The Crinoline Period
1850-1870
Chelsea Bell
Southern Methodist University
MSA 3325
Spring 2013
Cutaway view of crinoline,
Punch magazine, August 1856
Historical Background
England
• Queen Victoria exemplified the
British ideal of womanhood
• Mid-century Britain enjoyed
great prosperity
• Britain hosted the Great
Exhibition of 1851
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Historical Background
France
• Louis Napoleon becomes Napoleon III
and the Second French Republic
becomes the Second Empire
• France experienced economic growth
and Paris was rebuilt
• Paris again became the center of
European fashion with the help of
Charles Frederick Worth
• Napoleon III abdicated and fled to
Britain in 1870
• The Second Empire vanished and was
replaced by the Third Republic
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Historical Background
United States
• Abraham Lincoln elected
President in 1860
• Southern states secede and form
the Confederacy
• North vs. South in the American
Civil War
• Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation in 1863
• Lincoln Assassinated in 1865
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Charles Frederick Worth
The Father of Haute Couture
Empress Elisabeth in Courtly Gala
Dress with Diamond Stars, 1865
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German,
1805–1873)
The Empress Eugénie (Eugénie de Montijo,
1826–1920, Condesa de Teba), 1854
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805–
1873)
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture
presently the Fédération française de la couture
• Originated in 1868 and is still active today
• The governing body of the French fashion industry
• Sets the dates and
location for French
fashion week
• Establishes industry
standards on clothing
• Establishes standards
on the use of the word
“haute couture”
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Sewing Machine
• The Singer Sewing
machine hit the market
in 1851
• The number of sewing
machines doubled
between 1860 and 1865
• Became a vital factor
in the development of
industry
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume for Women
The Crinoline Period
Fashion Plate, 1853
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume for Women
Cage Crinoline
Steel Cage Crinoline, 1858
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Undergarments
Getting Dressed
Chemise
Drawers
Corset
Crinoline
Corset cover
Petticoat
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume for Women
Daytime dresses
Day dresses, 1861
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume for Women
Evening dresses
Charles Frederick Worth, circa 1860
Portrait of Princesse Albert de Broglie, née
Joséphine-Eléonore-Marie-Pauline de Galard de
Brassac de Béarn, 1853
Jean Auguste Dominque Ingres (French, 1780-1867)
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Fashion & Celebrity
The Garibaldi Blouse
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Past patterns #709
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Dress Reform
The “Bloomer” Costume
• Consisted of a short skirt
over Turkish Trousers
• Initially adopted by
feminist Elizabeth Smith
Miller after a trip to
Europe
• Named for Amelia Bloomer
who adopted the style and
wrote about it favorably
• Provoked much ridicule
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume for Women
The Media
A caricature sequence of posed joke
photographs, circa 1860, showing five
stages of putting on a crinoline
A packing dilemma
The hazards of public transportation
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
Costume Evolution
1850-1870
The Crinoline Period: 1850-1870
The Bustle Period and the Nineties
1870-1900
Chelsea Bell
Southern Methodist University
MSA 3325
Spring 2013
Historical Background
1870-1890
England
• Victoria had
already been queen
for over 30 when
the bustle arrived
as popular fashion
France
• The period began
with the shock of
the Franco-Prussian
War
• Industrial England
was experiencing
an economic boom
• Napoleon III
surrendered to the
Prussian armies and
fled to England
• England
experienced a
gradual extension
of voting rights
• The Second Empire
ended and was
replaced by the
Third Republic
• Paris endured a
bloody Civil War
known as the
Commune
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
United States
• The Civil War had
ended
• The country was
united from East
to West by
railroads
• Settlers were
rapidly moving
westward
• Industrialization,
urbanization, and
immigration were
continuing at a
rapid pace
Evolution of the Bustle
1870-1878
1867
1873
Daytime dress, 1874
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Evolution of the Bustle
1878-1883
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
1877
Evolution of the Bustle
1884-1890
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
1885
Evolution of the Bustle
A Visual Timeline
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Undergarments
1870-1890
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Active Sports & Clothing
1870-1890
Bathing costume, 1874
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Manufacturing
Textile and Clothing Production
• Power looms replaced
handlooms
• Synthetic dyes became
common and were more
reliable
• Silks were weighted
• Cotton fabrics were
improved with
mercerizing
• Women’s ready-to-wear
clothing became
available in department
stores
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
• Mail-order catalogs
proved successful for
rural shoppers
Visual Arts & Costume
Pre-Raphaelite Dress
May Morris by Dante
Gabriel Rossetti,
1872
Jane Morris by Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, 1868
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Symphony in White No 1
by James MccNeill
Whistler, 1862
Visual Arts & Costume
Aesthetic Dress
Oscar Wilde, 1882
Countess Brownlow,
1879
Couple in Aesthetic Dress,
1880s
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Visual Arts & Costume
Aesthetic Dress
A Private View at the Royal Academy
1881
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
William Powell Frith
Visual Arts & Costume
Art Nouveau
House of Worth, 1898
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Costume for Women
The 1890s
Fashion Plate, 1892
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Evening gowns, 1893
Costume for Women
The 1890s
Tailor-mades, 1890s
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Costume for Women
The 1890s
1890s
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Costume for Women
The 1890s
Walking Suits, 1894
Bicycle suit, 1890s
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900
Costume for Men
1870-1900
The Bustle Period and the
Nineties: 1870-1900