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Britain was at the peak of its power in the 1880s. Russia was the dominant European power at conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815). but the Crimean War showed that the Industrial Revolution had changed great power calculations (1840s). Germany was united, but only beginning to achieve great power status. America was challenging Britain economically, but not yet in great power terms. The United States had not yet even begun to build a modern navy. The 1880s was at a turning point of world history. Europe was still dominated by monarchical led empires. The Russian Empire was absolutist. The German Empire had some representative features, but the military was no under the control of representative parliamentarians in the Reichstag. The only truly representative republic was the United States, but America did not have a military of any importance. Britain was moving in the direction of representative government with Parliament now in control of Government. And Britain was finally building a public school system to benefit the wider population. France was now a republic, but its power greatly diminished. Europeans and Americans were beginning to think that war was becoming an archaic phenomenon. Capitalism was remaking the world, but there were two forms of capitalism. Market capitalism in America and Britain and state guided capitalism in Germany. At the time it was not understood that the two would collide. Another force was beginning to attract interest. Marl Marx published the Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Capital (1867). Socialism was only a theoretical construct at the time, but it generated great appeal because it sounded so appealing. While the Industrial revolution created great wealth and enabled society to enable society to address many long festering problems, providing the fiscal and technological capabilities. Not all people benefited from the economic change set in motion. The Industrial Revolution had begun in Britain with textiles. Industrialists had long since moved on o heavy industry. But there were changes in textiles. Ready wear was becoming important providing increasingly less expensive clothes and enabling the middle-class to dress like the swells. Europe, specially Britain and France had long dominated the fashion industry, But for the first time, an American fashion had crossed the Atlantic and had an impact on Europe. Until them fashion had all flown in the other direction from Europe to America. It is fascinating that a fashion hearkening to aristocratic splendor would be the first fashion trend created in the United States. Little boys continued to wear dresses and other skirted garments in the 1880s. We also notice English boys wearing kilt suits, but this style was not as common as in America. We see more boys, however, wearing Highland kilt outfits. The Fauntleroy suit appeared in England during the 1880s. The style was an important fashion for boys after breaching. We no longer commonly see cut-away jackets, except for Fauntleroy suits. Like kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits were not as common as e in America. English boys tended to wear bloomer knickers with Fauntleroy suits, while American boys were more likely to wear straight-leg knee pants. The sailor suit was a well established style, although often it was not worn by boys older than 8 years. That was because this was the approximate age that boys began to attend their preparatory boarding school. Shortened-length pants became increasingly common for boys in the 1880s. While long pants were still very common, shortened-length pants were much more common than in the 1870s. Here there were variations from family to family as well as social-class factors involved. They were widely won by boys at private schools, although this varied from school to school. We note both knee pants and knickers. Eton collars were standard for well dressed boys. We see large numbers of boys wearing these gleaming white, stiff collars. We note boys wearing both Eton suits as well as other styles like Norfolk suits with Eton collars. Also helpful are our family and school pages for the 1880s.
Britain was at the peak of its power in the 1880s. Russia was the dominant European power at conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815). but the Crimean War showed that the Industrial Revolution had changed great power calculations (1840s). Germany was united, but only beginning to achieve great power status. America was challenging Britain economically, but not yet in great power terms. The United States had not yet even begun to build a modern navy. The 1880s was at a turning point of world history. Europe was still dominated by monarchical led empires. The Russian Empire was absolutist. The German Empire had some representative features, but the military was no under the control of representative parliamentarians in the Reichstag. The only truly representative republic was the United States, but America did not have a military of any importance. Britain was moving in the direction of representative government with Parliament now in control of Government. And Britain was finally building a public school system to benefit the wider population. France was now a republic, but its power greatly diminished. Europeans and Americans were beginning to think that war was becoming an archaic phenomenon.
Britain for decades had been the worl's leading industrial power--the Work Shop of the World. By the 1880s there was real competiytion for the first time from not onkly a united Germany in Euroope, but America across the Atlantic. Capitalism was remaking the world, but there were two forms of capitalism. Market capitalism in America and Britain and state guided capitalism in Germany. At the time it was not understood that the two would collide. Another force was beginning to attract interest. Marl Marx published the Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Capital (1867). Socialism was only a theoretical construct at the time, but it generated great appeal because it sounded so appealing. While the Industrial revolution created great wealth and enabled society to enable society to address many long festering problems, providing the fiscal and technological capabilities. Not all people benefited from the economic change set in motion. We also see amssive invrease in Britain's empire, in part because of the Scramble for Africa.
Since the dawn of civilization, human society was sustained primarily by agriculture. The Indutrial Revolution changed that, but it took considerablte time for industrial chnge to spread. The Industrial Revolution had begun in Britain with textiles. Industrialists had long since moved on to heavy industry. Britain dominated industry for nearlyn a century. By the 1880s there was increasing competitiio from both America and now a unified Germany.
Social class is an imprtant topic to cvonsider when discuissing clothing and fashion. America and Britain are similar in many ways. Thee are, however, differemces and one of those are social class. America inherited its culture and legal system from Nritain, but a huge factor was the friontier. It meant that for the first time in history, the average Joe who woked the land could own the land they worked. And than immediately after the Revolution the Continental Congress opassed the Northwest Ordinance (1787) and later Homestead Act (1862) which guaranted that Western land would be divided into family farms and not huge landed estates. America wold be the country to do this follwed closely by Revolutuinary Francv (1790s) Britain would not do this meaning that Btitain would enter the 19th and 20th centuries with a still hardened class structure. The 1880s is important in this regard in that by this time the sufferage was being widened to an exten that working-class men were beginning to have an impact on Btish society. A rare source of 19th century photography outside the studio were stereo-view cards. When talking about fashion, especially using stufio portraits. We had no choice because the great bulk of photograohic images wee studio portraiys in the 19th century. We are, of course, talking about children from well to do, or at least confortably well off families. The more elaborate fahions discussed here have nothing to do with the common folk that labored in factories. Fashion was a private performance of the well-to-do until well into the 20th Century. The children discussed here are the sons of the bourgeoisie, the new middle class that was neither noble nor poor but who were to dominate the European countries and who became the trend-setters of that era. Their wealth came, for the most part, from the new industries they financed and the factories they ran and owned, or from high education jobs that let them take part in the new industrial boom. In that they were different from the nobility, whose wealth was inherited, at least in the 19th Century. So the bourgeoisie on one hand imitated the nobility by showing off, and stressed their being different in that they had - more or less - earned their wealth. In this context, fashion played a role in the establishment of the identity of this new class which, by way of being new, had no tradition and no fixed identity. The lack of identity is probably why the bougeoisie envied (thus, imitated) the nobility while at the same time looking down their noses at them. The need to show their new status filtered down to how they dressed their children. For some the elaborate fashions such as the lace trimmed Fauntleroy suits were an attmpt to flaunt their wealth and an attempt to emulate the pomp and extravegance of the nobilit
But there were changes in textiles. Ready wear was becoming important providing increasingly less expensive clothes and enabling the middle-class to dress like the swells. Europe, specially Britain and France had long dominated the fashion industry, But for the first time, an American fashion had crossed the Atlantic and had an impact on Europe. Until them fashion had all flown in the other direction from Europe to America. It is fascinating that a fashion hearkening to aristocratic splendor would be the first fashion trend created in the United States.
Little boys continued to wear dresses and other skirted garments in the 1880s. We also notice English boys wearing kilt suits, but this style was not as common as in America. We see more boys, however, wearing Highland kilt outfits. The Fauntleroy suits appeared in England during the 1880s. The style was an important fashion for boys after breaching. We no longer commonly see cut-away jackets, except for Fauntleroy suits. Like kilt suits, Fauntleroy suits were not as common as in America. English boys tended to wear bloomer knickers with Fauntleroy suits, while American boys were more likely to wear straight-leg knee pants. The sailor suit was a well established style, although often it was not worn by boys older than 8 years. hat was because this was the approximate age that boys began to attend their preparatory boarding school. Shortened-length pants became increasingly common for boys in the 1880s. Sailor outfis were popularb with girls as well. While long pants were still very common, shortened-length pants were much more common than in the 1870s and worn bynincreasinglyn oldrr boys. Here there were variations from family to family as well as social-class factors involved. They were widely won by boys at private schools, although this varied from school to school. We note both knee pants and knickers. Eton collars were standard for well dressed boys. We see large numbers of boys wearing these gleaming white, stiff collars. We note boys wearing both Eton suits as well as other styles like Norfolk suits with Eton collars.
We continue to see extended families with grand parents and maiden aunts along with good sized families. We also sorts of headwear including sailor styles. Peaked caps were also common. The 1880s was the beginning of the Fauntleroy era. Only a fraction of boys wore Fauntleroy suits which were less common in England than america, but more common than the continent. Even so we do see quite a few boys with outfits that had some Fauntleroy styling. Sailor suits were another importnt outfit, especually for school age boys, although the popularity declined afyer about 8 years of age. Many younger boys had velvet suits. Suits were standard for boys, often with Eton collars. We see shortened-length pants (knickers and knee pants) were becoming increasingly popular. Norfolk suits were popular. Hosiery varied, including both socks and long stockings. Black long stockings were common. This contrasts with America where almost all children wore long stockings.
The developing state school system was increasingly well established by the 1880s. There was no uniform at these schools. We notice quite a range of clothing at the new board schools flowing from Education Act of 1870. Another huge step was the Elementary (primary) Education Act of 1880 which established cimpulsory education as a matter of law. The Act required children aged between 5-10 years of age to attend school. And it included means of ebforcenet. Attendance Officers were empowered round up truant children, even going to the homes of children who were attending school. This was a specual problem with poor children and their families. Many families were living on the edge of survivall and the pennis the children could wear was very important for them. One effort to address this problem was to wstablish employment certificales for children over 10, but under 13 years. It proved that they had reached a certain level of education. Fines were established businesses employing children who lacked this certificate. By the 1880s there were thousands of these state primary schools and the fees initilly charged were dropped. As there were no uniforms required, the clothing we see in early school potraits are a good reflection of popular fashions at the time. And as more school portraits are available. We have an increasingly large photographic record availablre to assess popular styles. Our understanding of girls' fashions is somewhat limited by the fact that so many girls wore pinafores covering up their dresses. As the boys did not wear pinafores, we have great detail about what they wore to school. Here we are talking about mostly pre-teen children. At the time, few working class children went on to secondary schools. Most of the boys wore suits. Suits at the sime were standard garments for boys. These were mostly collar butting suits, but we also see cut-away jackets. Older boys might wear lapel jackets. We do not see many sailor suits yet. They would become a major feature of 1890s schoolwear. By mid-decade with the adebt of the Guntlero Craze we begin to see boys with large collrs, something thar we do not see at the beginning of the decase. We do not see as many large bows as we see in America. We note boys wearing knee pants and long stockings. Younger boys wire socks. There were uniforms at the private schools. We see more preparatory schools in the 1880s. While there were no standard preparatory uniform, but Eton suits and knicker suits were very common at public schools. Headwear varied we see peaked caps and mortar boards. We note more boys wearing knee pants and knickers, but motly younger boys. Older boys still mostly wore long pants
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