Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1887 — Freneh Fashions Yens Ago. [ARTICLE]

Freneh Fashions Yens Ago.

It appears that the rage for gaudy finery which nowadays ia the curse of the middle and lower clnases is one of thq outcomes of the present century towhich the fashions of times past torm a striking contrast. This is well set forth in a work on “Lea Lourgeoia d’Autrefois,” by M. A. Babean in which the author describes at great length the fashions of the middle classes. Tn the seventeenth century, he says, scholars were easily recognized by their dress, which differed from that of the merchant and nobleman. People of the lower middle classes had, as a rule, three suits of clothes—one for winter, another for summer, and a third for mourning. The different suits xvere put on at a certain date each,y« ar; their summer garments were worn from May 15 to the eud of October, and the rest of the year winter dress was worn. Mourning was always worn for several years. Every suit was f.rst worn on one side, then turned, and finally it was cut up for ga 1 ments for children. The sword, originally only worn by nobles, was soon assumed by the middle classes, in many places, unfortunately, not as an ornament, but as a necessarj weapon. On the whole, the middle classes were very modest in their apparel, with the one exception tnat their wigs were very expensive. The coiffure of women was mostly more sensible than that of men. At the time of Mme. de Sevigne and Mme. Pompadour no high chignons were worn by tbe women of the people, but the hair was simply arranged under caps, bows, or hoods. The colors mostly worn by these classes were brown and gray, and even shortly before the revolution no woman from the provinces dared to wear white ribbons, and evon colored ones were looked upon as eccentric. At the age of 45 the woman assumed a matronly dress, avoiding light colors and a youthful cut to her dress. As a characteristic of the last two centuries M. Babeau points out that men’s dress was much more costly than women’s, and that, contrary to our present system, the wealth of a family was displayed in the husband’s or father’s apparel.