Dating old photographs from clothes worn in the 1890s

Portrait of General Smuts, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of General Smuts
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
Great Britain
Platinum print
Museum no. 7859-1938
Given by Eleanor M. Hollyer, 1938

Hollyer was the photographer of choice for the artistic set of the late 19th century. His 'Portraits of Many Persons of Note' fills three volumes with nearly 200 portraits and comprises a pictorial Who's Who of late Victorian and Edwardian celebrities.

Family photograph, artist unknown

Family photograph
Artist unknown
1898
England
Platinum print
Museum no. E.2283:191-1997
The Ashton Collection

This photograph is taken from a family photograph album. Most of the photographs in it are printed on platinum paper, which was introduced in 1879. Such a photograph was expensive to produce and enjoyed for its delicate tonal gradations and matt surface.

This family photograph album contains single and group portraits and depictions of sports and pastimes that would have amused family, friends and visitors. It is a personal keepsake and document of a wealthy family of the 1890s. Many Victorian and Edwardian family photograph albums such as these were acquired by the V&A in the 1950s and 60s to show examples of the dress of that period.

Throughout most of the 19th century women had few legal rights to property, money, children, or even, after marriage, their own bodies. However, there were great changes in attitudes during the last decade of the century. The traditional role of women was questioned and some women openly defied convention. They educated themselves by reading widely and took up what were seen as 'un-ladylike' activities such as smoking and cycling. The free movement of the bicycle was seen as a symbol of equality and personal freedom.

The dress worn by the ladies in this photograph is typical of the 1890s. They wear high collars with puffed, leg of mutton sleeves. The dresses are full length but quite slim.

Portrait of Constance Lytton, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Constance Lytton
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
1899
Great Britain
Platinum print
Museum no. 7821-1938

The dress worn in this photograph is distinctly 1890s in style. The sitter wears a high lace collar with leg of mutton sleeves, but this dress also has many of the features associated with the dress reform trend of the late 19th century. The trend ran parallel with the Arts and Crafts Movement and advocated a radically new approach to dress in an effort to free women from corsetry.

Portrait of Princess Louise, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne and Duchess of Argyll
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
Great Britain
Platinum print
Museum no. 7833-1938

This portrait of Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne and Duchess of Argyll, illustrates formal evening dress from around 1890. Her waist is severely corseted and she wears a bustle to give a pronounced, hourglass shape. The volume of the skirt is pulled towards the back and drapes over the bustle. Her hair is piled on top of her head in tight curls, fashionable during the 1890s.

Portrait of James Drew, F. Hollyer

Portrait of James Drew
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
England
Platinum print
Museum no. 7867-1938
Given by Eleanor M. Hollyer ,1938

The fashionable 1890s gentleman in this portrait sports short centre-parted slicked-back hair, with a generous moustache twisted at the ends. He wears a high collar turned over to form wings, and his waistcoat buttons high at the chest.

Portrait of E.T. Reed, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Edward Tennyson Reed
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
1899
Great Britain
Platinum Print
Museum no. 7782-1938

The sitter in this portrait sports a generous and groomed moustache, fashionable throughout the 1890s. It was common to have a pointed beard too. Collars were turned over into wings, and became taller throughout the decade. The jacket buttons fashionably high up.

Portrait of Viscount Wolseley, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Viscount Wolseley
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
England
Platinum print
Museum no. 1858-1938
Given by Helena Hollyer, 1938

19th century military dress is often regarded as amongst the most ceremonial and decorative, though it does not follow fashion and does not change quickly from season to season, making it difficult to date as precisely. However, hairstyles can be of some use in dating. The sitter in this photograph sports a full moustache very fashionable in the 1890s.

This photograph is a formal military portrait of British army officer Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley KP GCB OM GCMG VD PC (1833–1913). 

Boating suit, designer unknown

Boating suit (jacket, waistcoat, trousers)
Designer unknown
1890s
Great Britain
Cream wool with blue pinstripe, hand- and machine-sewn
Museum no. T.113 to B-1934
Given by Dr C. W. Cunnington

Light-coloured suits such as this became popular from the 1890s. Matching coats, trousers and waistcoats, known as 'dittos', in pin-striped flannel were accepted dress for summer sports and holidays. The outfit was often completed with a straw boater.

Striped jackets were originally worn for cricket, tennis and rowing and became fashionable for seaside wear during the 1880s. The infiltration of sporting dress into informal styles of clothing shows how social conventions were relaxing in the late 19th century.

Conventions in dress applied to informal as well as more formal wear. It was important to be dressed appropriately for the occasion. One gentlemen's etiquette book, Manners for Men, by Mrs Humphry ('Madge of Truth'), published in 1897, writes that:

'There are special suits for all kinds of outdoor amusements, such as shooting, golfing, tennis, boating, driving, riding, bicycling, fishing, hunting, &c., but into the details of these it is unnecessary to enter. It may be remarked, however, that it is easy to stultify the whole effect of these, however perfectly they may be built 'by the tailor' by the addition of a single incongruous article of attire; such as a silk hat or patent boots with a shooting-suit.'

Portrait of A. Horsley Hinton, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of A. Horsley Hinton
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
Late 1890s, England
Platinum print
Museum no. 7912-1938

Hollyer was the photographer of choice for the artistic set of the late 19th century. His 'Portraits of Many Persons of Note' fills three volumes with nearly 200 portraits and comprises a pictorial Who's Who of late Victorian and Edwardian celebrities. Hinton was a photographer and member of the Linked Ring, a brotherhood of photographers committed to excellence in all styles of photography which flourished between 1892 and 1909.

The sitter sports a high collar folded over into wings and a high buttoned waistcoat. His moustache is long and twisted at the ends. The top hat was worn by the upper classes for formal  occasions.

Dress, Liberty & Co. Ltd.

Dress
Liberty & Co. Ltd
London
1895
Pongee silk with smocking and machine-made lace
Museum no. T.17-1985

This dress has many of the features associated with the dress reform trend of the late 19th century. The trend ran parallel with the Arts and Crafts Movement and advocated a radically new approach to dress in an effort to free women from corsetry.

The clothes were homemade or produced in commercial studios. They used natural and artistic materials and often included hand-embroidered decoration inspired by the countryside and wild or garden flowers. Smocking too, seen here at the waist, on the sleeves and at the neckline, evoked an imaginary rural simplicity. It sometimes featured on dresses designed and sold by the London firm of Liberty & Co, who sold gowns in the Arts and Crafts style.

Boater hat, designer unknown

Boater hat
Designer unknown
1890s
Great Britain
Plaited straw, with a silk grosgrain hatband
Museum no. T.81-1980
Bequeathed by Eric Mynott

Boaters were stiff straw hats with a moderately deep flat-topped crown and straight narrow brim and with a hatband of Petersham ribbon (thick double ribbon which was generally watered, plain, figured or striped). This particular model is marked on the inside with the patent number 172905. The patent is for the elastic size regulator which is fitted inside and would alter the inside of the hat to the shape of the head.

The straw hat was at first only accepted for holidays and summer sports. By the 1890s it had become popular for city wear. In 1894 the New York Herald of Fashion observed: 'It was only last summer that Londoners began to wear straw hats with any freedom. Before then it would have been a social crime for any man pretending to fashionable dress, to appear in London streets in any hat other than the high silk hat.' They became so popular that the Tailor and Cutter of 1895 reported, 'The straw hat boom has boomed still more boomily, and the farmer is crying out that the wheat crop is short in the straw.' Manners for Men (1897), by Mrs Humphry, stated: 'For a morning walk in the Park in summer the straw hat, or low hat and tweed suit, are as correct as the black coat and silk hat. But is must be remembered that a straw hat or low hat cannot be worn with a black coat of any kind.' Boaters are still sometimes worn today as part of a school uniform of for formal occasions connected with the river.

The boater was worn by all social ranks and had no 'class distinction'. However, as another extract from Manners for Men shows, if a man was to be a success in society he had to wear it for the correct occasion:  'If he commits flagrant errors in costume he will not be invited out very much, of that he may be certain. If he goes to a garden party in a frock-coat and a straw hat, he is condemned more universally than if he had committed some crime. The evidence of the latter would not be upon him for all men to read, as the evidence of his ignorance in social forms is, in his mistaken notions of dress.'

Portrait of Sir George Lewis, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Sir George Lewis, Bart.
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
Great Britain
Platinum print
Museum no. 7856-1938
Bequeathed by Eleanor Hollyer, 1938

The sitter in this portrait sports a four-in-hand Ascot tie, very fashionable during the 1880s and 1890s. The Ascot tie is made of a narrow neck band with a wide cravat style front, neatly folded and pinned with a tie-pin. It was generally worn for morning dress, and is now commonly worn for weddings. The collar is typically high, with folded wings. The waistcoat is buttoned high on the chest. 

Pair of boots, A. Capek

Pair of boots
Anton Capek (designed and made), C.W. Coulson (retailer)
1895-1915 (manufactured)
Vienna (made), London (sold)
Glacé kid leather lined in cotton sateen and yellow silk satin, buttons
Museum no. T.322&A-1970
Bequeathed by Lionel Ernest Bussey

This boot is one of a pair made in Vienna for display in a London shop. It shows European shoe-making at its finest. The slender ankle, curved Louis heel, and high, buttoned leg were very fashionable in 1900. The soft brown leather with its shiny glacé finish highlights the skilful stitching and high quality of construction.

Viennese and Belgian bootmakers produced some of the most striking footwear of the early 20th century. Their stylish boots made good display pieces for retailers. This example is elegantly restrained, but others were richly decorated and made in bright colours. These boots advertised that top-quality fashionable footwear could be had from the shops that displayed them.

When their style went out of fashion and they were no longer useful to shops, display shoes and boots were stored or sold. This pair was purchased in 1923 for 8 shillings and sixpence.

Dress, designer unknown

Dress
Designer unknown
About 1897
France
Wool, trimmed with ribbon, braid and machine-made lace, the bodice lined with cotton
Museum no. T.139-1961
Given by Mrs A. Perrot

This dress was worn by the mother of the donor and is said to have been bought in Paris. It was probably ready-made. Boleros and figure-moulding, flared skirts were very fashionable at the time. The Queen showed examples with epaulettes, blouse fronts and pointed belts (2 April 1895). Another magazine illustrated a similar example: 'The newest bell skirts are absolutely without fullness at the top….It fits closely over the hips and begins to form a series of fluted pleats a little above the knee' ('Our Lessons in Dressmaking', Myra's Journal, 80, 1 April 1894).

The soft colours of this dress anticipate the pastel shades of the early 20th century.

Portrait of Violet Lindsay, F. Hollyer

Portrait of Violet Lindsay, Duchess of Rutland
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
England
Platinum print
Museum no. 7830-1938

This is a portrait of Violet Lindsay Manners, Duchess of Rutland (1856-1937). She was a well known artist, and a champion of 'Aesthetic' dress - a dress movement that eschewed restrictive corsetry and artificial bustles for loose, draping clothes with simple silhouettes in natural fabrics and colours. 

Portrait of Louise Jopling Rowe, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Louise Jopling Rowe (1843-1933)
Frederick Hollyer (1838-1933)
About 1890
England
Museum no. 7788-1938

This portrait is of the Louise Jopling Rowe (1843-1933), one of the best known female painters of the Victorian era. She is shown here at 47 years old, when she was already interested in 'rational' dress - a dress movement that eschewed heavy bustles, massive crinoline skirts and tight corsetry. At the turn of the century she served as vice-president of the Healthy and Artistic Dress Union, which championed this less restrictive mode of dress. The dress she is wearing here has several features of artistic dress. The silhouette is very simple and unfussy, and the dress is loosely corseted or not at all - a distinctely unusual feature during the 1890s.

Day dress, designer unknown

Day dress (skirt and bodice)
Designer unknown
1892-4
France or Italy
Printed silk, with insertion and trimmings of cream silk gauze, hem bound with pink velvet, lined with silk, whalebone supports in the bodice, and metal hook and eye fastenings
Museum no. T.368&A-1960
Given by the Comtesse de Tremereuc

This dress would have been worn for fashionable day wear. It has a fitted bodice, with a pointed waist, and a frilled collar and cuffs trimmed with gauze and a machine-embroidered border. The leg-of-mutton sleeves are long, full, gathered at the shoulders and gauged at the insides of the elbows.

The marked, horizontal emphasis at the shoulder line meant that it was often difficult to wear fitted coats and jackets out of doors. The short, circular cape therefore came into its own for both day and evening wear.

The growth of the sleeve was balanced by an increase in the size of the skirt. In about 1892, flared skirts were introduced. They grew to their widest extent in about 1895, along with the sleeve, and had names such as 'the bell', 'the fan' and 'the umbrella skirt'.

The low collar is an unusual feature, more common towards the end of the 1890s than at the beginning. Since the dress has been let out, suggesting a longer period of use, it may be a later alteration.

Engraving of outdoor dress by Maison Worth, The Lady's Newspaper

Engraving of outdoor dress designed by Maison Worth, Paris
A. Sandoz & Derbier (engraved); The Lady's Newspaper (published)
17 August 1895
Paris (published)
Museum no. PP.7.C-E

This engraving, illustrating stylish outdoor dresses, designed at Maison Worth, Paris was published by The Queen, The Lady's Newspaper, on 17 August 1895. Both women wear the fashionable ideal of mid 1890s dress. They are both dressed in tightly corseted, fitted bodices with high collars and exaggerated leg of mutton sleeves. The silhouette emphasises a voluminous and horizontal collar line. 

Their skirts are long but moulded at the hips in an A-line shape, contrasting with the massive skirts and bustles of previous decades. Their hair is piled high on top of their heads and their elaborately trimmed hats sit high and straight.

Portrait of Lady Duckworth, F. Hollyer

Portrait of Lady Duckworth
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
England
Platinum print
Museum no. 7835-1938

This portrait of Lady Duckworth shows her in Victorian mourning dress. A widow was expected to conform to strict rules governing her clothes for at least two years after the death of her husband, which included the wearing of a widow's lace cap and a black cape as seen here. A younger woman might discard her mourning garb after two years, but elderly widows generally wore it for much longer, if not the rest of their lives.

Portrait of Elizabeth Robins Pennell, F. Hollyer

Photograph, portrait of Elizabeth Robins Pennell
Frederick Hollyer (1837-1933)
About 1890
England
Platinum print
Museum no. 7640-1938

Mrs Elizabeth Robins Pennell was a correspondent for the fashionable 'Pall Mall Gazette'. She also wrote several books.

She is shown here in fashionable mid 1890s dress, sporting a rather masculine tailored jacket with exaggerated leg of mutton sleeves. Her hair is piled up on top of her head, and her hat sits high and straight on her crown, trimmed with feathers and berries. From what we can see of her skirt it appears that she is wearing the popular and simple A-line skirt of the time.

Suit, designer unknown

Suit
Designer unknown
1890-3
Germany
Tweed, lined with silk twill
Museum no. T.778-1972
Given by the National Westminster Bank

As women engaged in a wider range of activities in the 19th century, more practical clothing styles were adopted. Tailor-made outfits such as this one helped meet the needs of a diverse lifestyle. Plain woollen costumes were considered ideal for a variety of leisure pursuits and could be adapted for sports such as shooting and golf. They may not have been more comfortable than other styles but the hard-wearing fabric and relative lack of trimmings made them easier to care for and very versatile.

Style was not necessarily sacrificed for function as elegant, close-fitting designs graced the pages of tailoring journals. Some featured jackets and skirts in contrasting checks, stripes and diagonals, others, like this one, were made of the same material throughout. Vests based on the man’s waistcoat were another popular feature. Here the jacket is semi-fitted with no shaping in the front or fastenings so that it shows off the waistcoat underneath. The pearly tones of the buttons complement the soft colour of the cloth and the ruffled frill on the stand collar adds a delicate touch.

Coat and skirt, J. Doucet

Coat and skirt
Jacques Doucet (1853-1929)
About 1894
Paris
Linen, with collar and cuffs embroidered with silk cord, elastic stays attached to the inside of the skirt to control the fullness, hand and machine sewn
Museum no. T.15&A-1979
Bequeathed by Mr. E.W. Mynott

During the 1890s, women's tailored suits were very popular. They borrowed details from men's dress, such as wide lapels and exterior pockets. This practical style suited the more emancipated lifestyles women were then leading.

This suit might well have been worn for a tour abroad. When it was conserved, reddish-brown dust was found on the surface. Linen was particularly popular for hot-weather travel because it was washable and comparatively lightweight.

Jacques Doucet (1853-1929) was one of the best known and most highly respected couturiers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was famed for his extravagant gowns, tailored suits and luxurious coats. Inheriting a lace and lingerie establishment in Paris, Doucet expanded the family business by opening a couture department in the 1870s. The Parisian elite soon patronised his salon, admiring his taste in fabrics and the meticulous quality and workmanship of his creations.