Costume

ISSN: 0590-8876 (Print) 1749-6306 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ycos20

Mens Dress 1890-1914

A.A. Whife

To cite this article: A.A. Whife (1967) Mens Dress 1890-1914, Costume, 1:sup1, 37-42, DOI:
10.1179/cos.1967.1.Supplement-1.37

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/cos.1967.1.Supplement-1.37

Published online: 13 Dec 2013.

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Download by: [University of Leeds] Date: 25 April 2016, At: 20:20

 MENS DRESS 1890-1914
By A. A. Whife
Technical Editor of "The Tailor and Cutter"
Curiously enough, men's dress during this period had very little noteworthy about it. There was nothtq.g
spectacular in the way of styles and there seemed to be some want of inventiveness and orgina1ity in ..
design. We at the "Tailor and Cutter" are often asked by museums and art galleries if we can supply.··..
garments typical of the day-to-day dress of the male. Regretfully, we have to'admitour inability to
oblige. It is probable that the "ordinariness" of 1890-1914 male dress is the reason for the paucity Qf;~:..
good examples.
To take any period of dress away from the
periods 'immediately before and after it is
always a somewhat arbitary business, for
inflUEnces overlap each other and it is almost
impossible to give exact dates for the intro-
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duction of any particular feature. Starting on

a survey of men's dress fron 1890, we must
consider the influence of the previous decade.
Prior to that, the male silhouette resembled
a cotton-reel. Chests and hips were very
much stressed; waists were very severely
defined. It may come as a surprise to most
of you (particularly the ladies) that the cotton-
reel effect was achieved by means of steel
corsetry! Men in the early part of the last
century, and up to about the 1850's, adopted
this means of conditioning their figures to the
requirements of the fashionable silhouette of
the times.

In the late 1860's and the early 1870's the

cotton-reel effect began to disappear, giving
place to a rather straight and "square" look
for men. Shoulders of jackets and coats were
comparatively narrow, but "squared" at their
ends; lines of the garments were almost dead
straight from shoulder to hem. In some
instances there were indications of a little
"flare" at the sides, but mostly this was
merely a suggestion of a deviation from the
straight.
We must remember, too, that in the 1880's
and 1890's the standard day garments for men
were the morning coat and the frock coat. Of
these, only the morning coat, with its long
cut-away skirt section, is seen with any
frequency nowadays. The frock coat has
almost vanished from the male wardrobe, its
adoption now being confined to stage and Styles of 1-842 which give a good impression of the
screen. The garment now regarded as the "cotton-reel" look. (Source unknown)

37
 stanqardone for men is tIie lounge jacket which first niad'e its appear-
ancein the late 1860's Or early 1870's -- at least, in anything like the
form in which we recognise it today.,
Strangely enough, this jacket has not altered at all in structure since
its inception. It has two fronts, two half -backs, two top-sleeves and
two under-sleeves -- just as was the case a century ago. But it has.
IDldergone many changes in detail -- length, number' of buttons, width
and length of lapels, shape and depth of collar, and so on. To a great
extent, this is characteristic of male fashions. They change in detail
rather than in overall design. One is not able to appreciate this fact
without reference to photographs and fashion plates of different periods.
Here I should mention the changes that have taken place in the styling
of trousers. In the 1890's trouser legs were comparatively wide. In
the early part of the present century they began to get narrower; then,
about 1924, we find that there is a return to wideness of legs -- cul-
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minating in the so-called "Oxford Bags". When these began ;to be worn"
(1924-1925) I was employed as a cutter with a small "private" firm of
tailors in Great Russell Street, London, W. C. 1, very near the British
Museum. I recall that when I joined this firm in 1923 the average
width of trouser bottoms was 16" or 17". Now, in 1924there was a
widening to 18"; this was changed for 19" and, as three or four years

Probably one of the very first

pictures of the lounge jacket.
(Source unknown)
passed, the bottoms went up to 20",
21,i and 22". Indeed, I have seen
trousers with bottoms as wide as 24".
By this time widths had reached the
point of absurdity. "Oxford Bags"
had almost become legwear sacks!
Naturally enough, there was soon to be
a swing back to the narrower styles.
We should now take note of the mater-
'.ials from which men's suits have been
made over the years. To start with
the 1890's, I can tell you that suitings
and overcoatings were nearly all in
relatively dark shades and were plain
in design. Stripes, checks and other
patterns were not anything like so
widely worn as they are today, with
the exception of cloths made specially
for trousers or for waistcoats. The
latter, in particular, were often of
quite gaudy design, moreespeciany
those examples manufactured from
silks and venetians (a velvet-like
material, still made today though in
different form).
A typicallolUlge jacket of the period discussed. ("Tailor & Cutter")

38
 Dark blues, greys and browns were
predominant -- and these, as most
M(;f'1lN"I'N(;
CDA--r.
cloths at the end of the last century,
were of comparatively heavy weight.
Twenty, twenty -two and even twenty-
four ounces to the linear yard were
common weights in those days.
This favouring of weight and com,-
parative bulk persisted for some
time. When I started my own
career in the tailoring trade -- in
Manchester, -towards the end of
the First World War -- cloths of
19, 20 and 22 ounces were widely
used for suits; for overcoats,
materials were often, as much as
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28 ounces in weight per linear yard.

Indeed, well after 1918 men pre-
ferred comparatively heavy fabrics
for their clothes. How different
it is today. I am told by woollen
merchants that the average -weight
of a man's suiting now is anything
from 14 ounces to 16 ounces. At
the same time, there are many
suitings made, and favoured by a
large number of men, the common
weights of which are 8, 9 and 10
ounces to the linear yard.
I have a suit at home, you may be
interested to know, the cloth of
which weights only 8 ounces to the
yard. This suit I find to be quite
satisfactory in comparatively warm
weather. The cloth is a mixture
The two "standard" garments of the 1890's and the early 1900's. of 55% 'Terylene'and 45% wool~
("Tailor & Cutter") worsted.
As you will know, mixtures and blends of natural and man-made fibres are now well established, nearly all
of them (in the suiting and coating ranges) made in weights below 14 ounces to the yard. Then there are
the various mohairs and alpacas, also in light weights, which have been used extensively for men's suits
for the last few years and which are likely to remain in favour for some time. How thes~ materials contrast
with the heavy cloths of earlier times!
Let us take the latter part of the nineteenth century and the be'ginning of this and make some notes on the
tailor's part in the make-up of the heavy, close-textured cloths into clothes. At that time the tailor had
to work very hard indeed - and he certainly did not get very well rewarded for it, in either his wage packet
or in the conditions under which he had to labour in the various workrooms throughout the country. In fact,
the reform of workrooms has been one of the slowest moving undertakings that we have known. Although
lengthy discussion of workroom conditions would be out of place here, some b!ief notes on the subject may
be of interest. As recently as the year 1930 I encountered workrooms that would not please anybody con-
nected with the tailoring trade today. They were ill-lit, badly planned in the matter of table placement,
and there were too many people working in them in relation to the floor space available. Ventilation, too,
was inadequate.

39
 It has been said that the present-day dearth of
apprentices and learners in the different branches
of the clothing industry .inthis country is the result
of the long history of bad working conditions, poor
pay and long hours which 'were always associated
with that industry in the past. Though descriptions
of the plight of tailors and tailoresses have been
exaggerated and over-dramatised by certain
writers, it is true that there was much that was
downright bad in those ear Her days.
However, the state of affairs today is very much
changed. Wages are higher, hours of work are
shorter and workroom conditions are vastly im-
proved. You may wonder why it is that young
people are not nowadays attracted to the trade. Is
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it because the legacy of poor pay and unwholesome

places of work is still in the minds of parents today?
I am inclined to think that little reference is made
now to those bad times. There is a more probable
reason for the shortage' of trade trainees.
I am persuaded that the fact of trade training's
being a long-term business is the cause of 'the
reluctance of young f9lk to take it up . Youth is
rather impatient nowadays. There are no short-cuts
to adequate training in the art of garment making.
On the other hand, there are now ways of imparting
instruction, seen to be satisfactory in the various
technical colleges in
London and the Pro-
vinces . In our own
Tail or and Cutter
Academy, for instance,
methods of instruc-
tion and demonstra-
tion have been
modernised and have
been made much more
simple and straight-
forward. . Students
An example of the morning coats as styled in 1909.
can now be guided
("Tailor & Cutter")
through the different
stages of garment' cut and make without the tedious over-stressing of detail
which was characteristic of earlier days . All procedures have been stream-
lined and made more interesting. Even so, I must 'reiterate my statement
that sound training requires time - nothing can be rushed through. So, to
end this digression, I will express the hope that our young people today will ,
enter the tailoring trade, well prepared for it, and be patient about their
progress in it. There will be rewards from it in the long run. I never want
to see the day, when ,the tailoring trade in this country - one of our oldest and
most valuable crafts - will cease because it lacks well-trained craftsmen and
craftswomen.

A leisure ensemble of 1910.

("Tailor & Cutter")
40
 Before returning to my theme proper, I think I ought to give
a few comments on the sewing machine - an instrument
which has revolutionised tailoring and which has certainly
taken a lot of the one-time drudgery out of it.
I am told that attempts to devise such a machine were made,
unsuccessfully, between 1780 and 1840. It was not until
1841 that a machine was invented by the American Elias Howe
in a form which was destined to be the prototype of our modern
industrial and domestic sewing machine. By the year 1877
the well-known Singer Company was well established and its
machines were beginning to be widely used.
An interesting historical anecdote here. When the sewing
machine was first taken up, the bespoke tailoring trade,
which had prided itself prior to that on every sewing operation
being done by hand, used to pad its workroom floors with
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thick felt, so that customers in the shop above or below the

Styles of 1913-- lounge jackets.

("Tailor & Cutter")
workrooms could not hear the machine at work!
No such precautions need to be taken today. The
sewing machine is adopted by the highest class
tailors now and in the hands of a trained and
skilled operator it can produce excellent work.
Now let us get back to the 1890's and the early 1900's
At the turn of the century the morning coat and the
frock coat were still very much to the fore, but the
lounge suit had really established itself and was
being worn much more widely. The first noticeable
thing that happened to the jacket of that suit at this
time was the lengthening of it. From the rather
short styles of the 1880's, there was a change to
mid -thigh length - and this was accompanied by a
moderate shaping of the waist and a slight increase
of hip "flare". Trousers, as I have already said,
had become narrow and tapering. Practically all
of them were cut to be worn with braces; there
were very few low-top trousers in this period.
Those which were so cut did not fit the waist
closely, like many present-day styles, but were
made to take a belt for support.
Fashionable suits of 1914. Note the narrow trousers with
There was a curious lack of proportion in the re- their deep (probably 2!") permanent turn-ups. These came
lationship between these tapered trousers and the . in about 1902 as a regular fashion feature in trousers. Note
long, skirted jacket. The ensemble gave a strong also the walking-sticks! ("Tailor & Cutter ")

41
 impression of top-heaviness. Fashion plates of the time exaggerated this impression (probably by design),
for their ar~ists always ren.dered the clothes on tall, slim figures and thereby stressed the particular fashion
features which were acceptable.
I think I should conclude with a brief reference to the accessories affected by men during the period of our
Course. The accompanying pictures will augme~t my 'sketchy descriptions effectively.

First, a word about hats. In the 1880's and at the beginning of the present century the silk (top) hat was
very much to the fore, Many of you will have seen photographs and other illustrations of ceremonies such
as the opening of new railway stations, in which nearly all the men are wearing this style of hat - often with
the frock coat as the main article of dress. The bowler, the hard felt hat which was making its entry· in
those days, is also to be observed. Then there was the "fancy" waistcoat, that small garment (almost
extinct today) which was an indispensable part of male attire. And I must not forget another ubiquitous
vade mecum of the times - the walking-stick. Though this cannot be regarded as an article of dress, it was
certainly held in great esteem in the "elegant" period we have been discussing.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BROOKE Iris History of English Costume (Black) 1937

CUNNINGTONDr. C. Willett.
The Art of English Costume in the Nineteenth Century
(Faber) 1948
CUNNINGTONDr. C. Willet and CUNNINGTONPhillis
Handbook of English Costume in the Nineteenth Century
(Faber) 1959
HANSONHenry Harold Costume Cavalcade (Methuen) 1960
LAVER James Dress (John Murray) 1950
WHIFE Archibald Allan
On .Being Well Dressed London, International Wool
Secretariat