The 1800’s was full of different fashion trends, from big skirts, to natural frames, to curves all over. Two seemingly very different decades have many differences and many similarities in their fashion. These decades are the 1840’s and the 1880’s. The 40’s were known for large skirts. The 80’s was known for its large bustles in the back, a famous example is in the painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte which is found in the Chicago Art Institute. There were both similarities and differences in the clothes, undergarments, and hair of the 1840’s and the 1880’s.
In the 1840’s the dress style stayed the same. The skirt was bell shaped. The dress had many pleats and other details that signaled the narrow waist of the dress. The waist came and formed at a point at the end of the bodice. There was not much patterns in the dresses of this time. The sleeves of this time were also long during the day, as well as the necklines being higher. During the evening the dresses were again sleeveless and the neck lines lowered. A difference in the sleeves though was that the shoulder line was lower than the actual shoulder stricted movement.
The fashion of the 1880’s included three different styles of fashion in the decade. In the beginning of the decade the dresses had a slimmer form. The dresses also had many details included ruffles, draping, and pleats. Starting in 1883 and ending in 1887 the bustle came into fashion for a second time. The bustles had a smaller width than the bustles in the late 1870’s. The largest bustle of the decade came into fashion in 1886. Larger hips and a more hourglass figure came into fashion as well. Pleats, draping, and ruffles were still in fashion at this point but were much stiffer.
In the late part of the decade the bustle fell out of fashion, this led to some excess fabric that ended up getting draped at the hip and under the butt. Having so many different trends was very different than the one style found in the 40’s. The overall narrow skirts provide a large contrast for the big bell shaped skirts of the 40’s. The fabric often had colors and patterns, unlike the 40’s. This decade had long tight sleeves during the day, day dresses also had higher necklines. In the evening however the dresses became sleeveless and the necklines were lowered.
The undergarments of the 1840’s were very similar to those of the 1880’s. The 1840’s undergarments were started off by a chemise and drawers to help provide a barrier. Then a corset was laced on, corsets were also known as stays. After the corset a corset cover would be added this added a layer of protection for the clothes. Next petticoats were added, a proper lady would have a minimum of six petticoats. This would prove to be very ot during the summer as the petticoats were made of horse hair and were very thick. The petticoats are what gave the dress shape.
In the 1880’s they first put on what is known as a combination, combinations are a combination of a chemise and drawers. This protected the women from the clothes and vice versa. After this they would have a corset. On top of the corset there would be a corset cover. Also on this layer there would be a petticoat, instead of having a minimum of six petticoats the 1880’s would have one or at most two. Then there would be a steel framed bustle, this is what gave the dress the large butt. Just as the undergarments between the two decades were similar so were the hair styles. The 1840’s hair included a bun in the back.
In the front of the face there were ringlets. The 1880’s was very similar. There was also a bun on the back of the head. Although instead of ringlets the women in this decade had bangs. In the end there are many similarities as well as many differences in the fashion of the 1880’s and the 1840’s. Similarities can be found in the sleeves, necklines, and hair of the decades. Differences can be found in the dress shapes, patterns, undergarments, and shoulders. Both were times of very different fashions then we know today, and even between the two times. Even with the similarities the two contrast very much in pure looks.
