CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



heads of prelates and barristers. Wigs are, 

 however, much worn, from the greater prevalence 

 of baldness than formerly; but their perfection 

 now consists in bearing so close a resemblance 

 to the natural or living hair as to avoid detection. 

 Towards the middle of the reign of George III. 

 the male dress took the form of the court suit 

 worn at the present day; the breeches having, 

 from the year 1760, been worn over the knees, 

 fastened by buckles or strings. The coats of the 

 eighteenth century were of velvet, silk, or satin, 



Lady in the time of 

 George II. 



Gentleman of 1750. 



as well as broadcloth, and their colours very 

 fanciful. Hogarth's favourite colour was sky- 

 blue; Reynolds's, deep crimson and violet; and 

 Goldsmith rejoiced in plum-colour. About 1790, 

 cloth became the general wear ; the waistcoat 

 being of the costlier materials, and embroidered, 

 and sometimes the breeches. Buckles were worn 

 at the knees and in the shoes till the close of 

 the last century ; and the large square plaited 

 buckle was the ton until 1791, when shoe-strings 

 became general ; though the Prince of Wales and 

 his household endeavoured, by wearing buckles, 

 to retain the fashion. 



The female costume of the eighteenth century 

 was as formal and tasteless as that of the men. The 

 most odious piece of attire introduced in the early 

 part of the century was the large whalebone 

 petticoat, which degenerated into the hooped 

 petticoat, and made a lady to appear as if 

 standing in an inverted tub. In the reigns of 

 George I. and II. loose gowns, called sacques, 

 and hooded silk cloaks, were worn, and a very 

 small muff, such as have been lately revived. 

 This costume is shewn in the above portrait of a 

 lady of George II.'s time. Ornamental aprons 

 were also worn, as at the present day, with the 

 watch, necklace, and the fan, which was some- 

 times from twelve to eighteen inches in length, 

 and beautifully made. 



Nineteenth Century. 



The formalities of the eighteenth century re- 

 ceived a terrible blow at the French Revolution ; 

 and in the ten years from 1790 to 1800 a more 

 complete change was effected in dress by the spon- 

 taneous action of the people, than had taken 

 place at any previous period in a century. The 

 change began in France, partly to mark a con- 

 tempt for old court usages, and partly in imitation 

 793 



of certain classes of persons in England, whos 

 costume the French mistook for that of the natior 

 generally. This new French dress was intrc 

 duced by the party who were styled the Sans 

 Culottes. It consisted of a round hat, a short 

 coat, a light waistcoat, and pantaloons ; a hand- 

 kerchief was tied loosely round the neck, with the 

 ends long and hanging down, and shewing the shirt- 

 collarabove ; the hairwas cut short, without powde 

 d la Titus, and the shoes were tied with strings. 



The comparatively simple form of dress of tl 

 Sans Culottes found many admirers in Englanc 

 and soon became common among young men ; 

 the change from antique fashions was also greatly 

 helped by the imposition of a tax on the use of 

 hair-powder, which was henceforth generally aban- 

 doned. Pantaloons, which fitted closely to the 

 leg, remained in very common use by those per- 

 sons who had adopted them till about the year 

 1814, when the wearing of trousers, already intro- 

 duced into the army, became fashionable. It is 

 proper, however, to mention that trousers had, for 

 the previous fifteen or twenty years, been used by 

 boys, and were perhaps from them adopted by the 

 army. Previous to the French Revolution, the 

 dress of boys was almost the same as that of men. 

 Although trousers were generally worn after 1815, 

 many elderly persons still held out in knee-breeches 

 against all innovations, and till the present day an 

 aged gentleman may occasionally be seen clinging 

 to this eighteenth century piece of dress. The 

 general use of white neckcloths continued, not- 

 withstanding the introduction of the standing 

 collar, till the reign of George IV. when this mon- 

 arch's taste for wearing a black-silk kerchief or 

 stock, and also the use of black stocks in the 

 army, caused a remarkably quick abandonment 

 of white neckcloths, and the adoption of black 

 instead. The year 1825, or thereabouts, was the 

 era of this signal improvement in costume. 



While these leading changes were effecting, 

 other alterations of a less conspicuous nature were 

 from time to time taking place. The disbanding 

 of the army after the peace of 1815 led to various 

 transformations besides those we have mentioned. 

 While pantaloons were the fashionable dress, it 

 became customary to wear Hessian boots ; these, 

 which had originated among the Hessian troops, 

 were without tops, and were worn with small silk 

 tassels dangling from a cut in front ; being drawn 

 over the lower part of the pantaloons, they had a 

 neat appearance, but the keeping of them clean 

 formed a torment that prevented their universal 

 use. When trousers were introduced from the 

 practice of the army, the use of Wellington boots 

 to go beneath them also became common. 



Referring to the era of 1815 to 1825 as that in 

 which trousers, Wellington boots, and black neck- 

 cloths or stocks came into vogue, we may place 

 the introduction of the surtout in the same period 

 of history. From the time when the collarless 

 and broad-skirted coat had disappeared about 

 the commencement of the century, the fashion of 

 coats had changed in various ways till the above- 

 named era, when the loose frock-coat or surtout 

 was added to the list of garments. We remember 

 seeing French military officers, when in undress, 

 wearing frock-coats as early as 1811; it is prob- 

 able, therefore, that the modern surtout is only a 

 variety of the loose military greatcoat brought 

 from the continent by the British army ; howe\ 



