Bonnet, Hoop, Petticoats: Fashions of the 1860s Quiz

Answer: chemise

The chemise was a garment that had been around for decades. In the 1860s, it was generally white cotton, knee-length give or take, with very short sleeves and a broad neckline, decorated around the neck and sleeve openings if anywhere. It had a short slit at the throat and a button, which could even be the removable kind of button to make laundry easier.

The chemise absorbed all the oils and sweat, even though everyone knows women don't sweat, so a woman usually owned many of them and they got heavy laundering.

Answer: drawers

Drawers could also go over the corset, to make for fewer wadded waistbands underneath the corset, but we'll arbitrarily put them next. It's surprising how many people think pantalets or bloomers are the answer, and that "drawers" is too modern-sounding.

There was a real distinction. Pantalets were usually designed to be seen, and were a very short-lived fad of the 1840s, when fancy ruffles covered the ankles. They were also worn by young girls whose skirts were shorter. But drawers weren't meant to be seen, even though they might have some decoration at the leg openings. Bloomers were an even more specific garment, popularized by Amelia Bloomer and worn only by dress reformers who were trying to convince society to accept women wearing male-like trousers under a short skirt. Ordinary drawers were somewhere around knee length, give or take, of white cotton or perhaps wool flannel in cold weather.

They were constructed with two detached legs on a single waistband, for ease of use in the privy. No need to pull everything down under all those layers.

Answer: garters

Stockings reached above the knee and though they were knitted, they just didn't have quite enough stretch, so if one wanted more confidence, garters were used to help hold them up. Knitted, elastic, buckled, fancy, plain -- there were lots of options for something that no one but the wearer was expected to see.

The garter belt, suspending the stockings from the waist, wasn't around yet, but that must have added to a woman's comfort, removing a constriction around the leg. At this point in dressing, a woman might think ahead and put on her shoes, if she planned to wear a corset that would restrict her bending very much. Shoes might be slip-on slippers, or button, or have various fastenings that might take some work, including tying.

Answer: already adjusted to fit in back, so just snapped closed in front

The corset went over the chemise, so the chemise would protect it from skin oils and require less laundering of the corset, which was harder to wring and scrub with all that boning. Tight lacing had declined as a fad in the 1850s-60s, but would return later toward the turn of the century.

In the 1860s, a woman could leave her corset tied to her size in back, then snap together the two metal busks in front with pegs and eyes, making dressing simpler than the days when the front was solid. She could have someone adjust the back laces if she wanted them tighter.

The corset was usually stiffened with strips of whalebone except for the front, but there were many possible variations in both construction and fastening, plus "work corsets" for more flexibility that might use hooks or buttons without laces.

Answer: typically one petticoat below the cage, one on top

A petticoat below the cage crinoline lay closer to the legs, as a windbreak and for privacy. A petticoat on top of the cage smoothed the ridges of the hoops under the dress. That was the logic, but admittedly, then as now, people had their own quirky ways of doing things.

Some fancy colored petticoats were designed to show, and therefore needed to be on top of the cage. Cage crinolines or hoops came in numerous styles, either an open cage with rings of spring steel, a solid petticoat with stiffening rings sewn in, or whatever man or woman could devise, combining lightness, comfort, durability, cheapness, etc.

The underlying goal was to relieve a woman of wearing so many heavy, burdensome starched petticoats, yet still give her the bell-shaped skirt that fashion required.

Answer: undersleeves, chemisette

Undersleeves filled in wide dress sleeves, and a chemisette provided an extra decorative front bodice panel. Such accessories might be easier to put on either before or after the dress, depending on the tightness of the sleeves, the width of the bodice opening, and any number of variables.

Not all dresses even had such accessories. Many just had collars or cuffs basted or pinned on. A white collar was usually the bare minimum expected for a woman to be presentable. Note that we have overlooked the corset cover.

There's some slight evidence in Godey's that corset covers were used by the mid 1860s, but they apparently were still rare.

Answer: went over the head, had hooks and eyes down the bodice front and at the waistband

Fancy evening dresses were more apt to close down the back by lacing. Otherwise, a woman had no trouble dressing herself by putting the dress on, then fastening it in front. Occasionally there were functional buttons separate from the hooks, or a panel of hooks at the stomach to prevent buttons from gapping.

Sheer dresses might have a lining that fastened separately, with the sheer fabric taking the least strain. Surviving cotton dresses, oddly, might be open from neck to waste, separate from the lining, with no visible fasteners except maybe long-gone pins. Separate skirts and Garibaldi blouses were an unusual new fashion for young women.

Answer: a brooch or ribbon at the neck, a belt, maybe gloves

A brooch could be displayed nicely at the neck and covered any gap between the collar ends there. A watch or chatelaine or other jewelry could be added too. For fashionable outdoor wear, kid gloves were expected, but one might want to put on a bonnet first. Those lacy half mitts that exposed the bare fingers were a fad in the 1850s, but had died out.

Answer: spoon bonnet

The spoon bonnet got its name from being curved like the bowl of a spoon, with the front riding high above the forehead. It peaked circa 1863 and allowed lots of space for silk and paper flowers, netting, berries, ribbons, feathers, whatever matched the season and the wearer's desires. Because bonnets could be retrimmed easily, reshaped maybe once, and repurchased, they're good for dating old photos.

By the end of 1865, the spoon bonnet was long gone on fashionable women, replaced by a little flat structure on the top of the head.

In truly cold weather, there were opera hoods and other silk quilted things to wear for both fashion and warmth. In bright sun, a slat bonnet or corded bonnet wasn't so fashionable, but shaded the face and neck. Elderly women might wear a white frilled cap under the fashion bonnet, to flatter their face and thinning hair.

Answer: a shawl, and parasol on a sunny day,

A shawl added a finishing touch, and a sheer silk one could be suitable even on a warm day. A parasol would keep the sun off if she expected to stand outside a while. She might carry a large container for shopping, but might also get a boy from the store to carry it for her. Most purses from the period were small change purses, easy enough to slip in a pocket. Pockets were more apt to be built into a dress in the 1860s, and less apt to be tied separately around the waste as in earlier days.