19th Century Fashionista--Part Two: Getting Dressed By Jaymi Trimble M.A. Southern Antebellum History

In Part One we researched different types of garments that were worn for different occasions.  In the course of a day, outfits would be changed many times.  This was not an easy task as many garments, undergarments, corset, crinoline, etc were involved.  As you can imagine, this would likely require help.  For women of the era, and re-enactors alike, the foundation of a successful period garment is the proper set of undergarments.  In Part Two, let’s see how a 19^th Century lady would’ve gotten her game on.

The first thing over the head is the chemise.  It is pronounced shea-muuz.  A chemise is like an undershirt made out of cotton or linen and its purpose is to provide a layer between the skin and the corset and to protect the corset from getting dirty (oil and grime from the skin).  It was easier to launder the chemise than the corset.  The chemise was also much less expensive to replace.  Sometime around the early 1900s, the chemise and drawers were combined into one under-garment.  This was welcome, as it provided modesty and garment protection with fewer layers. 

Next, came the drawers (a.k.a. pantaloons) also made of cotton or linen, tying at the drawstring waist (typically with ribbon).  There were two ways a gal could go:  closed crotch or open croch.  Given all the layers worn, open crotch drawers were more practical and more common until the 1900s (imagine using the powder room while sporting all those skirts and paraphernalia).  Open crotch drawers were just as they sound…so we’ll be skipping the x-rated image and show, instead, the closed crotch version. 

Note to 19^th Century Self:  You may want to put your drawers on, then your shoes and stockings (held up with garters) and lastly, your corset.  If you’ve ever had the pleasure of being bound up in a corset, you know how hard it is to bend over once cinched up.  Back in the day, a lady would’ve had help dressing.  If you don’t, put your shoes and stockings on first! 

Now, for the dreaded corset which would’ve squeezed your body into a shapely, fashionable form, with steel bars down the front and whalebone on the sides—breathing optional.  A 19^th Century corset had a busk in the front to close the corset and add shapeliness.  A busk is two metal strips with hooks (nails) and eyes that closed the corset in the front.  The corset laced up the back, but could be unhooked in the front without a complete unlacing necessary in case of emergency.  “Oh, no! Help!!  My skirts are on fire!”  or  “Oh, no! I think I’ve eaten something foul!!” 

Corsets were the rage.  Nineteenth-century advertisements for corsets sang their praises, while doctors warned of various health risks for corset wearers including displacement of internal organs, improper function of the lungs, internal organ deformity, etc.  Despite the risks, the rigid bodices were a common clothing item for centuries.

Remember the scene from Gone With The Wind when Scarlett is clutching the bedpost and Mammy cinches down her corset to achieve the desirable (and highly restrictive) tiny waist?  I believe 18” was the watermark. 

Scarlett complained, as certainly did women of the time, but to what avail?  They were doomed to their position in society, slaves to fashion, corseted and cosseted, and striving to be pleasing to a man’s eye—no matter the cost.  Women really did suffer for the sake of fashion with ridiculously large crinolines and heavily boned, tightly cinched corsets—all greatly restricting their movement and bringing discomfort. 

Over the corset would go a corset cover which was a short shirt-like garment a lady would put on to protect her expensive outer garments from rubbing against the nails (hooks) of the busk and tearing the clothing.

A decency skirt was a slip like undergarment worn over the drawers.  It was worn to protect the nether region from view if the skirt was blown up by wind, if the woman was blown over by wind (really happened!), a fall or some other calamity that would expose an open crotch in all its glory.

The last undergarment put on before the dress was the crinoline, also known as the hoop skirt.  Popular women’s fashions in the mid-1800s required full crinoline underskirts.  As fashion trended toward fuller skirts, women were burdened with having to wear several layers of stiff, heavy, and uncomfortable, fabric underskirts to get the effect.  Then…petticoats were replaced by hoop crinolines which, even though they had a metal cage, were lighter by far than layer upon layer of petticoats.  There was less weight and crinolines allowed skirts to expand even further.

Early crinolines were made from horsehair (the French word for horsehair was crin) and wool—which could both be itch and scratchy.  Smaller hoops were worn for everyday day dress and the got larger as they even got more formal, with the most hoops reserved for balls and weddings.  Some crinolines measured more than four yards around at the base (hemline)!!  Women wearing these skirts had to move carefully to avoid knocking things off of tables or backing into the fireplace, as they seemingly floated around a room.  How many women in crinolines do you think could fit in a room???

Although the hoops were much lighter weight than the wool and horsehair, they had one problem:  a women had to learn how to sit properly in them or they would swing up exposing her (likely) crotchless drawers!  In a day when modesty forbade seeing an ankle, there would've been vapors (fainting) and social scandal if a woman’s nether regions were exposed.  Crinolines made it impossible for a woman to sit down in a carriage.  While traveling she often had to kneel or sit on the carriage floor.  Ahhh, the price of fashion.

There wasn’t such thing as dresses with upper and lower parts sewn together until the turn of the century.  Until then, the bodice (taille) and skirt (sometimes with a train), as separate pieces, made the dress.

A taille (bodice) fit the body very tightly, sometimes looking like a jacket and sometimes like a blouse.  Low décolletés with short or no sleeves were worn on evening gowns or ball gowns.  The taille was tight fitting and its lining was stiffened with whalebone (in addition to the whalebone and steel stiffening the corset).  Along the bottom of the taille might be garniture, which was decorative pieces of trim (lace, fabric, cord, ruffles, ribbons or bows).  The garniture would be cleverly arranged to give the appearance that the garment was all one piece.  Garniture was an important part of the ensemble.

After ALL the undergarments and crinoline were on, the taille and skirt would be put on.  A woman could not have done this by herself and would've had help in dressing.  

Time to accessorize!!  On with hat and gloves (always), grab an umbrella (for rain or sun), a fan, maybe a walking stick--and that was one outfit down for the day!! Fully dressed, it was common for a woman’s clothing to weigh 40 pounds.  That’s like strapping a 40 pound bag of dog food to your back and carrying it around all day!!

Here is an 1860 spoof on women getting dressed.  Not far from the truth…