18th Century Clothing: Historical Overview

The Baroque period in history spans from 1600 up to 1750 (depending on a country and field of arts). In Britain the mid 17th century is called Restoration, and in France the 18th century is Rococo. The most significant detail in clothing of this period is that it had lots of details. Baroque showed abundance in visual and written arts and it also had impact on both male and female clothing. Abundant locks of hair were popular with both sexes, favourite details on clothes were masses of fine lace, bows, brocade textiles, gold and silverembroidery.

The term "Rococo" describes a movement in the arts in the early 18th century, in France. Rococo has been born from the Baroque era, during the age of Enlightenment. That was a time when new ideas about human existence were introduced and Rococo art is the visual representation of the optimism people felt in response to that.

The word "rococo" is derived from "rocaille", meaning "rock work" or "shell work," a favorite motif of the time. It stresses purely ornamental, light, casual, irregular design. Rococo is seen both as the climax and fall of Baroque art.

Wealthy women wore richly decorated gowns, often with a fancy corset above the waistline that was worn in public and adorned with bows. Wide hoops supported embroidered and trimmed skirts and quilted under-petticoats. Knee-length shifts were worn underneath, and properly dressed women wore silk stockings gathered at the knee and high-heeled shoes. Their hair was piled high on the head, often covered with elaborate and frivolous caps.

Men wore plain clothes for spots and country life, with more elaborate fashions for court. Suits were made of rich velvets, silks and satins and were highly decorated. These outfits consisted of long, flared coats, sleeveless waistcoats, white shirts with lace ruffles at the neck and wrists, embroidered silk stockings and high-heeled shoes. Soft fabric cravats tied at the neck, and their shoulder-length hair was tied at the neck or powdered with tight curls. Wigs were worn for formal occasions. We have more information on dancing in this period on other pages.

Welcome! We are a historical dressmaking business and in this chapter we specialize in civilian's clothing from the 18th Century. Every article of clothing is made with the utmost care and precision to detail. We are very particular about authenticity of our garments and try our best to make them the way they were originally made, with the exception of straight inside seams sewn on the machine if required to keep costs down. If you have any questions or comments, you may email us.

You may hire Aylwen to give a talk or demonstration to your group, to advise you on your next historic clothing project, to custom fit a garment for you, to help you develop a historical program for school children, to research correct clothing for your historic event, teach period dances to historical program participants or children, or to design costumes for plays or theatrical productions. Please feel free to contact us by email if you'd like to discuss how we can be of service to you or your organization!

Fabric

The most commonly used colours were ivory, sand, light blue, blue/grey, and pink. Colours to avoid use of these days are magenta, royal blue and violet/purple. Black, being difficult to produce and therefore expensive, was only used for the upper classes. Because the dyes used were not as strong as they are today, the lower classes generally wore more muted colours. For the early 1700s you may choose large floral designs of about 20cm, during the middle of this century the designs reduced in size, and small bunches of flowers with a striped pattern came into use in the third quarter, Indian-looking printed patterns on cotton and silk were used at the end of the century. It is generally extremely difficult to find printed fabrics today that reproduce correctly, so most re-enactors choose plain coloured fabrics.

COTTON - Cotton was forbidden for use in England and France during most of this century, except at the beginning and end. When it was in use it was very expensive being imported from India. In order to protect the local textile industry cotton was banned from use. Cotton at this time, however, was cheaply produced in America, which meant lower classes had easy access to it, which may explain why servants used it, not the upper classes.

LINEN - Most of the upper classses in Europe and America used linen for their chemises and petticoats. It was not normally seen in outer garments.

SILK - Silk was popularly used for outer garments in the upper classes, but was the most expensive fabric.

WOOL - Petticoats and stays were made from wool, and because it was a cheaper and warmer fabric, many lower class garments used it.

Order of Dressing

Put on a pair of over-the-knee stockings. Bind them above the knee with tapes or buckles.
Put on your shoes and do up the buckles.
Put on your mid-calf length chemise, followed by a modesty skirt.
Now put on your stays and smooth out the chemise underneath.
Tie your pocket around your waist.
Put on your paniers.
Cover the paniers with your petticoat that will hide the panier bones.
Put on the outer petticoat.
Pin the stomacher to the front of the stays, pinning through the tabs which are located at the sides of the stomacher.
Put on your robe, pulling it on like a jacket.
Pin the front edges to the stomacher, hiding the pins down the front under the pleats.
Put on your fine white linen or lace cap and cover your neck with a scarf (fichu). In cooler weather a mantelet and headscarf may be used.

We have found an excellent Glossary of 18th Century Clothing on the internet that explains in full what each garment was and how to pronounce the names.