1800

TN the time of the French Dircctofy, during the first flush of freedom from the old eighteenth-century modes, women’s dress had pushed daring to the point of indecency, and men's, with its immense tails and prodigious neckcloth, had been more fantastic than the style it had superseded. But by 1800 sobriety had won its victory. Feminine dress was still in one piece, divided into skirt and bodice by a cord or ribbon tied immediately under the breasts. A short jacket was sometimes added as a protection against the cold—a protection much needed, as the garments of the day were scantier even than those of modern times.

The nuterials used were cacessiTcly light muslin, batiste, lawn—and the caricaturists made merry over the disasters of revelation consequent upon the slightest sudden shower. Gerard's painting of Psyche set a fashion for white dresses which was very generally followed. The wild hair of 1794 had been drawn closer to the head, but it was still short both for men and women. Men’s coats had assumed the cut-away shape which persists to-day in formal evening and morning dress. Their neckcloths had shrunk to moderate proportions and the beginnings of the modern bow-tie were apparent. Breeches had not yet been entirely abandoned, but were already on their last legs. The three-cornered hat with plumes had disappeared, and the ancestor of the silk-hat was already taking shape.