1700s fashion was more of long gowns and ornamental dresses. Both men and women used to wear ornamental dresses back then. Men tend to have long hair and used to keep their hair in braids. Fashion of the 1700s generally followed the Rococo style of fashion. This fashion was hugely popular across Central Europe. But it originated from France. After all these years, people again started following all yesteryear’ fashion and style. Though people do not follow every bit of the 1700s fashion sense, they fetch out some essential parts of this particular era. Here we take a peek through the most sensational fashion trends of the 1700s. Let’s dig in;
Mantua
We all love the modern capes. Formal mantuas from the fashion in the 1700s are forefathers of these long capes. In the case of mantua, a long non stitched fabric is used to drape the upper body. Generally no corset was worn under the mantua. English women used to love experimenting with their outfits and this was one of those experiments. Later they started wearing mantuas from the 1700’s fashion with body-hugging petticoats.
Gowns
Gowns are like all-time-in-trend kinds of dresses. The massive change that took place in the gown stitching during the 1700s is that the neck portion gets more opening rather than previous eras. Around this time, women started realizing the values of neckpieces and different pieces of jewellery that can be worn around the neck. Women loved to wear necklaces, ribbons etc. around their neck. 1700 fashion included a lot of gowns with wide necklines due to the need of jewellery.
Here is a list of most popular gowns of the 1700 fashions;
Close bodied gown
This particular gown is a bit of an informal one. This can be worn as a nightdress as well. Here, the backside of the gown has more cloth than the front side. The extra cloth is pleated and then sewed properly so that the gown hugs the body. Then the stitched pleats are taken to the front side and attached in any kind of design. The front side of the thing is open sometimes and it can be close as well. A matching petticoat or skirt is worn on the bottom side. Sometimes a lace stitched cloth used to be worn around the neckline.
Sack Back gown
1700s women’s fashion includes this in a wide range.This gown used to come with a low cut neckline. This would be the perfect ‘going out’ kind of 1700s dresses for the 1700s women. The gown used to be stitched with Indian cotton or silk. This would be amazing for the woman who is gonna wear this. This is super comfortable. Such gowns used to come with panniers. This would make the dress look flowy. It used to come with a tight bodice. The agenda of the designer was to showcase a petite bodice of the woman who’s wearing this. The front is closed or can be opened. If opened, a contrasting petticoat should be worn by the person.
Court dress
The Court dress or the grand habit de cour was taken from the style of the 1670s. These particular 1700s dresses used to have a wide neckline, bared shoulder line and a wonderful cut. It was a stiff bodied gown. This was also stitched from the backside. The oval neckline of these gowns is also interesting.
Loose White Gown
Have you heard of Marie Antoinette; 1700s women fashion icon? Well, she was the last queen of France. She was and will always get considered as one of the biggest fashionistas of the 1700s fashion line up. These loose white gowns used to be worn without a corset. The body-hugging gowns can show the petite body nicely from the outside. The women that love freedom and like liberation from the orthodox fashion in the 1700s love this gown a lot. The natural figure was exposed and that was loved by many women of that era. They were also known as Chemise a la Reine.
Bed gowns
The shortgowns or bed gowns were worn by women of the 1700s during the day time or night time. These 1700s dresses were thigh high and a petticoat can or cannot be worn with it. Such gowns were made with thin cotton fabric just to give that extra soothing peace and calmness to the skin. Most of such gowns were in floral prints. Most of them are front tied or back tied as per the requirements of the person. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the working-class women of Europe started wearing such gowns. These were comfortable and even today women in several parts of the world love to wear this particular design.
Panniers
This was one of the major fashion in the 1700s add ups of the 1700s fashion. In French, Pannier means ‘Basket’. Women used to wear baskets like hoops around their hips to give a swaying effect when they walk. These panniers were worn under the dress. For informal dress up, small panniers were good. But for formal occasions like marriages or other social occasions, huge panniers were popular. These heavy things allowed women to walk very slowly and they used to occupy a lot of space in a room. This fashion stayed popular until the mid-1700s and then started declining.
Stomachers
When a woman wants to show the perfect shape of her figure, Stomacher is very necessary as 1700s dress styles. This was an inverted triangle-shaped fabric. It was designed with laces, fabrics, flower patterns and what not! It slid in front of the body of the woman. It can also be attached on the front side of the body with some tie-ups that come with the stomacher as well. It actually looks amazing when designed with some laces and other floral designs. This stayed in fashion till the mid-1700s and then vanished.
Endnote
These were some of the most quirky fashion ideas for women back in the 1700s. Besides all of these, men back in those times used to showcase some odd fashion in the 1700s as well. 1700s mens fashion was a bit odd. Most of these fashion and style senses do not exist in today’s world. But some of them are still used by many women across the world. Women love wearing petticoats with different dresses even today! Lots of fashion designers are bringing back some parts of the 1700s fashion sense which is a good thing.