Mondays at the Manor - Family Fashions

Dressing in the 1850s

How many of us are getting fully dressed during the pandemic days?  We have all seen the memes about “day pajamas” and “night pajamas”.

In the 1850s, this was not an option. Volunteers get many questions from our visitors about our dresses, so let’s take a look at clothing that was worn.

Both boys and girls wore dresses for the first few years. To tell the difference, a girl’s dress was buttoned in the front and often had lace or pleats. At about three years old, girls wore dresses similar to their mother, but with shorter skirts and bloomers, and boys were dressed in knee pants. Once a child reached twelve or thirteen, the boys began to wear long trousers and girls were dress in full underpinnings, including their first corset.

            Men were dress in collarless shirts, button-front trousers, and a variety of coats. For upper and upper-middle class, their shirt was a light colour. and trousers were snug fitting. For working men, the shirts were often of a cotton print or gingham and the trousers were loose, allowing for easier movement.

Women’s clothing was much more complicated. Fashions of the time was referred to as the “Crinoline Era” due to the number of petticoats under the dresses. The fashions from the mid 1830s had begun to emphasis a small waist, and having wide shoulders and even wider hips made that possible. To achieve that look, a woman often wore five to six petticoats until the arrival of the metal hoops about 1853. * (scroll to the bottom for photographs)

In spite of the believe that it would take a woman almost two hours to dress, most women would be able to dress in about 15 minutes.  This would include bloomers, chemise, corset, hoops, petticoats, pocket and dress. Add another 10 minutes to put up her hair and cover her head, and she would be able to entertain her friends in 30 minutes.  (We often change from 21C jeans/t-shirt to full period dress in that amount of time)

The average woman of the upper-middle class, such as Mrs. Backus, would have had about a dozen dresses for various occasions. As would match her age, her dresses would have been darker colours, but with floral prints for day and afternoon dresses. Her daughters would have had lighter coloured dresses, also often printed fabric. For evening wear, silk and taffeta fabrics was coming into style. 

The skirts of the day were made to emphasis the small size of a woman’s waist, and the hems of the 1850s and 1860s were some of the widest seen in fashion history.  A day dress would have a hem that measures 130 in, and an evening dress might be as wide as 150 to 170 in. This would include the petticoats, one of which would have been padded to stiffen it.  

There are also many myths concerning the wearing of corsets, especially during this time period. No, ribs were not removed, bodies were not distorted, and yes, a woman could move as well as any women. As today’s reenactors can confirm, a well-made and custom-fitted corset can be very comfortable and supportive.

If you want more information on clothing of our 1850s time period, check out the videos on youtube by Prior Attire, including her video on how to sit in a hoop skirt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Ogeug8XPc&list=PLlDOuZV2e3wFLP5rWwQnPPQ5K8xb0DrqD&index=4&t=0s

*Even though our House was built in 1850, the volunteer ladies wear hoops for safety. Most of the ladies are not used to wearing that amount of fabric around our legs, and that could cause a tripping hazard while we are working.

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                   Men in full day clothing          Young boys between three and 12 years old

                                         women's chemise                           bloomers 

                        (and nightdress)             (only worn after hoops came into style)

  

                                            full corset                             pockets 

                                 (worn over petticoat but under dress

                                 reached through a slit in the skirt.)

                                                   Early cage hoop                    later hoop 

                                                                                              covered in cloth

Our staff and volunteers in their hoop dresses

              a dress with separate blouse    early one piece dress        one piece dress with trim
            straight sleeves for working        also working sleeves      Pagoda sleeves (open at elbow)

                         Pagoda sleeves          separate blouse and skirt       one piece dress with apron

                        with separate bodice