Womem's dress styles tended to change substantiallyat mid-decade. We are not entiurelky sure why. Women in the early 1870s wore their dresses with a rear bustle on the skirt. The sides of the dress skirt were drawn in thus giving a wide appearance from the front and a narrow appearance from the side. Corsets were still commonly used. The short corset worn at the beginning of the decade grew longer at the end of the decade. High dress waistlines were fashionable early in the decade, but became longer. At the same time a new style of two-piece dresses became very fashionable. Women wore outfits with with a sometimes long jacket-like bodice with a seperate skirt. Many jackets extended well below the waisline. The jacket bodices varied widely. Some were worn closed with buttons down the front, others style had open fronts. Often a different material ws used for the jacket so that it contrasted with the skirt. Normally a darker color was used for the jacket than the skit. Detailing included the extensive use of pleating and ruffles. Women began wearing their hair higher. Women might wear black velvet neck ribbons, often with a brooch at the front and tied in the back with a small bow. We notice many rather long dresses.
The 1870s: Plain and plaid dresses: German siblings
The 1870s: Riding outfit: English girl
The 1870s: Dress and tunic: German brother and sister
The 1870s: Print dress: German girl
The 1870s: Skirted suit: American child
The 1870s: Diagonal print dress and petticoat: German family
The 1870s: Long dress and strap shoes: American girl
The 1870s: Hat and coat: English teenager
The 1870s: Jacket and dress: English young woman
Early-1870s: Hoop-skirt dress: German girl
1870: Dark dress: English toddler
1872: Fancy dress: English girl
1873: Girls and women's dresses: American family
1873: Dress with fringed apron: German girl
About 1875: Girl's party dress: French children
1877: Smocked dress and striped long tiockings: Uruguayan girl
1879: Girls' sailor dresses: English princesses
1879: Girls' dresses: American family
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