The Merry Past 



which gradually evolved into the present funereal 

 evening dress. 



After the French Revolution the dress of the upper 

 classes in England totally changed. Those who 

 regarded the new ideas with favour affected a studied 

 negligence in their personal appearance, and there 

 was an assimilation between the dress of high and 

 low in sympathy with the prevalent doctrines of 

 equality. Knee-breeches and the small sword were 

 then, as to-day, seen only at Court, wigs had dis- 

 appeared, and powder, which had taken their place, 

 was fast following. We read in 1795 of the Duke of 

 Bedford and his household at Woburn, including 

 the stranger within his gates, undergoing a general 

 shearing, as a protest against Pitt's tax on hair- 

 powder. The cocked hat had gone, and the present 

 tall hat had come in ; muslin cravats, waistcoats, 

 and pantaloons were beginning to be worn. Mascu- 

 line dress indeed, after 1794, consisted, as now, of 

 coat, tall hat, waistcoat, and trousers. 



Up to the latter part of the eighteenth century 

 dress and equipage were considerable badges of dis- 

 tinction ; but as this waned the rich citizens, incited 

 by a laudable ambition, soon broke through their 

 old restraints of economy and deference, and as 

 Mrs. ^'Flounder" transferred her residence from Corn- 

 hill to Cavendish Square, it was no longer possible 

 to discover her origin, either from her jewels or her 

 liveries. The barrier being thus broken down, an 

 immense gap was left in the fences of the fashion- 

 able world, through which multitudes from Change 



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