Blue silk dress, ca. 1870
Item 11543 info
Brick Store Museum
The outcry against corsets by dress reformers and physicians continued into the 1880s. Feminists attacked corseting because of potential harm to internal organs and the obvious restriction of movement.
Most authors agreed that rather than assail fashion it was better to teach hygiene. Godey's Lady's Book often featured articles by doctors on various topics of health and personal care.
In England a counter-current in the form of aesthetic dress gained popularity in the 1870s and 80s.
Encouraged by the romantic paintings of Pre-Raphaelite artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a looser, simpler form of dress, vaguely Medieval inspired, became the vogue with artists and writers.
It was not until the end of the century, however, that the popularity of new active sports such as bicycling, skating, tennis, and croquet encouraged special styles of clothing designed for active wear.
During the 19th century American women never developed an indigenous fashion of their own.
Stubbornly fixed on the high styles of Paris and London, they went on to adopt the next and even more exaggerated phase of the bustle.
Item 18 of 24
