
extreme distance from the body by use of a cage-like petticoat. The
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION is in full swing. Queen Victoria of England s influence is felt throughout the world. (Her
beloved husband, Albert dies in 1861, leaving her an actively-in-mourning
widow for the rest of her life.) The period is also known as the AGE OF OPTIMISM because of all of
the new technology and improvements that the industrial revolution had
brought on, particularly with regards to travel and communication. The advent of the SEWING MACHINE and ladies fashion magazines, as
well as the first ready-to-wear and the introduction of department stores,
moves the business of fashion forward in step with everything else at this
time. As a reaction to the standardization of clothing, the clothing of the
wealthy was delineated by quality, and we get the first couture houses in
France. Charles Frederick Worth was the first and most famous of the
couture designers—(Although he worked in France, Victoria could justify
wearing his fashions because he was British-born)
Influential People
France-
•  Napoleon III
England-
•  VICTORIA! and Albert •  Edward and Alexandra
•  Disraeli
America
•  Van Buren * Harrison
•  Tyler
*Polk
•  Taylor
*Fillmore
•  Pierce
* Buchanan
•  Lincoln
Events
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1844—YMCA founded (Eng)
1845—US Naval Academy at Annapolis opened
1846—potato famine in Ireland
1846—Brigham Young leads Mormons to the Great Salt Lake
1846—New Mexico annexed by US from Mexico
1849—Amelia Jenks Bloomer begins women s dress reforms
1850—Crystal Palace Exhibition
1851—Crimean War (1854-56 between Russia and France, Britain, Sardinia
& the Ottoman Empire)
1853—Commodore Perry opens trade with Japan
1854—Gadsden Purchase
1859—Darwin completes On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection 1859—John Brown s raid
1861—Albert dies (and Victoria goes into permanent mourning)
1861—the bombardment of Ft. Sumter— “Civil War” war begins
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Combined combat and other: 625,000 deaths. Currently considered “deadliest” US war
1862—Lincoln publishes the Emancipation Proclamation
1863—Battle of Gettysburg
1863—Edward (Victoria’s son) marries Alexandra of Denmark
1865—Lincoln shot
1865—13th amendment to the Constitution abolishes slavery
Philosophy
•  Karl Marx-
The history of all hitherto existing
society is the history of class struggles - Communism,
proletariat (workers) vs. bourgeoisie (masters of
production)
•  Friedrich Engels - co-founder of Marxism
•  John Dewey - Pragmatism, progressive education
Most Representative Statement of
period:
Apres moi, les deluge (after me, the flood)
Discoveries and Inventions
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1841—first travel agent
1845—first artistic photo portraits
1846—John Deere invents plow with steel moldboard
1846--Elias Howe patents sewing machine
1846—ether first used as anesthetic (by a dentist!)
1846—protoplasm first identified (by a botanist)
1848—first appendectomy
1849—Levi Strauss introduces the jean
1857—first transatlantic cable
1859—first paper patterns sold (Butterick)
1860—celluloid
1860—skiing becomes a competitive sport
1861—first mechanical chilled storage unit 1861—US introduces passport system
1863—first stolen base in baseball
1864—the Geneva Conventions
One of the few useful
things ever invented said
Gandhi
Life Magazine
Woman using an 1851 Singer sewing machine Victoria, Albert and their nine children DRESS EXTREMES
•  Amelia Jenks Bloomer: an early women’s rights activist
and dress reformer propounded that women should wear a
bi-furcated garment for ease and comfort. Most of society
did not accept this, but the garment is ultimately given her
name (BLOOMERS), and by the end of the century, women
do wear them, as the suffragette movement takes on steam.
The costume of women should be suited to her wants and necessities. It
should conduce at once to her health, comfort, and usefulness; and, while it
should not fail also to conduce to her personal adornment, it should make
that end of secondary importance .
Amelia Bloomer Illustrated London News, 1851 Amelia Bloomer in Bloomers Cartoon of a woman wearing the Bloomer Costume Library of Congress Bloomer costume styled for party occasions Fashion by Jane Dorner, 1851-­‐9 Visual Style
Architecture • 
1850—Crystal Palace built Style or Movement
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THE PRE-RAPHAELITES
John Millais Gabriel Dante Rosetti
Wm Holman Hunt
Ford Maddox Brown
***William Morris— Decorative arts vs. Fine Arts Matthew Brady—war photographer
Painters
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Winslow Homer
Whistler
Manet
George Caleb Bingham
*Renoir
*Delacroix
*Degas
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park,
London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors
from around the world gathered in the Palace's 990,000 square feet of exhibition space
to display examples of the latest technology developed in the Industrial Revolution.
Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was 1,850 feet long, with an
interior height of 108 feet.
Wikipedia
The transept of the Crystal Palace At the Great ExhibiOon of 1851 The nave and north transept Hulton-­‐Deutsch CollecOon BBC Hulton Picture Library AVer the exhibiOon, the building was moved to a new park in a wealthy area of London called Sydenham Hill, an area not much changed today from the well-­‐heeled suburb full of large Victorian villas that it was during its Victorian heyday. The Crystal Palace was enlarged and stood from 1854 unOl 1936, when it was destroyed by fire. It aRracted many thousands of visitors from all levels of society. Wikipedia On Fire 30 November 1936 hRp://www. There is currently a campaign to
build a new Crystal Palace, on the
site of the original!!!
newcrystalpalace.org
http://www.
Newport, Rhode Island William Morris Prints
The PRE-RAPHAELITES
•  The Brotherhood of the Pre-Raphaelites was a
group of artists and their followers who held to the
Romantic tenet that no great art came after Raphael
(coinciding with when when science and
technology took over). They lived what would
have been considered at the time to be a
Bohemian lifestyle. •  The art of this period embraces medieval themes
such as Arthurian legend, Damsels in distress,
Chivalry and Knighthood. Probably the most
universally familiar of these works is John William
Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shallot The Lady of ShaloR, c. 1888 John William Waterhouse aVer Alfred Lord Tennyson Tate Britain, London Veronica Veronese c. 1872 All By Dante Gabriel Rossea Delaware Art Museum Mary Magdalene c. 1877 La Bella Mano c. 1875 Lady Lillith c. 1866-­‐68 Dante Gabriel Rosea 1859 COUTURE FASHION
•  CHARLES
FREDERICK WORTH
and the House of Worth • 
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Photo taken by Nadar March 1895 born Oct. 13, 1825, Bourne,
Lincolnshire, Eng.
died March 10, 1895, Paris, France
Widely considered the Father of
Haute-Couture ( High-Fashion )
Designed regularly for the rich &
famous, in particular: The Empress
Eugenie and Queen Victoria.
CLOTHING TYPES
Men
•  The FROCK COAT remains the major male garment, but is
much less flamboyant in cut than the previous period. The
sleeve looses its puff and narrows. The collar size reduces.
The skirt is more columnar (tubular by the end of the period)
but the waistline seam remains. The most significant feature
of the frock coat is the cut/seam configuration in the back
known as the DIAMOND BACK, which allows a very
comfortable and precise fit. •  The pants were still pegged, but not as much as previously,
and return to a longer length. The pant cuff is introduced at this time (supposedly by a man
who was going to a NYC wedding who got his pants wet in
the rain and turned them up. It was seen at the wedding and
was an instant hit!)
Fashion plate of a sporty coat.
1850
Men’s Coats
Men-Other
HAIR
Parted in the middle and oiled back (with Macassar oil) **Muttonchops,
sideburns, Imperial beards, tufted beards, waxed moustaches
HATS Top Hats (MUCH variety in shape and height) Bowlers, Derby, and
Boaters
SHOES Leather pump
OUTER Great-coats and The Inverness cape (with multiple cape-lets)
OTHER Ties: Much variation in types
Martin Van Buren
Abraham Lincoln
November, 1863
taken by Matthew Brady
Official Presidential Portrait detail
By G.P.A. Healy, c. 1858
On display at the White House
Hulton Archive/Stringer In 1853 the frock coat and tail coat
are still the most common coats.
Men s Coats
Il Gionale die Sarti August 1853
Scene from the film
Gangs of New York At the Tailors, fashion engraving from the Journal des Tailleurs, 1852. de Noblet, Jocelyn. Industrial Design. P.87
Fashion Plate from Le Folliet c. 1839-­‐1840 Gentleman s
Magazine
January 1852
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames No 29
May 25, 1846
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames
No 5
January 25, 1847
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des
Dames No 23
April 25, 1847
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames
No 35
June 25, 1847
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames
No 35
October 25, 1848
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames
No 18
March 31, 1842
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des Dames
June 25, 1849
Kent State Museum
Le Petit Courrier des
Dames August 28 1852
Kent State Museum
Portrait of James Harrison
Cravens
George Caleb Bingham
1842
Canvassing a Vote
George Caleb Bingham
1851-52
The County Election
George Caleb Bingham
Southworth & Hawes, UnidenOfied Couple Daguerreotype Photo, 1850 George Eastman House CLOTHING STYLE
Women
Robe de jour – Day Dress, 1858 Evening Dress, c. 1845 Kyoto Costume InsOtute Crinoline Underproper
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But by far the most significant feature is the EXTEMELY WIDE skirt held
out a far distance from the body at the hem by an underproper known as a
CRINOLINE. These skirts went through a variety of changes as time
progressed, some small, some larger, some round, some elliptical, etc, but
they style remained dominant for a number of years despite its excessive
size. With both the Crimean and American Civil Wars going on, militaryinfluenced garments were common, with much cording, braiding, fringe,
tassels and uniform-like embellishment. It was very popular to have trim at
the hem areas of the wide skirts. Plaids were tremendously popular for these gowns.
hRp://a404.idata.over-­‐blog.com/2/43/87/73/
septembre/2011/robes-­‐musee/1856.JPG Silk Day Dress France, LACMA, c. 1855 Undergarments were the
foundations of the period
silhouette chemise, white
cotton, dated 1864
Corset, cotton 1864
Cage Crinoline, 1864
Skirt Protector, white cotton
1864
Overpetticoat, white cotton
with trim 1865
Eyelet cap, 1861
Historic Fashion Calendar
All photos are from the collection of L. Hidic
"A Splendid Spread", satire on an early
inflatable (air tube) version of the crinoline by
George Cruikshank, from ''The Comic Almanack'', 1850.
Crinoline Anecdotes
•  It cost more to ride a NYC omnibus if you were wearing a crinoline-because you took up more space! The price went up from 7 to 12 cents. •  In 1863—The Empress Eugenie had Charles Frederick Worth make 2
matching crinoline gowns –one in red and one in green so that she could
send one to the Queen of Madagascar as a gift to wear at her Coronation.
When the British Ambassador who delivered them was called into the
Queen of Madagascar so she could convey her thanks, he had to try to keep
a straight face because she was standing there wearing the gown with yards
of red velvet around her feet, and she had the crinoline underproper
suspended over her head—she thought it was a canopy!
•  A woman gave a crinoline to a friend as a souvenir from a trip. Not
understanding what it was-- the woman put calico over it and put her pet
cockatoo in it.
•  On December 8,1863 in Santiago Chile, nearly 2,000 women were burned
to death when a fire broke out in the Cathedral of Santiago. The typical Sleeve
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The waistline returns to the natural waist , and the bodice of the previous period
is somewhat retained in that there is still a horizontal width to the cut, often with
a BERTHA collar, but now the shoulder is EXTREMELY sloped—by several
inches—and the sleeve joins onto the bodice DOWN THE ARM (“off the
shoulder”). • 
The typical sleeve configuration is a combination—the oversleeve is the
PAGODA, which as the name implies, is a bell-shaped sleeve, worn slightly
shorter than the BISHOP sleeve underneath that generally has a puff manifesting
into a cuff. These photographs of blouses show the
typical off-the-shoulder placement of the sleeve puff
The short Bolero Style Jacket
&
Military Influence
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Women often wore a short bolero style vest or Zouave -style
jacket
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It is also common to see a wide waist sash/cumberbund of some
sort. The ideal waist of the time was 17-18 , so the corset or
corselette was necessary to achieve this. • 
Very fancy swirled braided trimming and multiple metal buttons
were indicative of the military style. Zouave was the title given to certain infantry regiments in the French
army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962.
The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other
armies, especially volunteer regiments raised for service in the American
Civil War
1860s R B2-F3
Kent State Museum
Godey s Lady s Book Dec 1859
HAIR parted in the middle with much of the hair
rounding over the forehead and face and ear,
with low hanging ringlets. Braiding was
popular, and manifested in front of the ear.
The netted SNOOD was used to hold the hair
in a baglike configuration at the back. Emily Blount in The Young Victoria HATS The BONNET continues to be popular, but again
following the silhouette of the hair. The bonnet brim
was wide, and the sides of the brim fell low into dog
ears sort of like the low-hanging ringlets of the hair.
Emily Blount in “The Young Victoria”
Women-Other
SHOES
•  boots and pumps
OUTER •  Outer-wear such as capes were worn, but over the extreme width of the
crinoline—they appeared very tent-like
OTHER
•  CORSET: The corsets main function at this time was to cinch in the waist, in fact in
this period—the often came only UNDER the bosom, and manifested at a
point between the breasts. Then a CORSET COVER was worn over the
breasts.
•  PETTICOATS: There was much variety in the shape, size and
configuration of this underproper.
•  PANTALOONS: The fact that a crinoline skirt could blow up in the
wind necessitated that the crotch seam of the pantaloons be stitched for the
first time.
Corset cover shows the
true desired silhouette
Day Dress.
C.1885. American
Two-piece, ginger silk taffeta with ginger and putty green
damask border woven in classical floral motifs, putty green
silk fringe trim.
Parasol.
th
Late 19 century. American.
Ivory handle carved in vine and grape motif, with cream silk
shade overlaid with cream net embroidered with tape lace. Kent State
Silk Ball Gown with Silk Tassel Trim
1863, Loaned by Heather Hook
Historic Fashion Calender
Ball gown.,1840 s. American
Two-piece, light grey silk satin brocaded with
red and mauve flowers in vertical vine pattern.
Made from 18th century silk.
Kent State
Left Side:
Day Dress. Late 1840 s. American
Cream wool printed with plaid of olive green,
lavender and deep brown.
Shawl.
Mid 19th century. American
Woven silk plaid with knotted fringe.
Bonnet.
Late 1840 s. American
Putty green silk taffeta
Kent State
Right Side:
Day Dress.
Late 1840 s. American.
Cotton printed with brown and beige and
multicolored paisley stripes.
Shawl.
Mid 19th century. American.
Silk and wool printed with paisley pattern.
Poke bonnet.
C.1845-1850. American
Plum satin with brocaded ribbon.
Kent State
Left: Cotton Day Dress
1863 Loaned by Juanita Leisch
Middle: Wool Muslin Wrapper with Silk
Fabric Trim.
1860
Loaned by K. Krewer
Right: Carte De Viste
Photograph of unknown woman in typical
daydress of 1863.
Loaned by Juanita Leisch
Historic Fashion Calendar
Dress 1860
Printed cotton, worn by a member of the
Archibald Smith Family of Roswell,
Georgia.
Historic Fashions Calendar
Fashion plates from
Petit Courier des Dames
1852-5
Croquet Scene, 1866
by Winslow Homer
Friends of American Art Collection
Queen Victoria’s daughters
Woman Seen from the Back Ca. 1862
The Metropolitan Museum of
Art
From The Piano From The YoungVictoria Matilde Juva-Branca
Francesco Hayez, 1851
Wikipedia
The Walkers by Monet
Carlotta of Mexico
Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies
Embroidered wool slippers
c 1840
Crinoline Era Jewelry
Necklace of peridot and
diamond clusters with
matching earrings, c. 1850.
Armstrong, Nancy.
Victorian Jewelry. Turquoise, gold, ruby and diamond
serpent necklace, c. 1855. Armstrong,
Nancy. Victorian Jewelry
Snake ring that symbolizes friendship with a diamond that relates to constancy, French after
1847. Chadour, Anna Beatriz. Rings: The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, Forty Centuries seen
by Four Generations; Volume II
Necklace and brooches of gold and
precious stones, English, mid 19th
century. Gregorietti, Guido. Jewelry
Through the Ages