Costume: Fanciful, Historical And Theatrical - free ebook by Mrs. (Eliza Davis) Aria

COSTUME FANCIFUL, HISTORICAL, AND THEATRICAL

COQUELIN, AS CYRANO DE BERGERAC, FROM A WATER COLOUR DRAWING BY PERCY ANDERSON. ( Reproduced by special permission. )...

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COSTUME: FANCIFUL, HISTORICAL AND THEATRICAL

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CHAPTER I

IN CLASSIC TIMES Fashion, even under exalted patronage, had scant chance to distinguish herself in the bad old days of the Romans. She, who now must be obeyed, was forced then to take a back seat enwrapped in the toga, and all who would have preached or practised the doctrine of diversified dress remained mute, inglorious modistes. It is not on record that any great personage invented any particular garment, or was accorded the honour of standing godmother to a favoured style. Such privileges as

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CHAPTER II

IN EARLY MEDIÆVAL TIMES From the days of the early Britons to the twelfth century is a long jump, but in many countries the growth of new fashions was so slow that to attempt to describe it would mean much wearying repetition and an unnecessary extension of these pages. For example, the dress worn by the men and women of Italy during the twelfth century was very similar to the old Roman styles, while in Southern Italy the Norman dress found favour as well as the Byzantine. In Sicily Arab costume

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CHAPTER III

IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY A comparative simplicity marked the raiment of the thirteenth century, when the elaborate detail yielded place to ample folds of drapery, capacious mantles, and flowing trains. It was a simplicity, however, which cannot conscientiously be congratulated upon its economical habits, for the fabrics employed were of the richest and most sumptuous, and the breadth of the garments was prodigious. The dress which is so proudly worn by the Queen in the illustration on page 20,

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CHAPTER IV

IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY Sumptuous and ever more sumptuous grew dress in the fourteenth century, when the outfit brought by Isabella of France, upon the occasion of her marriage with Edward II., was a conspicuous example of the possibilities of extravagance. Historians have it that her robes were of gold and silver and of shot taffeta and velvet, that there were many beautiful furs, and that six dozen coifs and 419 yards of linen, and six dresses of green cloth, six dresses splendidly marbled,

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CHAPTER V

IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Extravagance to the fantastic point pursued its outrageous way in the fifteenth century; the dresses were tightly belted at the waist, and trailed long lengths upon the floor, while the flat collars of velvet or fur pointed towards the front and were cut to display a square stomacher, and the sleeves indulged themselves with many diversions, small ruffles appearing to finish those which were tight at the wrists. The celebrated, never-to-be-forgotten horned head-dresses s

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CHAPTER VI

IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY The Tudor period brought an extraordinary revolution in dress, the first important change taking place in the sleeves, which were now of different material and different colour from the gown. Several pairs of sleeves would be allotted to each gown, and were necessarily made detachable, while in shape they were full and puffed, padded and quilted and slashed and fitting tightly; and the square-necked, short-waisted style of dress was punctilious in a display of a stomache

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CHAPTER VII

IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Familiarity has bred respect, even affection, for the typical costume of Charles I.'s reign, and that unfortunate monarch himself, depicted by Van Dyck in sombre coat and lace collar, is amongst the dear intimacies of our daily life. Sir Peter Lely, who followed on the footsteps of Van Dyck, left many modish records of his time, and though he has been rated for dressing his nymphs in inappropriate extravagances of fringes and embroidery, he undoubtedly clothed lovely w

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CHAPTER VIII

IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Marie Stuart shares with Madame de Pompadour the honour of standing godmother to fashions which will be known through the ages by their names. The former luckless lady will ever be associated with that coif which is pointed in the front, and curves at either side, while the latter stands eternal sponsor to the rolled coiffure which turns back from the face over a high pad. There may perhaps be other glories better worth attainment, but nobody respectfully imbued with th

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CHAPTER IX

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY On trying to set down a chronicle of dress as it lived in the earlier part of the nineteenth century, my mind becomes immediately obsessed with short-waisted gowns; and a vision of the hapless Josephine—whose name, by the way, I should have added to the list of the few who have stood godmother to a fashion—immediately appears before me in her graceful short-skirted evening dress with its high Empire belt. That all women kill the style they love might with truth be said

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CHAPTER X

OF BRITISH PEASANTS While searching in the annals of the bygone costume of the peasant, the most democratic person might be tempted to regret the repealing of all sumptuary law. We are grateful to-day to recognise the artistic value of the red tie of the masculine tiller of the field, or of the coloured handkerchief over the head of the harvest-woman, but, in those other times, the plains and the fields, the woods and the forests, were the background for a people in brave array, on which blue, r

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CHAPTER XI

OF SOME FOREIGN PEASANTS I regret, from the practical as well as the artistic point of view, the threatened disappearance of local colouring, as emphasised by the characteristic costume of the people, for I am convinced that the adoption of a uniform style of dress by a community greatly furthers the cause of neatness and economy. No opportunity being afforded for the display of personal bad taste, extravagance is discouraged, and the spick and span are virtues which may distinguish the careful

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CHAPTER XII

OF SOME FOREIGN PEASANTS ( continued ) In Russia the convention of dress may not serve as an index to the mind of the country, for the peasant is allowed to share with the prince a fancy for gold, coloured embroidery, and silk and jewels, and it has not yet become necessary for the Duma to include an advocate in the cause of costume. The history of Russia is inscribed upon the dress of its people. Travelling from north to south and from east to west, the costumes of the peasantry everywhere bear

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CHAPTER XIII

OF ORIENTAL DRESS All over China, and particularly in official circles, dress is determined by certain fixed laws, the result being that every detail possesses a meaning for those capable of interpreting it. The most significant feature is the button which adorns the crowns of hats peculiar to Mandarins, while embroideries likewise assist in determining the status of the wearer. Colour is another factor of importance. Yellow is sacred to the Emperor, the members of the Imperial family, and those

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CHAPTER XIV

OF ORIENTAL DRESS ( continued ) "And never the twain shall meet," lilts Kipling of the East and the West; and in the province of dress, as everywhere else in the Orient, caste, ruling supreme, writes incontroversial laws of separation. In India, the article of masculine attire to which most importance attaches is the turban, its shape and general aspect denoting the social and spiritual status of the wearer. Until the founding of the Mogul Empire in 1505, the women of Hindostan were strangers to

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CHAPTER XV

OF FANCY DRESS The fancy-dress ball of private enterprise has nowadays comparatively little patronage. The hostess is willing, but the guest is weak, and while idleness is at the root of most social pleasure, the effort required to assume the virtue or vice of some other personality is placed without the pale of popularity. There have been, of course, some historical exceptions, such as the famous balls given by the Duchess of Devonshire and the Countess of Warwick, but similar triumphs seem sca

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CHAPTER XVI

OF DOMINOES AND MASKS Italian in conception, the domino is of ecclesiastical origin, and as such has retained its monkish aspect throughout the many changes rung by fashion. In its primitive form it consisted of a long, loose robe of black material with a cowl attachment which completely covered the head. During the middle ages, and, in fact, as late as the sixteenth century, it constituted the popular travelling costume of those engaged upon secret missions. Disguised in the habit common to the

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CHAPTER XVII

OF MATERIALS, THE CORSET, AND THE CRINOLINE The material question seems to have been answered in every country save England, where the initiative in manufacture is conspicuous by its absence, though we have through the centuries so successfully begged, borrowed, stolen, or acquired an expert knowledge of the various textile arts, that every manufactured fabric is now grist which may come from our mill. The art of cloth-making the early Britons learned from the Romans, but their ambition towards

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CHAPTER XVIII

OF CEREMONIAL AND BRIDAL DRESS The rules and regulations of ceremonial dress are as exacting, if not as unalterable, as ever were those of the Medes and Persians. Kings and Emperors punctiliously observe the etiquette which frames them, so that every royal meeting or parting or festivity is attended in a carefully prescribed garb, and the Master of the Royal Wardrobe must be deeply and wisely versed in the history of the nations, and worthy to take a diploma in the first division of the Court of

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CHAPTER XIX

OF DANCING DRESSES, EUROPEAN AND ORIENTAL, ANCIENT AND MODERN Sympathy between Church and Stage is of no novel date. The relationship between the two has been close and intimate since the days when no religious festival was complete without its chorus of dancers, and the officiating priests took part in the tripping until the introduction, in the Middle Ages, of such profanities as the Dance of Death and the Dance of the Angels, common in Italy, Spain, and France, caused the practice to fall int

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CHAPTER XX

OF THEATRICAL DRESS The time has long gone by when the dress of his own period would serve the turn of the actor in any character in any play, irrespective of the century in which its story passed. That condition of affairs has no place even in the mental treasure-trove of the oldest playgoer, who saw Edmund Kean, and never lets you forget it. Although it has not been stated that the most audacious actor ever ventured to play Hamlet in a tall hat, solecisms no less grave have in the long ago bee

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