Fashion in the 1860s Definition

Fashion in the 1860s in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by extremely full-skirted women's fashions relying on crinolines and hoops and the emergence of alternative fashions under the influence of the Artistic Dress movement. By the early 1860s, skirts had reached their ultimate width.

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1860s fashion in European and European-influenced clothing is characterized by extremely full-skirted women's fashions relying on crinolines and hoops and the emergence of "alternative fashions" under the influence of the Artistic Dress movement.

Women's fashions

By the early 1860s, skirts had reached their ultimate width.

Day dresses featured wide pagoda sleeves worn over undersleeves or engageantes. High necklines with lace or tatted collars or chemisettes completed the demure daytime look.

Evening dresses had low necklines and short sleeves, and were worn with short gloves or lace or crocheted fingerless mitts.

Heavy silks in solid colors became fashionable for both day and evening wear, and a skirt might be made with two bodices, one long-sleeved and high necked for afternoon wear and one short-sleeved and low-necked for evening.

As the decade progressed, sleeves narrowed, and the circular hoops of the 1850s decreased in size at the front and sides and increased at the back. Looped up overskirts revealed matching or contrasting underskirts, a look that would reach its ultimate expression the next two decades with the rise of the bustle.

Fashions were adopted more slowly in America than in Europe. It was not uncommon for fashion plates to appear in American women's magazines a year or more after they appeared in Paris or London.

Military and political influences

Following a visit by the Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi to England in 1863, the Garibaldi jacket or Garibaldi shirt became all the rage. These bright red woolen garments featured black embroidery or braid and military details. In America, the early years of the Civil War also saw increased popularity of military-influenced styles such as Zouave jackets. These new styles were worn over a waist (blouse) or chemisette and a skirt with a belt at the natural waistline.

Rise of haute couture

The Englishman Charles Frederick Worth had established his first fashion house in Paris in 1858. He was the first couturier, a dressmaker considered an artist, and his ability to dictate design in the 1860s lead to the dominance of Parisian haute couture for the next hundred years.

Artistic dress

The followers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and other artistic reformers objected to the elaborately trimmed confections of high fashion with their emphasis on rigid corsets and hoops as both ugly and dishonest. An "anti-fashion" for Artistic dress spread in the 1860s in literary and artistic circles, and remained an undercurrent for the rest of the century. The style was characterised by "medieval" influences such as juliette sleeves, the soft colors of vegetable dyes, narrow skirts, and simple ornamentation with hand embroidery.

Hairstyles and headgear

Bonnets for outdoor wear had small brims that revealed the face, and fell out of fashion over the decade in favor of small hats.

Two Bodices, One Skirt

Extreme width imposed a practical wardrobe problem: the same great skirt served both afternoon and evening, but the bodice could not. A common solution was a skirt made with two bodices, one long-sleeved and high-necked for afternoon wear and one short-sleeved and low-necked for evening. Day dress stayed demure, with wide pagoda sleeves over engageantes and high necklines finished with lace or tatted collars or chemisettes; evening dress dropped the neckline, shortened the sleeves and added short gloves or lace or crocheted fingerless mitts. Heavy silks in solid colours served both, underlining that in the 1860s richness was expressed through fabric and scale rather than through printed pattern.

Fashion Moves at Different Speeds

Paris set the pace, but not everywhere kept it. Fashions were adopted more slowly in America than in Europe, and fashion plates might appear in American women's magazines a year or more after they appeared in Paris or London. Politics also dressed people directly. Military influence, visible in the Garibaldi jacket after 1863 and in Zouave jackets during the American Civil War, put braid, embroidery and uniform details onto women's dress — bright, recognisable garments that announced sympathy with a cause as much as taste in clothing.

Artistic Dress as Anti-Fashion

Against the trimmed, corseted, hooped mainstream stood Artistic dress. Followers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and other artistic reformers objected to high fashion's rigid corsets and hoops as both ugly and dishonest, and promoted an alternative characterised by medieval influences such as Juliette sleeves, the soft colours of vegetable dyes, narrow skirts and simple ornamentation with hand embroidery. It spread in literary and artistic circles in the 1860s and remained an undercurrent for the rest of the century — never the mainstream, but a standing critique of it, and a source later designers would draw on. Meanwhile ordinary headwear quietly modernised: bonnets shrank to small brims and fell out of fashion in favour of small hats.

Common Questions

How did the crinoline skirt change during the 1860s?

Skirts reached their ultimate width by the early 1860s. As the decade progressed, sleeves narrowed and the circular hoops of the 1850s decreased in size at the front and sides and increased at the back, while looped-up overskirts revealed matching or contrasting underskirts, pointing toward the bustle.

What were Garibaldi and Zouave jackets?

After Giuseppe Garibaldi visited England in 1863, the Garibaldi jacket or shirt — bright red wool with black embroidery or braid and military details — became all the rage. In America during the Civil War, military-influenced Zouave jackets were also popular, worn over a blouse or chemisette and a skirt belted at the natural waist.

Why is Charles Frederick Worth important in 1860s fashion?

The Englishman Charles Frederick Worth established his first fashion house in Paris in 1858 and was the first couturier, a dressmaker considered an artist. His ability to dictate design in the 1860s led to the dominance of Parisian haute couture for the next hundred years.

Fashion in the 1860s