View source for 1900s in fashion

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
[[Image:Harrods 1909.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Fashionable [[London]]ers in front of [[Harrods]], 1909. The trailing skirts and broad-brimmed hats of mid-decade are giving way to narrower dresses and hats with deep crowns. Men wear top hats with formal [[morning dress]] or bowlers with lounge suits.]]
'''Fashion in the period 1900–1909''' in European and European-influenced countries continued the long elegant lines of the [[1890s in fashion|1890s]].  Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "[[Gibson Girl]]" hairstyles.  A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the ''[[Fashion design|couturiers]]'' of [[Paris]] late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the [[corset]] as an indispensable garment of fashionable women.

==Women's fashions==

===General overview===
[[Image:Leyendecker arrow color 1907 detail.jpg|right|thumb|250px| The Young women adopted the tall, stiff collars and narrow neckties worn by men. Advertisement for [[The Arrow Collar Man|Arrow shirt collars]], 1907.]]
[[Image:Miss Eden.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[John Singer Sargent]]'s portrait of Miss Eden shows the fashionable full breast, low neckline, and masses of hair associated with the Gibson Girl, 1905.]]
[[Image:Iribe poiret 1908.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Paul Poiret]]'s new silhouette of 1908 was a radical departure.]]
[[File:Evelyn Nesbit.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Evelyn Nesbit]], in this photograph taken in 1901, has some of her wavy hair swept up to the top of her head, with the rest of her hair flowing past her shoulders in curling tendrils.]]

With the decline of the bustle, sleeves began to increase in size and the 1830s silhouette of an hourglass shape became popular again. The fashionable silhouette in the early 1900s was that of a confident woman, with full low chest and curvy hips.  The "health [[corset]]" of this period removed pressure from the abdomen and created an S-curve silhouette.<ref>Laver, James: ''The Concise History of Costume and Fashion'', Abrams, 1979</ref>

In 1897, the silhouette slimmed and elongated by a considerable amount. Blouses and dresses were full in front and puffed into a "pigeon breast" shape of the early 20th century that looked over the narrow waist, which sloped from back to front and was often accented with a sash or belt. Necklines were supported by very high boned collars.<ref>[http://vintagefashionguild.org Vintagefashionguild.org]</ref>

Skirts brushed the floor, often with a [[train (clothing)|train]], even for day dresses, in mid-decade. The [[fashion design|fashion house]]s of Paris began to show a new silhouette, with a thicker waist, flatter bust, and narrower hips.  By the end of the decade the most fashionable skirts cleared the floor and approached the ankle. The overall silhouette narrowed and straightened, beginning a trend that would continue into the years leading up to the [[World War I|Great War]].

An early 1910 survey of wealthy [[high school senior]] students at a private New York City [[girls' school]] found that each spent an average of $556 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|556|1910|r=0}}}} today{{Inflation-fn|US}}) annually for clothing excluding undergarments, and would have spent four times that amount with an unlimited budget.<ref name=weed19100424>{{cite news|last=Weed|first=Inis H.|title=What It Costs A Young Girl To Be Well Dressed|url=http://sundaymagazine.org/2010/04/what-it-costs-a-young-girl-to-be-well-dressed/|accessdate=26 January 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 April 1910}}</ref>

===Sportswear and tailored fashions===
Unfussy, [[tailor]]ed clothes were worn for outdoor activities and traveling.  The [[Waist (clothing)|shirtwaist]], a costume with a [[bodice]] or ''waist'' tailored like a man's shirt with a high collar, was adopted for informal daywear and became the uniform of working women.  Wool or tweed [[suit (clothing)]] called [[tailor|tailor-mades]] or (in French) ''tailleurs''  featured ankle-length skirts with matching jackets; ladies of fashion wore them with [[fox]] [[fur]]s and huge hats. Two new styles of hats that became popular at the turn of the century were the automobile bonnet for riding and sailor's hat worn for tennis matches, bicycling and croquet.<ref>Fashion in History</ref>

===Rise of ''haute couture''===
{{See also|History of fashion design#1900s}}
This decade marked the full flowering of Parisian ''[[haute couture]]'' as the arbiter of styles and silhouettes for women of all classes.  Designers sent [[Model (person)|fashion model]]s or ''mannequins'' to the [[Hippodrome de Longchamp|Longchamp races]] wearing the latest styles,<ref>Laver: ''Concise History of Costume and Fashion''</ref> and fashion photographs identified the creators of individual gowns.<ref>Steele, Valerie: ''Paris Fashion: A Cultural History'', Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-19-504465-7</ref>  In 1908, a new silhouette emerged from [[Callot Soeurs]], [[Madeleine Vionnet|Vionnet]] at the house of [[Jacques Doucet (fashion designer)|Doucet]], and most importantly, [[Paul Poiret]].<ref>Steele, Valerie: ''The Corset'', Yale University Press, 2001</ref>  The styles were variously called ''Merveilleuse'', ''Directoire'', and ''Empire'' after the fashions of the [[1795–1820 in fashion|turn of the nineteenth century]], which they resembled in their narrow skirts and raised waistlines.

The new styles featured form-fitting gowns with high or indefined waists, or ankle-length skirts and long tunic-like jackets, and required a different "straight line" corset. The Paris correspondent for ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' described this new look as "straighter and straighter ... less bust, less hips, and more waist...how slim, how graceful, how elegant...!"<ref>Quoted in Steele, ''The Corset', p. 146</ref>

===Hairstyles and hats===
Huge, broadbrimmed hats were worn in mid-decade, trimmed with masses of feathers and occasionally complete stuffed birds (male [[hummingbird]]s for those who could afford them), or decorated with ribbons and artificial flowers.  Masses of wavy hair were fashionable, swept up to the top of the head (if necessary, over  horsehair pads called "rats") and gathered into a knot.<ref>Ashelford, Jane: ''The Art of Dress''.</ref> Large hats were worn with evening wear.

By the end of the decade, hats had smaller drooping brims that shaded the face and deep crowns, and the overall top-heavy effect remained.

===Style gallery 1900–1906===
<gallery>
Image:Mrs Charles Russell.jpg|1 – 1900
Image:THE DELINEATORaugust1901p165.jpg|2 – 1901
Image:Spencer-sisters.jpg|3 – 1902
Image:3320JUPONtaffetas.png|4 – 1903–04
Image:Fashion Plate 1904.jpg|5 – 1904
Image:Elizabeth Drexel.jpg|6 – 1905
File:Mrs John Philip Sousa 15091v cropped.jpg|7 - c. 1905
Image:LeCostumeMI-CONFECTIONNE39fr.png|8 – 1906
Image:TheDelineatorAugust1906Summer Evening.jpg|9 – 1906
</gallery>

#[[:Image:Mrs Charles Russell.jpg|Mrs. Charles Russell]] wears a sheer patterned dress with fullness at the front waist over a soft sash.  This dress might have been called a tea gown at this time (1900).
#[[:Image:THE DELINEATORaugust1901p165.jpg|Fashion illustration]] for Summer 1901 shows sloped waistline, "pouter pigeon" front bodices, high necklines and large hats with ribbons.
#[[:Image:Spencer-sisters.jpg|Photograph of three sisters]] c. 1902 illustrates the "pouter pigeon" blouse or shirtwaist and trumpet-skirt that was a mainstay of middle-class clothing.
#[[:Image:3320JUPONtaffetas.png|Underwear]] ([[camisole]] (or, more likely, top half of combinations), corset, and trumpet-shaped petticoat) of 1903–04.
#[[:Image:Fashion Plate 1904.jpg|Fashion plate]] shows the frothy [[train (clothing)|trained]] afternoon dress descended from the tea gown, worn with an oversized hat and gloves, 1904. 
#[[:Image:Elizabeth Drexel.jpg|Elizabeth Wharton Drexel]] wears an off-the-shoulder orange evening gown with long gloves, 1905.
#[[:File:Mrs John Philip Sousa 15091v cropped.jpg|Mrs. John Philip Sousa]] wears a checked suit with elbow-length sleeves and long gloves, and carries a muff purse, c. 1905.
#[[:Image:LeCostumeMI-CONFECTIONNE39fr.png|French dress]] of 1906 is trimmed with [[embroidery]] or [[passementerie]].  The wide-brimmed hat is cocked up on one side.  Elbow-length sleeves are worn with gloves.
#[[:Image:TheDelineatorAugust1906Summer Evening.jpg|Summer]] evening fashions of 1906 have short or three-quarter-length sleeves.  Some ladies wear hats, and the gentlemen wear dinner jackets.

===Style gallery 1907–1909===
<gallery>

Image:Golfing costume 1907.jpg|1 – 1907
Image:Motoring wrap 1907.jpg|2 – 1907
Image:Paul César Helleu (1859-1927) Liane de Pougy 1908 ca.jpg|3 – 1908
Image:Poiret-designs.jpg|4 – 1908
Image:Standard1908.jpg|5 – 1908
Image:The blue cup de Camp.jpg|6 – 1909
Image:Maison duPetitSantThomasParisHiver1909-1910page2.png|7 – 1909
Image:Fashion Plate 1909.jpg|8 – 1909
</gallery>

#[[:Image:Golfing costume 1907.jpg|Golfing costume]] of 1907 features a tailored jacket and matching ankle-length skirt with patch pockets.
#[[:Image:Motoring wrap 1907.jpg|Motoring]] required voluminous coats or [[duster (clothing)|dusters]] to keep clothes clean and wearers warm in open automobiles.  They were worn with fashionable hats wrapped in veils, gloves, and often goggles, 1907.
#[[:Image:Paul César Helleu (1859-1927) Liane de Pougy 1908 ca.jpg|1908 portrait]] by [[Paul Helleu]] captures the fashionable combination of masses of wavy hair beneath a broad-brimmed hat.
#[[:Image:Poiret-designs.jpg|Dresses]] by [[Paul Poiret]] point the way to a new silhouette, with a high waist and narrow, ankle-length skirts, 1908.
#[[:Image:Standard1908.jpg|Newspaper insert]] of fashions for 1908 shows dresses of a more conservative cut than the latest Paris modes, but waists are higher and the figure slimmer and more erect than in the first half of the decade.
#[[:Image:The blue cup de Camp.jpg|Bib-front apron]] with pouter-pigeon cut, 1909.
#[[:Image:Maison duPetitSantThomasParisHiver1909-1910page2.png|High-fashion costume of 1909]] has a narrower silhouette.  The bodice fits closer to the body, although the waist still slopes, and the hat has a deep crown.
#[[:Image:Fashion Plate 1909.jpg|Dresses]] of 1909 show the new fitted, higher-waisted silhouette and are worn with huge hats.

==Men's fashion==
[[Image:Anders Zorn - Hugo Reisinger.jpg|right|thumb|200px|''Hugo Reisinger'' wears a dark suit with a white waistcoat and dotted necktie. He carries the fashionable [[Homburg (hat)|Homburg hat]], 1907, painting by [[Anders Zorn]], 1907]]
The long, lean, and athletic silhouette of the 1890s persisted.  Hair was generally worn short.  Beards were less pointed than before and moustaches were often curled.

===Coats, waistcoats, and trousers===
The sack coat or lounge coat continued to replace the [[frock coat]] for most informal and semi-formal occasions.  Three-piece suits consisting of a sack coat with matching [[waistcoat]] (U.S. ''vest'') and [[trousers]] were worn, as were matching coat and waistcoat with contrasting trousers, or matching coat and trousers with contrasting waistcoat.  Trousers were shorter than before, often had ''turn-ups'' or ''cuffs'', and were creased front and back using the new [[trouser press]].<ref>Laver, ''Concise History of Costume and Fashion''</ref>

Waistcoats fastened high on the chest.  The usual style was single-breasted.

The [[blazer]], a navy blue or brightly colored or striped [[flannel]] coat cut like a sack coat with patch pockets and brass buttons, was worn for sports, sailing, and other casual activities.

The [[Norfolk jacket]] remained fashionable for shooting and rugged outdoor pursuits. It was made of sturdy tweed or similar fabric and featured paired box pleats over the chest and back, with a fabric belt.  Worn with matching [[breeches]] or (U.S. [[Knickerbockers (clothing)|knickerbockers]]), it became the ''Norfolk suit'', suitable for bicycling or golf with knee-length stockings and low shoes, or for hunting with sturdy boots or shoes with leather [[gaiters]].

The cutaway [[Tailcoat|morning coat]] was still worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with striped trousers.

The most formal [[White tie|evening dress]] remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark or light waistcoat.  Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar.  The less formal [[Black tie|dinner jacket]] or [[Black tie|tuxedo]], which featured a shawl collar with silk or satin facings, now generally had a single button. Dinner jackets were appropriate formal wear when "dressing for dinner" at home or at a men's club.  The dinner jacket was worn with a white shirt and a dark tie.

Knee-length [[Overcoat|topcoats]] and calf-length [[overcoat]]s were worn in winter.

===Shirts and neckties===
Formal dress shirt [[collar (clothing)|collars]] were turned over or pressed into "wings".  Collars were overall very tall and stiffened.  Dress shirts had stiff fronts, sometimes decorated with [[shirt stud]]s and buttoned up the back.  Striped shirts were popular for informal occasions.

The usual [[necktie]] was a narrow four-in-hand.  [[Ascot tie]]s were worn with formal day dress and white [[bow tie]]s with evening dress.

===Accessories===
[[Top hat]]s remained a requirement for upper class formal wear; soft felt [[Homburg (hat)|Homburgs]] or stiff [[bowler hat]]s were worn with lounge or sack suits, and flat straw [[boater]]s were worn for casual occasions.

Shoes for men were mostly over the ankle boots. Toe cap, lace up boots in black, gray, or brown were the most common for everyday wear. Formal occasions called for formal boots with white uppers (spat style) and buttons on the side. In the Edwardian times basic lace up oxford shoes were introduced.

===Style gallery 1901−05===
<gallery>
Image:FalatJulian.PortretAntoniegoWodzickiego.1900.ws.jpg|1 – 1900
Image:Coats Dec 1900.jpg|2 – 1900
File:1901 Sartorial Arts Journal Fashion Plate Men's Golfing Clothes.png|3 - 1901
File:George Washington Carver, ca. 1902.jpg|4 - c. 1902
Image:TRSargent.jpg|5 – 1903
Image:Montesquiou at Charvet.jpg|6 - 1903
Image:President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904.jpg|7 – 1904
Image:Frock Coat April 1904.jpg|8 – 1904
Image:Irish immigrants San Francisco.jpg|9 – 1905
</gallery>
#[[:Image:FalatJulian.PortretAntoniegoWodzickiego.1900.ws.jpg|Antoni Wodzicki]] wears a fur-collared overcoat and a Homburg, 1900.
#[[:Image:Coats Dec 1900.jpg|Fashion illustration]] of a topcoat (left, worn with a top hat and morning dress) and overcoat (right, worn with business dress and Homburg), December 1900.
#[[:File:1901 Sartorial Arts Journal Fashion Plate Men's Golfing Clothes.png|Fashion plate]] from the ''Sartorial Arts Journal'' shows a three-button suite with [[pocket|patch pockets]] (left) and a golfing costume consisting of a [[Norfolk jacket]] and [[Knickerbockers (clothing)|knickerbockers]] (right), 1901.
# [[:File:George Washington Carver, ca. 1902.jpg|Staffmembers]] of the [[Tuskegee University|Tuskegee Institute]] wear coats with high front openings and contrasting trousers, many striped, c. 1902.
#[[:Image:TRSargent.jpg|Portrait]] of [[Theodore Roosevelt]] by [[John Singer Sargent]] in a formal frock coat, 1903.
#[[:Image:Montesquiou at Charvet.jpg|Caricature]] of a fitting at [[Charvet Place Vendôme|Charvet]] in 1903.
#[[:Image:President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904.jpg|Portrait]] of Theodore Roosevelt in a vividly patterned tie, light waistcoat, and dark coat, 1904.  The very short hairstyle is typical of the period.
#[[:Image:Frock Coat April 1904.jpg|Formal]] frock coat, 1904.
#[[:Image:Irish immigrants San Francisco.jpg|Two Irishmen in San Francisco]] wearing [[bowler hat]]s, 1905.

===Style gallery 1906-10===
<gallery>
Image:Complet-Jaquette35fr1906.png|1 – 1906
File:William Randolph Hearst cph 3a49373.jpg|2 - 1906
Image:John Singer Sargent - autoportrait 1906.jpg|3 – 1907
Image:SirAndLadyLaurier.jpg|4 – 1907
File:WmHTaft.jpg|5 - c. 1907
File:ChurchillGeorge0001.jpg|6 - 1907
Image:Irish immigrants 1909.jpg|7 – 1909
</gallery>

#[[:Image:Complet-Jaquette35fr1906.png|Men's formal daywear]] consists of a cutaway morning coat, high-buttoned waistcoat, and creased fly-front trousers worn with a high-collared shirt, top hat, and gloves, 1906.
#[[:File:William Randolph Hearst cph 3a49373.jpg|Photo]] [[William Randolph Hearst]] wears a cost with a very high closure, a stiff collar, and a tie with a stickpin, 1906.
#[[:Image:John Singer Sargent - autoportrait 1906.jpg|John Singer Sargent]] wears a gray formal coat and a winged-collar shirt, 1907.
#[[:Image:SirAndLadyLaurier.jpg|Wilfrid Laurier]], the Prime Minister of Canada and his wife, 1907
#[[:File:WmHTaft.jpg|Photo]] of [[William Howard Taft]] in a three-piece suit, c. 1907.
#[[:File:ChurchillGeorge0001.jpg|British formal dress]]: [[David Lloyd George]] (left) and [[Winston Churchill]] wear frock coats and top hats, 1907.
# [[:Image:Irish immigrants 1909.jpg|Irish immigrants in Kansas City, Missouri]], 1909. The man second from the left is wearing a [[flat cap]].
{{Clear}}

==Children's fashion==
Girls' fashion for this time period imitated older women of the same period.  Girls wore dresses of knee length, with trimmings at the hem such as lace and embroidery similar to women's lingerie dresses.  Normally, black shoes and woolen stockings went with the dress.  Their hair was generally worn long and curly with decorations of ribbon.  For play, bloomers and woolen jerseys were acceptable.<ref>Stevenson, Pauline. ''Edwardian Fashion''. London: Ian Allan LTD., 1980.</ref>

A new attempt was made to design garments that are more suitable for playing by designing girls' dresses with short sleeves.<ref name='fashion-era'>[http://www.fashion-era.com/index.htm "Children's Costume History 1900–1910"] Fashion-era.com. 28 April 2008</ref>

Young boys found comfort in Russian style blouses.<ref name='fashion-era'/>

Fashionable clothing for boys included [[sailor suit]]s, consisting of a [[shirt]] with a sailor collar and trousers or knickerbockers.  For automobiling, boys wore a duster with knickerbockers, a flat cap, and goggles.<ref>''Children's Fashions, 1860–1912: 1065 Costume Designs from "La Mode Illustrée"''. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994.</ref>

<gallery>
Image:John Singer Sargent Dorothy.jpg|Even tiny girls were dressed in large hats, 1900
Image:Garçons au cerceau.jpg|Two French boys wearing knickerbockers, 1900
Image:THE DELINEATORaugust1901p207.jpg|Girls' fashions for August 1901
Image:Small boy with long hair.png|Small boy in a sailor suit, 1909
</gallery>

==Working clothes==
<gallery>
File:Tablier pour hommes sans poche bavette bretonne de chef.png|Aprons, from a 1909 catalogue
File:Domestic servant ironing.jpg|Housemaid ironing, 1908
</gallery>

==Contemporary Edwardian Fashion==
Although the Edwardian styles and silhouettes of the beginning of the 1900s faded out to make way for the roaring twenties, the New Look in the 1940s and other styles, it still remains an influence for current day fashion. For example, [[Christian Dior]]'s Fall 2005 [http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/F2005CTR-CDIOR/ Couture Collection] was inspired by this time period. The couture dresses showed off corseted bodices and romantic ruffles.

==See also==
{{Commons category|1900s fashion}}
*[[Belle Époque]]
*[[Charvet Place Vendôme]]
*[[Edwardian era]]
*[[History of fashion design]]

==Notes==
<references />

==References==
*[[Janet Arnold|Arnold, Janet]]: ''Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and Their Construction C.1860–1940'', Wace 1966, Macmillan 1972. Revised metric edition, Drama Books 1977. ISBN 0-89676-027-8
*Ashelford, Jane: ''The Art of Dress: Clothing and Society 1500–1914'', Abrams, 1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5
*Laver, James: ''The Concise History of Costume and Fashion'', Abrams, 1979.
*Nunn, Joan: ''Fashion in Costume, 1200–2000,'' 2nd edition, A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd; Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000.  (Excerpts online at [http://www.victorianweb.org The Victorian Web])
*Steele, Valerie: ''Paris Fashion: A Cultural History'', Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-19-504465-7
*Steele, Valerie: ''The Corset'', Yale University Press, 2001

==External links==
* {{cite web |publisher= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] 
 |url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/features/20th_century_fashion_drawing_illustration/1900s/index.html
 |title= 1900s - 20th Century Fashion Drawing and Illustration
 |work= Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories
 |accessdate= 3 April 2011}}
*[http://cdm16028.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15324coll12/searchterm/190*/field/title/mode/all/conn/and/order/nosort 1900s Fashion Plates of men, women, and children's fashion] from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

===Surviving clothing===
*[http://web.missouri.edu/~umchestamwww/MHCTC/garment%20files/1993_17_3.htm Lingerie dress at the Missouri Historic Costume & Textile Collection]
*[http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/selhorst/sil1900.html Lingerie dresses at Kent State University]
*[http://statenisland.pastperfect-online.com/00039cgi/mweb.exe?request=advanced;_tkeyword=fashion;_t1101=;_t1102=;_t1103=;_t1104=;_t1105=;_t1106=;_t1107=;_t1108=;_t1109=;_t1110=;_t1111=;_t1112=;_%3E1091=1901;_%3C1092=1910;dtype=d 1900-1910 Fashions in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]

{{Historical clothing|state=uncollapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1900s in Fashion}}
[[Category:1900s fashion]]
[[Category:1900s|Fashion]]
[[Category:Edwardian era]]