Mention nineteenth-century fashion and most people think of hoop skirts, bustles, bloomers and bonnets. Few would think of blue jeans, yet riveted Levi's were indeed part of the fashion scene from about midcentury. One might not think of turbans, either, but the fashionable nineteenth-century woman adored them, donning a wide variety from early in the period on.

Too, fashions came and went as fast as the mini-skirt, leg warmers and bell bottoms of today. Make sure your characters are at the height of fashion. Here are some examples of 'Popular Fashion' during this period:


adelaide boots: women's fur-topped boots, popular from 1836 to 1837.

alberts: side-lacing half boots with cloth tops and faux mother of pearl buttons on the front

bang-up: an overcoat

bavolet: a frill attached to the back of a bonnet to protect a woman's neck from the sun

caba: a small handbag

capote: a puff bonnet with stiff projecting brim around the face, from 1800 on

Eton jacket: a short coat worn by women, from 1862 on

gibus: a top hat capable of being squashed flat and carried under the arm, from the 1840s

limerick gloves: kid gloves, worn from 1870 on

pagoda: a popular parasol in 1818

rationals: women's bicycle bloomers, from the 1890s

Zouave jacket: woman's bolero-like jacket with three-quarter-length sleeves, fashionable from 1860s through 1870s.

Fashions were also much more regional during those time periods since news did not travel quickly.  Kilts for instance were normal dress attire for men in Scotland, but not in the US.

I wonder how the wife-beater will be viewed in 100 years.

because ya can beat your wife with it



the origin of the term is from the stereotype that the shirts are worn mainly by men that beat their wives