This costume history information consists of Pages 383-394 of the chapter on
very late 17th century dress in the 13 YEAR REIGN era of
William III and Mary 1689-1702 and taken from English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop.
The 36 page section consists of a text copy of the book ENGLISH
COSTUME PAINTED & DESCRIBED BY DION CLAYTON CALTHROP. Visuals,
drawings and painted fashion plates in the book have a charm of their own and are
shown amid the text. The book covers both male and female dress history of
over 700 years spanning the era 1066-1830.
This page is about dress in
the reign of William and Mary 1689-1702.
For the Introduction to this book see this
introduction written by Dion Clayton Calthrop. I have adjusted
the images so they can be used for colouring
worksheets where pupils add some costume/society facts. My comments are in italics.
WILLIAM AND MARY
Reigned thirteen years: 1689-1702.
The King born in 1650; the Queen born in 1662; married in 1677.
First and foremost, the wig. Periwig, peruke, campaign wig with
pole-locks, all the rage, all the thought of the first
gentlemen. Their heads loaded with curl upon curl, long ringlets hanging
over their shoulders and down their backs, some brown, some covered with
meal until their coats looked like millers' coats; scented hair, almost
hiding the loose-tied cravat, 'most agreeably discoloured with snuff
from top to bottom.'
My fine gentleman walking the street with the square-cut coat open to
show a fine waistcoat, his stick hanging by a ribbon on to his wrist and
rattling on the pavement as it dragged along, his hat carefully perched
on his wig, the crown made wide and high to hold the two wings of curls,
which formed a negligent central parting.
His pockets, low down in his
coat, show a lace kerchief half dropping from one of them. One hand is
in a small muff, the other holds a fine silver-gilt box filled with Vigo
snuff.
He wears high-heeled shoes, red heeled, perhaps, and the tongue
of his shoe sticks up well above the instep.
Probably he is on his way
to the theatre, where he will comb his periwig in public, and puff away
the clouds of powder that come from it. The fair lady in a side box, who
hides her face behind a mask, is delighted if Sir Beau will bow to her.
The more enormous is our wig, the more frequently we take a pinch of
Violet Strasburg or Best Brazil, Orangery, Bergamotte, or Jassamena, the
more shall we be followed by persons anxious to learn the fashion.
Silver Spittoons
We
may even draw a little silver bowl from our pocket, place it on a seat
by us, and, in meditative mood, spit therein.
In this costume plate we can see the cuffs have become much broader
and the skirt of the frock coat is wider too. The gentleman wears his
coat left open to show the long waistcoat. Pride of place goes to his
wig which is much fuller than earlier styles. Fussy ribbon strings hold
the shoes onto his feet.
We have gone completely into skirted coats and big flapped waistcoats;
we have adopted the big cuff buttoned back; we have given up altogether
the wide knee-breeches, and wear only breeches not tight to the leg, but
just full enough for comfort.
The hats have altered considerably now; they are cocked up at all
angles, turned off the forehead, turned up one side, turned up all
round; some are fringed with gold or silver lace, others are crowned
with feathers.
We hear of such a number of claret-coloured suits that we must imagine
that colour to be all the rage, and, in contrast to other times not long
gone by, we must stiffen ourselves in buckram-lined skirts.
These powdered Absaloms could change themselves into very fine fighting
creatures, and look twice as sober again when occasion demanded.
They
rode about the country in periwigs, certainly, but not quite so
bushy and curled; many of them took to the travelling or campaign wig
with the pole-locks.
These wigs were full over the ears and at
the sides of the forehead, but they were low in the crown, and the two
front ends were twisted into single pipes of hair; or the pipes of hair
at the side were entirely removed, and one single pipe hung down the
back.
The custom of thus twisting the hair at the back, and there
holding it with a ribbon, gave rise to the later pigtail. The periwigs
so altered were known as short bobs, the bob being the fullness of the
hair by the cheeks of the wig.
The cuffs of the coat-sleeve varied to the idea and taste of the
owner of the coat; sometimes the sleeve was widened at the elbow to 18
inches, and the cuffs, turned back to meet the sleeves, were wider
still. Two, three, or even more buttons held the cuff back.
The pockets on the coats were cut vertically and horizontally, and
these also might be buttoned up.
Coat Buttons
Often the coat was held by only two
centre buttons, and the waistcoat flaps were not buttoned at all. The
men's and women's muffs were small, and often tied and slung with
ribbons.
Plain round riding-coats were worn, fastened by a clasp or a couple
of large buttons.
The habit of tying the neckcloth in a bow with full hanging ends was
dying out, and a more loosely tied cravat was being worn; this was
finished with fine lace ends, and was frequently worn quite long.
Stockings were pulled over the knee, and were gartered below and
rolled above it.
The ordinary citizen wore a modified edition of these clothes - plain in
cut, full, without half the number of buttons, and without the
tremendous periwig, wearing merely his own hair long.
For convenience in riding, the skirts of the coats were slit up the back
to the waist; this slit could be buttoned up if need be.
Now, let us give the dandy of this time his pipe, and let him go in
peace. Let us watch him stroll down the street, planting his high heels
carefully, to join two companions outside the tobacco shop.
Here, by the
great carved wood figure of a smoking Indian with his kilt of tobacco
leaves, he meets his fellows. From the hoop hung by the door one chooses
a pipe, another asks for a quid to chew and a spittoon, the third calls
for a paper of snuff newly rasped.
Then they pull aside the curtains and
go into the room behind the shop, where, seated at a table made of
planks upon barrels, they will discuss the merits of smoking, chewing,
and snuffing.
'We three are engaged in one cause,
I snuffs, I smokes, and I chaws.'
Here you see the cap called the 'fontage,' the black silk apron, the
looped skirt, and the hair on the high frame called a 'commode.'
Let me picture for you a lady of this time in the language of those
learned in dress, and you will see how much it may benefit.
'We see her coming afar off; against the yew hedge her weeds shine for a
moment. We see her figuretto gown well looped and puffed with the
monte-la-haut. Her échelle is beautiful, and her pinner exquisitely
worked. We can see her commode, her top-not, and her fontage, for she
wears no rayonné.
A silver pin holds her meurtriers, and the fashion
suits better than did the crève-cœurs. One hand holds her Saxon green
muffetee, under one arm is her chapeau-bras. She is beautiful, she needs
no plumpers, and she regards us kindly with her watchet eyes.'
A lady of this date would read this and enjoy it, just as a lady of
to-day would understand modern dress language, which is equally peculiar
to the mere man. For example, this one of the Queen of Spain's hats from
her trousseau (curiously enough a trousseau is a little bundle):
'The hat is a paille d'Italie trimmed with a profusion of pink roses,
accompanied by a pink chiffon ruffle fashioned into masses bouillonnée arranged at intervals and circled with wreaths of shaded
roses.'
The modern terms so vaguely used are shocking, and the descriptive
names given to colours by dress-artists are horrible beyond belief - such
as Watteau pink and elephant grey, not to speak of Sèvres-blue cherries.
However, the female mind delights in such jargon and hotch-potch.
Let me be kind enough to translate our William and Mary fashion
language.
A 'figuretto gown looped and puffed
with the monte-la-haut' is a gown of figured material gathered into
loops over the petticoat and stiffened out with wires 'monte-la-haut.'
The 'commode' is the wire frame over which
the curls are arranged, piled up in high masses over the forehead.
The 'top-not' is a large bow worn at the top of the commode; and the
'fontage' or 'tower' is a French arrangement of alternate layers of lace
and ribbon raised one above another about half a yard high.
It was
invented in the time of Louis XIV, about 1680, by Mademoiselle Fontage.
The 'meurtriers,' or
murderers, are those twists in the hair which tie or unloose the
arrangements of curls; and the 'crève-cœurs' are the row of little
forehead curls of the previous reign.
A 'muffetee' is a little muff, and
a 'chapeau-bras' is a hat never worn, but made to be carried under the
arm by men or women; for the men hated to disarrange their wigs.
The ladies have changed a good deal by the middle of this reign: they
have looped up the gown till it makes side-panniers and a bag-like
droop at the back; the under-gown has a long train, and the bodice is
long-waisted. The front of the bodice is laced open, and shows either an
arrangement of ribbon and lace or a piece of the material of the
under-gown.
Black pinners in silk with a deep frill are worn as well as the white
lace and linen ones.
The ladies wear short black capes of this stuff with a deep frill.
Sometimes, instead of the fontage, a lady wears a lace shawl over her
head and shoulders, or a sort of lace cap bedizened with coloured
ribbons.
Her sleeves are like a man's, except that they come to the elbow only,
showing a white under-sleeve of lace gathered into a deep frill of lace
just below the elbow. She is very stiff and tight-laced, and very long in the waist; and at
the waist where the gown opens and at the loopings of it the richer wear
jewelled brooches.
Later in the reign there began a fashion for copying men's clothes, and
ladies wore wide skirted coats with deep-flapped pockets, the sleeves of
the coats down below the elbow and with deep-turned overcuffs. They
wore, like the men, very much puffed and ruffled linen and lace at the
wrists.
˚
Also they wore men's waistcoat fashions, carried sticks and
little arm-hats - chapeau-bras.
To complete the dress the hair was done in
a bob-wig style, and the cravat was tied round their necks and pinned.
For the winter one of those loose Dutch jackets lined and edged with
fur, having wide sleeves.
The general tendency was to look Dutch, stiff, prim, but very
prosperous; even the country maid in her best is close upon the heel of
fashion with her laced bodice, sleeves with cuffs, apron, and
high-heeled shoes.
Reigned thirteen years: 1689-1702.
The King born in 1650; the Queen born in 1662; married in 1677.
This costume history information consists of Pages 383-394 of the chapter on
very late 17th century dress in the 13 YEAR REIGN era of
William and Mary 1689-1702 and taken from English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop.
The 36 page section consists of a text copy of the book ENGLISH
COSTUME PAINTED & DESCRIBED BY DION CLAYTON CALTHROP. Visuals,
drawings and painted fashion plates in the book have a charm of their own and are
shown amid the text. The book covers both male and female dress history of
over 700 years spanning the era 1066-1830.
This page is about dress in
the reign of William and Mary 1689-1702.
For the Introduction to this book see this
introduction written by Dion Clayton Calthrop. I have adjusted
the images so they can be used for colouring
worksheets where pupils add some costume/society facts. My comments are in italics.
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
Fashion-Era.com can take no responsibility for any information on the site which may cause you error, loss or costs incurred from use of the information and links either directly or
indirectly. This site is owned, designed, written and developed by author: Pauline Thomas and Guy Thomas. This site is designed to be viewed in 1024 X 768 or higher.
Before you write to me for costume/fashion help or information please, please consult the extensive sitemap which lists all our pages. If you still cannot find the answer after searching the site, then before you email me, please consider if you are prepared to make a donation to the website.
Donations Reader's donations help this site flourish, in particular donations encourage me to write more articles on fashion history as well as current trends. PayPal
allows anyone with a credit card to donate easily and securely. You may donate any sum you feel appropriate.
If you have any comments, or if you see any broken links, then please email with details of the page url or problem.
Find great anniversary gift ideas from Premier Gifts. Choose from our wide range of anniversary gifts to celebrate your special day in style.
Designer Inspired BagInc Fashion Bags and Cheap Handbags at Wholesale Rates.
This costume history information consists of Pages 383-394 of the chapter on
very late 17th century dress in the 13 YEAR REIGN era of
William III and Mary 1689-1702 and taken from English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop.
For the winter one of those loose Dutch jackets lined and edged with
fur, having wide sleeves.
