Fashions Past and Present

-Modes and Manners of the Nineteenth Century. Translated by M. Edwardes from the German a Dr. Oskar Fische' and

. Max von Boehn. Revised and enlarged edition. Four volumes.

: (Dent. £2 2s.)

.ALTHOUGH it is not possible to trace the exact, connexion .between fashions ana social history, yet the fact that the spirit ,of an age is to some.extent mirrored in the.prevailing fashions ,is indisputable. The elegance, gaiety and extravagance of , the eighteenth century are proclaimed by the bejewelled ,gorgeousness a the attire of the wealthy classes, whereas, with the French Revolution, for political and philosophical regsons, came the' end of masculine elegance,And RouSSeati'S ideas of a returrirte nature and liberty caused a revolt againa corsets, hoOped petticoats, and high;heeled shoes.

Simplicity and austerity were the keynotes of the ensuing " classical " or " natural " revival—for these terms were considered synonymous. The classical style was imitated in every branch of social life, in art, ethics, entertainments, interior decoration and fashions. 'Women wore white flimsy dresses in imitation of Gerard's ethereal Psyche

"Not only did. corsets and under-petticoats ..disappear, 'further garments were' also diacarded—the lady of Society wore rings on her bare feet, while silk tights and a transparent chemlise open'to the knee composed the remainder of her costinne... –The

more fashionable of these half-insane women strove. as to which of them should put on the least clothing. No one now spoke of anyone else as well-dressed,' but as well-undressed,' and it became an amusement in society to weigh a lady's garments ; her Whole clothing, including shoes and ornaments, was not allowed in 1800 to weigh over eight ounces."

" Well-draped " was the -next expression of praise with regard to the fashionable lady, for the Cashmere shawl became the vogue to prevent the inevitable epidemic of consumption, the " decline " of that day.

The classic style gave way to shorter skirts, covered arms and necks, and the peculiarly unbecoming Empire fashion, with its long, straight, and sometimes altogether waistless dress. The Romantic revival followed hard on the heels of the pseudo-classical period, with the wearing of a sentimental mood and its fitting flowing and graceful draperies. It was chic to be pale, to faint at every possible occasion, and to toy with one's food.

Gradually, after 1840, the skirt began to widen, and the crinoline—that most unreasonable of all garments—pushed its way in, with indomitable persistence, until by 1860 it measured a full ten yards round.

"As the skirt did not grow proportionally long, but remained round at the bottom, if became necessary to invent some kind of framework to support it. About 1840, therefore, the under petticoat was made more substantial, being lined with horsehair, or corded ; a straw-plait was inserted in the hem, and as many petticoats were worn as possible. . . . The underclothing of a lady of fashion consisted about 1856 of long drawers trimmed with lace, a flannel petticoat wadded to the knees in the upper part with whalebones inserted a hand's,breadth from one another,, a white starched petti- coat with three stiffly starched flounces, two muslin petticoats, and finally the dress. . . . The weight and discomfort of such a quantity Of material were such that the idea of replacing the rolls of horsehair with steel wires was greeted as a salvation to women, and the inventor made 750,000 francs in four weeks."

From this entrenchment of petticoats and Victorian

modesty there was a natural reaction—ilifinencerl to a large extent by science—to a style of dress which permitted the grace of the human form to be appreciated. Skin-tight frocks became the vogue—the decency of which was questioned— then the punier effect, the bustle, the return of the leg Of mutton sleeve, the slender style of the early - years of the twentieth century, the hobble skirt of 1912 and the essentially practical and business-like fashion of to-day, All these panoramic views of the fashions of the last hundred years are described in the most minute detail in these excellent and endlessly entertaining volumes, which have been enlarged and revised, with several chapters added by Miss Grace Thompson, since they first appeared in English in 1909. A picture of the -social life of each period is given, from the washing . arrangements—exiguous as they were—of Marie Antoinette, to the influence of science and sport on modern dress. So delightful and plentiful are the illustrations, ranging from the. "Gallery of Fashion" in 1797, the • portraits of Gerard, 'Ingres, the satiric drawings of Cruilcshank and Du Mariner, to photographs of Poiret models, that the letter- press is almost superfluous.

The canvas is vast and it has not been possible here to give more than the barest suggestion of its pageant effect. It is not a book to criticize, for it is chiefly a statement of fact, but it is a pity there is no index to direct the reader through this maze of international history and social intrigue.

These volumes are indeed a joy to all who peruse their entrancing pages, a stimulant to modern extravagance and a monument to the pomps and vanities of the world. But, as Punch said in 1892 :—

" . . . women's garments should be fair, All graceful, gay and debonair, And if they lack good sense, why care "