victorian1880sfashion history
Written By N Unstitched
Oscar Wilde, (objectively) the best Victorian corsetry, and (also objectively) one of the most boring eras for menswear (am I lying? We’ll see), all make the 1880s a strange decade. Many of the era’s clothing trends were a continuation of the 1870s, and the overall silhouette for men was slim, tailored, and athletic. Here’s a brief (but specific) overview of the decade.
Undergarments
A woolen vest or undershirt and linen or cotton drawers were popular, and in the 1880s, often worn as a one piece garment called “combinations” [1]. Combinations were most popular in America, but were occasionally worn in Britain [2]. Men most commonly just wore a long nightshirt and tucked it between their legs like a diaper.
Undershirts in the 1880s were pure white for the wealthy and striped or checked for the working class. Laborers wore collarless shirts, as the whitened and stiffened collars worn by higher class individuals were hard to keep clean [3].
Trousers were cut straight and without a crease in the front and back (the trouser-press was invented in the 1890s) [4]. They were high waisted and therefore usually held up with braces or suspenders, not belts.
Waistcoats, coats, and overcoats, oh my!
Waistcoats were less important in the 1880s, as jackets buttoned high in the front, and were commonly worn buttoned only at the top. The most formal coat for daywear remained the frock coat, identified by a waist seam and a full skirt. The second, slightly less formal option was the morning or cutaway coat, which also had a waist seam. Depending on fabric choice and trousers, this coat could be dressed up for the evening, in all black with striped trousers, or dressed down for more casual events in tweed, and cut shorter. The most informal day jacket was the sack suit or lounge suit, a relaxed coat without a waist seam [5].
1884
Wedding waistcoat, c. 1880
Uncommon double breasted, c. 1885
For formal occasions, a tailcoat with a low-cut waistcoat, worn with dark trousers, a shirt with a winged collar, and a white bow tie, was the standard. The previous years’ notched collar was replaced with a continuous shawl collar faced in satin [6]. A dressy version of the lounge jacket also was popularized, called the tuxedo in the United States and a dinner jacket in the United Kingdom [7]. These were cut with a full back rather than with tails, and were a slightly less formal version of evening wear [8].
The smoking suit, similarly to women’s tea gowns, was a more relaxed garment, looser in fit, and was made for wearing in the privacy of one’s home (men retired to smoking rooms after dinner as to not smoke in front of women) or in gentleman’s clubs. Smoking suits were made from velvets or silks and in many colors (compared to the neutrals of daywear) [9].
1880-1885, FIDM Museum
1883
1883
c. 1880
The blazer became popular for sports in the 1880s, as well as for trips to the seaside. Sportswear generally consisted of a blazer (a single breasted lounge jacket), made in pale colors or striped, and light colored flannel trousers. A Norfolk jacket was popular for shooting, worn belted and with knee-breeches and gaiters [10]. The reefer was a double breasted jacket cut short, with a flat collar and small lapels [11], favored for summer sports and picnics [12].
Hattery and hairstyles
The silk top hat and the less formal bowler/derby, some exaggeratedly tall, were the most popular hats for men [13]. Bowler hats were invented for horse riding, due to the tendency for a top hat to get knocked off by branches. They were also more aerodynamic. A collapsible opera hat was worn for visiting the theater and could be folded flat and put under the seat [14]. A straw boater was worn at the seaside, for boating, and various nautical activities. In the lower classes, a straw hat was worn for working in the fields [15].
At the beginning of the decade, men wore a beard, or more popularly, a mustache, except for aesthetes, who were clean-shaven. The number of clean shaven men began to rise at the end of the 1880s and into the 1890s [16].
Accessories
Tall, stiffened collars were very fashionable in the 1880s. Collars and cuffs were starched and removable, making them easier to keep clean [17]. The amount of starch used to keep the collars stiff resulted in them being “rigid and sharp enough to use as a pastry cutter” [18].
Usually socks were black, even with a light colored shoe, and held up with garters [19].
Shoes
Footwear had a long, blunt, square toed shape in the 1880s. Patent leather shoes often had contrasting kid leather or cloth tops, and lace up boots were common in the summer. Until the 1890s men might also wear elastic-sided boots in the evening instead of pumps [20].
1881 button boots
1881 button boots
1886 lace up boots
1886 button boots
1881 congress boots
1886 congress button boots
Oscar Wilde and Aesthetic Dress
In the early 1880s, Oscar Wilde went on a tour of America to promote the Aesthetic Movement, wearing his famous lecturing costume, consisting of a velvet suit, knee-breeches, a soft tie, and sometimes a Cavalier inspired coat [21]. Oscar Wilde campaigned for a style called “aesthetic dress,” and those who participated in the movement were called “aesthetes.” The style was focused on highlighting the human form rather than obscuring it.
Girlboss Oscar Wilde and Prince de Sagan wearing what looks to be aesthetic dress.
Additional Images
Sack suits, Spring 1887
July 1888
A FANTASTIC source for 1880s men’s fashion plates. Ctrl+F for “188” and go wild!
References
[1] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Undergarments. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. https://victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn16.html
[2] Goodman, R. (2015). Getting Dressed. In How to Be a Victorian (pp. 31). essay, Liveright Publishing Corporation.
[3] Goodman, R. (2015). Getting Dressed. In How to Be a Victorian (pp. 32–34). essay, Liveright Publishing Corporation.
[4] Edwards, L. (2021). In How to Read a Suit (pp. 113–115). essay, Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
[5] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[6] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[7] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Coats and Jackets. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. https://victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn18.html
[8] Museum, V. and A. (n.d.). Evening Suit | V&A Explore The Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O16800/evening-suit-morris--co/
[9] Edwards, L. (2021). In How to Read a Suit (pp. 113–115). essay, Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
[10] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[11] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Coats and Jackets. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. https://victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn18.html
[12] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[13] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[14] Goodman, R. (2015). Getting Dressed. In How to Be a Victorian (pp. 55). essay, Liveright Publishing Corporation.
[15] Goodman, R. (2015). Getting Dressed. In How to Be a Victorian (pp. 56–57). essay, Liveright Publishing Corporation.
[16] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Hair. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://victorianweb.org/victorian/art/costume/nunn21.html
[17] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
[18] Goodman, R. (2015). Getting Dressed. In How to Be a Victorian (pp. 34). essay, Liveright Publishing Corporation.
[19] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Footwear. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. Retrieved May 23, 2024, from https://victorianweb.org/victorian/art/costume/nunn23.html
[20] Victorian Men’s Fashions, 1850-1900: Footwear. (n.d.). Victorianweb.org. https://victorianweb.org/victorian/art/costume/nunn23.html
[21] Franklin, H. (2019, October 11). 1880-1889 | Fashion History Timeline. Fitnyc.edu. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-1889/
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