Pantalettes

Pantalettes are another undergarment that was worn by women during the 18th and 19th centuries; they were worn until the mid-19th century. They were also worn by young boys while they were still very young. Pantalettes are very similar to leggings that are worn by girls today. Sometimes they are made up of one piece or two pieces, one piece for each leg. They originated in France and then traveled to Britain and then to America. They were worn underneath hoop skirts to cover the legs and they were meant to show underneath the wearer’s skirts. Since they were meant to be shown they were usually made quite nicely. They were made of linen or silk and were decorated with lace, cutwork, broderie anglaise and tucks. Cutwork is needle work and cutting holes into the fabric to make it like an eye lit pattern. Broderie anglaise arose in the 19th century and directly translates to English embroidery which is needlework that puts embroidery, cutwork and lace.

"* 19th Century Fashion *." Free Website Hosting Angelfire free website templates to make your own free website. Web. 09 Dec. 2009.

http://www.angelfire.com/ar3/townevictorian/victorianfashion.html.

"Pantalettes -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantalettes

Corsets

The corset is an undergarment worn by women of the 18th and 19th centuries. It tied up the back and pulled very tightly at women’s bodies. It was designed to shape the hips and waist and lift up the busts. Some people don’t know but corsets were worn by both men and women but women most commonly. There were special corset-makers called corsetieres, who made them especially for the wearer of them. Some corsets are made included garters that hold up the wearers stockings. Corsets aren’t only used for fashion reasons; they are also used for some medical issues as well. When some people have scoliosis or internal issues they get corsets fitted to them to protect the torso and keep it from moving around too much. They are made of cloth that then has boning made of whalebone or steel to hold it in place and keep it stiff. They are held up with lacing in the back that is almost impossible to do by yourself, a women would have her maid help her get it on. During the second half of the 19th century they actually had corsets that were more durable for wearing while horseback riding, playing tennis or even ones made special for maternity. The corset actually did cause health problems for women though, because they had it too tight to make themselves thinner than they were. They began wearing them when they were young so they were still developing. It squeezed organs together, which caused childbirth problems, and digestive problems. Corsets haven’t totally died out and are still worn sometimes by some people today.



"* 19th Century Fashion *." Free Website Hosting Angelfire free website templates to make your own free website. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. http://www.angelfire.com/ar3/townevictorian/victorianfashion.html.



"Corset -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsets.

19th Century Fashion Video

This video shows how women dressed in the 19th century. It states that contradictory to the thoughts we may have about them today, women were actually not very modest about what they were wearing. They worea lot of revealing clothing on the upper half of their bodies. In this video we are tought about 19th century fashion by the expert Cynthia Cooper.

This link will take you to the video on YouTube if you click it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLoWbSw6Pao

The Petticoat

In the 18th and 19th century women wore petticoats under their skirts. Most women didn’t only wear one but they usually wore three. They are usually only worn to keep the bottom half of your body warm. Petticoats were usually made of wool because in New England women spend most of the year trying to keep warm and the only time it’s not practical is when it’s very hot. Also wool is good because you can use heavy or light weights and you can drape as many levels as you need for it. During the warmer days when wool is impractical linen was used because it’s much lighter than wool. Linen is also less fire resistant than wool was. Even when wool is wet it’s still warmer than wet linen which makes it even more practical for wearing. That’s why it is worn more than linen. The colors were very plain or dull because they only had natural dyes, but wool held the dye color more than linen does. The most common colors that were used were blues and browns. There also weren’t very many patterns that were used. Most were just plain but it is said that some may have been vertically striped, that’s quite unlikely though.

"The Petticoat." Battle Road Clothing & Accoutrements. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. .

The Wedding Dress

Before the 19th Century the wedding dress was a very informal dress that involved into a more elaborate dress after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s wedding. The American wedding dress evolved from European wedding dresses and they were only worn by the wealthy people who were getting married. White was the preferred color for both informal and formal dresses which really took off during the 1840s. The 1870s were when the train and veil began to show up on women’s dresses. But unlike Europeans, Americans were more likely to save their dresses, and so the tradition of daughters wearing their mother’s dresses began. Although there are some dresses that are multicolored, bride’s usually wear white dresses because it represents purity and then they also wear something old and blue which is good luck for the new couple. Because American brides saved their dresses a few were uncovered and a couple years ago were featured at an exhibit in Washington D.C. Most of these traditions are Victorian and they were considered in the 19th century and people did wear white dresses, and save them, just like it says but that was really only among wealthy people and it is more common in weddings today.

"A Brief History of the Wedding Dress in USA." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. .

Infotrac/Databases Citation

Banner, Lois W. "Fashion and style." The Reader's Companion to American History. Houghten Mifflin Company, 1991. Print.

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia UP, 2000. Print.

Cynthia, Rose. Clothing the American Woman; American Decades Primary Sources. Gale, 2004. Print.

Pendergast, Sara, and Tom Pendergast. Little Black Dress; St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Gale Group, 2005. Print.

Pendergast, Sara, and Tom Pendergast. Seventeenth Century Clothing; Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Print.

eBooks Citation

Baughman, Judith S., Victor Bondi, Richard Layman, Tandy McConnell, and Vincent Tompkins. Fashion Designers; American Decades. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Print.

Benbow-Pfalzgraf, Taryn. Contemporary Fashion. Detroit: St. James, 2002. Print.

Pendergast, Sara, and Tom Pendergast. First Fashion Publications; Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Detroit: UXL, 2004. Print.

Pendergast, Sara, and Tom Pendergast. Nineteenth-Century Clothing; Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Detroit: UXL. Print.

Stamper, Anita M. Fashion and Design, 1900-1909; American Decades Primary Sources. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Print.