Girl's Historical Clothing: Chronological Listings--the 1850s

Figure 1.-- Pavel Fedotov painted e note many portraits he painted as well as interesting genre works. We note an interesting portrair of the Zherbin Children (1850-51), apparently one of his last works.

Girls might wear a kind of cap indoors, but always put on bonnets when going outdoors. Bonnet styles tended to be more open than in the 1840s. Women and girls wore enormous dresses with skirts held out by crinolines. Necklines could be quite low, but there were also dresses that nuttoned at the neck. Dresses were often plain one-piece garments with slightly lower waists. Women wore more open necklines and wider collars. Fashionable wide collars were worn in a more comfortable looking down on the shoulders style rather than upright as had been fashion in the 1840s. Bishop sleeves became very popular as well as front opening bodices. Plain bodices were common, often with long darts at the sides, rather a military look. Dress skirts tended to be wider and more decorative than in the 1840s. While dress bodicies hanged significantky, the skirt length did not change. The basic style for women continued to be floor-length dresses, although the skirts were wider than in th 1840s. This wide look was enhanced by the hooped skirt which appeared in the mid-1850s and began to replace the multiple layers of petticats that before had helped build us the voluminous skirts. A few fashionable younger women experimented with "Bloomers" or a short skirt over ankle-length Turkish trousers, a style somewhat related to the shorter dresses and pantalettes still worn by girls. Pantalettes in the 1850s were worn above the ankle, commonlyat calf-level. Women began using shorter cotsets. Womwn began wearing their hair with broad loops just above their ears, but by the end of the decade the loops were less defined and more commonly covered the ear. We also notice girls with ringlet curls. Girls commonly had center parts.