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The
1894 Walking Suit pattern is based on a garment worn by Elizabeth
Belle Hayden of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Belle graduated from high
school in 1894 and that fall taught school in her home town. She
probably wore this suit while teaching. Her intention was to go to
college, primarily to study art, but in March of 1895 she died
suddenly of typhoid pneumonia. Belle was 19 years old. Forty years
later her sisters donated her carefully preserved wardrobe to the
Wisconsin Historical Society, including the Walking Suit’s
gloves, shoes, and matching hat. |
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The navy blue wool
and brown silk check used in Elizabeth’s suit. |
Belle’s suit, made of a soft navy blue wool broadcloth and a crisp
brown silk with tiny checks, was the ideal outfit for a young,
working woman. The August 25, 1894 issue of Harper’s Bazar
illustrated a gown similar to Belle’s, though the bodice insert
was made of cream-white embroidery instead of silk. The magazine
wrote that the dress was perfect for "the jeune fille--the
young girl still in her teens." It noted that gowns for girls
of this age should be "distinguished by [their] extreme
simplicity, depending for beauty on their cut and fine fit, and
their absence of elaborate trimmings."
In their list of appropriate fabrics for these gowns the magazine
included "soft, clinging wools" and "silks in small
checks."
In February 1894 The Ladies’ Home Journal encouraged the
use of serge and other rough-surfaced wools for business attire.
However, the previous month Harper’s Bazar had written that
"serge dresses are fashionable this season for all but the very
youngest women." Ultimately, Belle chose a fabric appropriate
to her age rather than her occupation.
Fashion
illustration of a gown very similar to Elizabeth’s. The caption
noted that it was the perfect dress for a teenage girl. Harper’s
Bazar, August 25, 1894
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Belle combined design elements and fabrics appropriate for "the jeune
fille" with colors suitable for working women. In the same
article mentioned above, Ladies’ Home Journal wrote that
"dark colors are always to be preferred" for business dress,
but added, "A dark color does not of necessity mean black, there
are, besides, navy blue, seal brown, Lincoln green and a deep cardinal.
Any one of these colors is suitable for business wear, and not one of
them is tiresome to the eye." Belle may have been influenced by
similar advice.
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The hourglass
silhouette can be seen in this Reception Gown from Paris. Harper’s
Bazar, September 29, 1894 |
When
Belle made her dress, the hour-glass silhouette was in its heyday. To
acquire this look women wore dresses that had large leg-o’- mutton
sleeves, a small waist, and a flaring skirt. In early 1894 The
Delineator described the sleeves as "bouffant above the elbows,
but [showing] a decided droop at the top." In other words the
sleeve puff was not to extend above the shoulder line. The Delineator
later wrote that "This mode of shaping favors the application of
epaulettes or caps, which are in consequence very frequently seen."
Belle’s suit could have been one of those "frequently seen"
dresses, since it has epaulette-like trim on the shoulders in the shape
of large bows.
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Front View |
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Back View |
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Before 1894 bodices came to a "v" point at the front and back.
That year, several fashion magazines described the stylish waistline as
coming to a short point in the front or back, like Belle’s, or having
no point at all. Fashion editors considered the new waistlines
attractive on the young, but often added that stout and older women
should continue to wear the slenderizing "v" point on their
gowns.
Left: The newest
bodice in 1894 had droopy leg-o'-mutton sleeves, a short point at
the waistline, and caps or epaulette-like trim on the shoulders. The
Delineator, February 1894
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Women in 1894 wore
their skirts smooth at the front and sides, and pleated or gathered at
the back. The Delineator, January 1894 |
In their January 6, 1894 issue, Harper’s Bazar described the
ideal flared skirt: "It is about four yards and a half wide around
the foot [circumference], where it barely escapes the floor all around,
and fits smoothly at the top on the front and sides, the back being
gathered, or else held
in four or six pleats." Belle’s skirt matches this description
exactly, even to the number of pleats used to give fullness at the back.
As the year went on, The Delineator noted several times that
skirt fullness was to be "confined to the back," but that this
trend should not affect the flare of the skirt. Skirts of this era
maintained their rigid flare with the use of stiff interfacings made of
hair cloth or canvas that could be up to 15" to 20" deep.
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Two years after Belle Hayden’s death the hourglass fashion was on the
wane. The leg-o’- mutton sleeves disappeared first, then the bodice
became blousy at front, and finally a new corset pushed the hips back.
Taken together these changes made women look like an "S" or
swan in profile, creating a style that remained popular from 1899 to
1909. |
