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1700-1750 in fashion
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Fashion in the period 1700-1750 in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by a widening, full-skirted silhouette for both men and women following the tall, narrow look of the 1680s and 90s.
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Fashion in the period 1700-1750 in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by a widening, full-skirted silhouette for both men and women following the tall, narrow look of the 1680s and 90s. Wigs remained essential for men of substance, and were often white; natural hair was powdered to achieve the fashionable look.
Distinction was made in this period between full dress worn at Court and for formal occasions, and undress or everyday, daytime clothes. As the decades progressed, fewer and fewer occasions called for full dress which had all but disappeared by the end of the century.
Women's fashion
Gowns
In the early decades of the new century, formal dress consisted of the stiff-bodiced mantua. A closed (or "round") petticoat, sometimes worn with an apron, replaced the open draped mantua skirt of the previous period. This formal style then gave way to more relaxed fashions.
The robe à la française or sack-back gown with flowing pleats from the shoulders was originally an undress fashion. At its most informal, this gown was unfitted both front and back and called a sacque. Later, for formal wear, the front was fitted to the body by means of a tightly-laced underbodice, while the back fell in loose box pleats called "Watteau pleats" from their appearance in the paintings of Antoine Watteau.
The less formal robe à l'anglaise or "nightgown" also had a pleated back, but the pleats were sewn down to fit the bodice to the body to the waist.
Either gown could be closed in front (a "round gown") or open to reveal a matching or contrasting petticoat.
Open-fronted bodices could be filled in with a decorative stomacher, and toward the end of the period a lace or linen kerchief called a fichu could be worn to fill in the low neckline.
Sleeves were bell- or trumpet-shaped, and caught up at the elbow to show the frilled or lace-trimmed sleeves of the shift (chemise) beneath. Sleeves became narrower as the period progressed, with a frill at the elbow, and elaborate separate ruffles called engageantes were tacked to the shift sleeves, in a fashion that would persist into the 1770s.
Strings of pearls, ribbons, or lace frills were tied high on the neck.
Underwear
The stays or corset of the early 18th century were long-waisted and cut with a narrow back, wide front, and shoulder straps; the most fashionable stays pulled the shoulders back until the shoulder blades almost touched. The resulting silhouette, with shoulders thrown back, very erect posture and a high, full bosom, is characteristic of this period and no other.
Skirts were worn over small, domed hoops in the 1730s and early 1740s, which were displaced for formal court wear by side hoops or panniers which later widened to as much as three feet to either side at the French court of Marie Antoinette.
The shift (chemise) or smock had full sleeves early in the period and tight, elbow-length sleeves in the 1740s as the sleeves of the gown narrowed. Drawers were not worn in this period.
Woolen waistcoats were worn over the corset and under the gown for warmth, as were petticoats quilted with wool batting.
Free-hanging pockets were tied around the waist and were accessed through pocket slits in the gown or petticoat.
Loose gowns, sometimes with a wrapped or surplice front closure, were worn over the shift (chemise), petticoat and stays (corset) for at-home wear, and it was fashionable to have one's portrait painted wearing these fashions.
Outerwear
Riding habits consisted of a fitted, thigh- or knee-length coat similar to those worn by men, usually with a matching petticoat. Ladies wore masculine-inspired shirts and tricorne hats for riding and hunting.
When outdoors, ladies also wore elbow-length capes, often lined with fur for warmth.
Fabrics and colors
In the early years of this period, black silk hoods and dark, somber colors became fashionable at the French court for mature women, under the influence of Madame de Maintenon. Younger women wore light or bright colors, but the preference was for solid-colored silks with a minimum of ornamentation.
Gradually, trim in the form of applied lace and fabric robings (strips of ruched, gathered or pleated fabric) replaced the plain style. Ribbon bows, lacing, and rosettes became popular, as did boldly patterned fabrics. A mid-century vogue for striped fabrics had the stripes running different directions on the trim and the body of the gown.
Indian cotton fabrics block-printed in bright colors on white grounds were wildly fashionable. Bans against their importation to protect the British silk, linen, and woolen industries did nothing to reduce their desirability. Brocaded silks and woolens had similar colorful floral patterns on light-colored grounds. Blends of wool and silk or wool and linen (linsey-woolsey) were popular.
Shoes
The shoe of the previous period with its curved heel, squarish toe, and tie over the instep gave way in the second decade of the 18th century to a shoe with a high, curved heel. Backless mules were worn indoors and out (but not on the street). Toes were now pointed. This style of shoe would remain popular well into the next period.
Style gallery 1700-1730s
- Scarlet riding habit features a long coat similar to men's coats, with a matching petticoat.
- Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchesse d'Orleans wears the black cap and veil of a widow with a gold-colored nightgown patterned with acorns and flowers. Her open sleeves are caught with jeweled clasps or pins over a shift with triple lace frills at the elbow. A royal French mantle of blue embroidered with gold fleur-de-lis and lined in ermine is draped around he shoulders, c. 1719.
- Attendants at a wedding wear solid-colored mantuas with closed petticoats and open-fronted bodices. Elbow-length sleeves are cuffed. The ruffles of the shift are visible at neck and elbow, England, 1729.
- French gowns of 1731. Two ladies wear loose wrapped gowns in soft pastels. The lady on the right wears a sack-backed gown in a bold floral pattern.
- Queen Sophie Dorothea of Prussia wears a rose-colored velvet gown with ermine trim (and possibly lining).
- Prussian court fashion: Queen Elizabeth Christine, wife of Frederick the Great, wears a gown with a slightly squared neckline and narrow lace frills at bodice and sleeve. Note the trim on the pocket slits in the skirt of her open gown. She wears a diamond choker around her neck.
- Catherine I, Empress of Russia in full Court dress. She is wearing a voluminous white gown, with lace trimming the low, square neckline and sleeves, which are gathered at the elbow. Her red velvet mantel is lined with ermine. The portrait was painted in 1717.
Style gallery 1740s
- Comtesse de Tessin, 1741, wears a black hood over a lace cap, and a red, fur-lined shoulder cape called a mantle or tippet. She carries a matching fur muff. A large ribbon bow trims her bodice at the neckline.
- Mary Edwards, 1742, wears a red sack-back gown with a lace-trimmed kerchief or fichu tucked under the ribbon bow on her bodice. Her sleeves are bell-shaped, and she wears a lace hood or cap.
- Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode series depicts a fashionable young wife wearing a sack-back jacket and stomacher with a contrasting petticoat. A linen hood or cap is tied under her chin, 1743-45.
- Luisa Ulrika of Prussia, Queen of Sweden wears a gown with "split sleeves" (elbow frills and a lower sleeve tight to the wrist). Her overskirt is looped up over her petticoat and she wears a black cap set with diamond studs. Her choker necklace is set with a diamond-studded bow, 1744.
- Madame de Sorquainville's open gown is laced with a wide blue ribbon over a stomacher and is worn with a matching petticoat. The front edges of the gown are trimmed with robings, rows of fabric ruched or gathered on both edges. Sleeves are narrower, and are worn with elaborate lace engageantes. She wears a small cap and a black ribbon or frill around her neck.
- Surviving Robe à la française in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York features a matching petticoat and is shown with an elaborate stomacher. English, fabric from Holland or Germany, 1740s.
Men's fashion
Overview
Men continued to wear the coat, waistcoat and breeches of the previous period for both full dress and undress; these were now sometimes made of the same fabric and trim, signalling the birth of the three-piece suit. Coats were roughly knee-length throughout the period.
By the 1720s, the skirts of the coat had pleated panels inserted in the side seams; these were occasionally stiffened to increase the fullness over the hips. Coats had no collars early, and a short standing collar later. Oversized, turned-back cuffs extended to the elbow. Waistcoats remained long. Full dress coats and waistcoats were trimmed with lace, braid, or heavy embroidery; undress clothing had a similar cut but without the trim.
The frock was an English undress coat with a wide, flat collar, derived from the coats worn by working men.
Shirt sleeves were full, gathered at the wrist and dropped shoulder. Undress shirts had plain wrist bands and a high stock at the neck. Dress shirts had in ruffles of fine fabric or lace at the cuffs. Early in the period a black ribbon called a solitaire was tied around the neck.
Leather shoes fastened with buckles, and were worn with silk or woolen stockings. Stockings continued to be worn over the breeches until 1730 when the breeches were often worn over the stockings. With this change, the garters gave way to buckles on the breeches to hold up the stockings.
A loose, T-shaped cotton or linen gown called a banyan was worn at home as a sort of dressing gown over the shirt and breeches. Men of an intellectual or philosophical bent were painted wearing banyans, with their own hair or a soft cap rather than a wig.
Hairstyles and headgear
Wigs in a variety of styles were worn for different occasions and by different age groups.
The large high parted wig of the 1690s remained popular from 1700 until around 1720. During this time various colors were worn, but white was becoming more popular and the curls were getting tighter. Later, wigs or the natural hair were worn long, brushed back from the forehead and clubbed or tied back at the nape of the neck with a black ribbon. A bag wig gathered the back hair in a black silk bag.
Wide-brimmed hats with brims turned up on three sides into tricornes were worn throughout the era.
Style gallery 1700s-1720s
- Sir Isaac Newton in old age, 1709-12. He wears a banyan with a patterned lining. Note the T-shaped cut, without a shoulder seam.
- Louis XIV wears a large periwig, justacorps, and stockings over his breeches.
- A German prince shows his stiff turned-back cuffs, embroidered in gold, as is the centre of his coat, stockings over his breeches.
- Back view of a coat of 1721 shows the center back vent and the pleated gores set into the side seams. The gentleman wears square-toed shoes and carries a tricorne tucked under his arm.
Style gallery 1730s-1740s
- Philippe Coypel's red waistcoat is trimmed with gold lace under a plain brown coat. His shirt is trimmed with lace ruffles and he wears a narrow black solitaire.
- Man playing cards wears a tricorne. His long brown wig (or possibly hair) is tied back with a black ribbon. His plain coat has deep cuffs.
- Dutch gentleman of 1736 wears a collarless grey coat with deep cuffs and a long waistcoat, both lined in sky blue, with matching breeches. His black shoes have square buckles.
- English gentleman of 1738 wears a wide-hipped formal coat with applied lace over a plainer contrasting hip-length waistcoat and red breeches. His coat is lined in red. Shoes with elaborate buckles and white stockings complete the ensemble.
- American William Bowdoin, 1748, wears a gold-embroidered waistcoat under a dark coat lined in white.
- Portrait of Georg Friedrich Händel wearing a mulberry-colored coat trimmed with bands of embroidery and fastened with buttons and loops over a pattered waiscoat (barely visible under the coat) and a white shirt with ruffles, 1749.
Children's fashion
Toddler boys and girls wore low-necked gowns. Leading strings - narrow straps of fabric attached to the gown at the shoulder - functioned as a sort of leash to keep the child from straying too far or falling as it learned to walk.
Children older than toddlers continued to wear clothing which was in many respects simply a smaller version of adult clothing. Although it is often said that children wore miniature versions of adult clothing, this is something of a myth. Girls wore back-fastening gowns, trimmed much more simply than women's. The skirt of a girl's gown was not split down the front, as women's typically were. Girls did not wear jackets or bedgowns. Boys wore shirts, breeches, waistcoats and coats a man would, but often wore their necks open, and the coat was fitted and trimmed differently from a man's, and boys often went bareheaded. During some decades of the 18th Century, boys' shirts and coats had different collars and cuffs than a man's. Even if the size is not apparent, it is usually possible to tell a child's garment from an adult's.
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