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    The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes
    The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes
    The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes
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    The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes

    By Wilfred Mark Webb

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    "The Heritage of Dress" by Wilfred Mark Webb. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGood Press
    Release dateDec 10, 2019
    ISBN4064066218546
    The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes

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      Book preview

      The Heritage of Dress - Wilfred Mark Webb

      Wilfred Mark Webb

      The Heritage of Dress

      Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes

      Published by Good Press, 2022

      goodpress@okpublishing.info

      EAN 4064066218546

      Table of Contents

      PREFACE

      LIST OF PLATES

      LIST OF FIGURES

      I THE THRALL OF DRESS

      II THE ORIGIN OF DRESS

      III DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN COAT

      IV BUTTONS AS CHRONICLES

      V COLLARS AND BANDS

      VI VESTIGES IN THE HAT

      VII SHOES AND STOCKINGS

      VIII PETTICOATS AND TROUSERS

      IX COATS OF ARMS

      X GLOVES AND MITTENS

      XI TAGS, PINS, AND BALDRICS

      XII ORNAMENTS

      XIII HAIR DRESSING

      XIV SPECIAL DRESSES

      XV SERVANTS’ DRESS

      XVI COCKADES

      XVII CHILDREN’S DRESS

      XVIII WEDDING GARMENTS

      XIX MOURNING

      XX COSTUME CONNECTED WITH THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

      XXI SUNDAY CLOTHES

      XXII ACADEMICAL DRESS

      XXIII LEGAL DRESS

      XXIV STATE AND COURT ATTIRE

      XXV SURVIVALS IN MILITARY UNIFORMS

      XXVI NAVAL UNIFORMS

      XXVII THE COSTUME OF PUPPETS

      XXVIII THE CLOWN AND PAINTING THE BODY

      XXIX STAGE COSTUMES

      XXX NIGHTDRESS

      XXXI THE DRESS OF ANIMALS

      XXXII COLOUR

      XXXIII PATTERNS

      XXXIV IMPRESSIONS TO BE GAINED FROM DRESS

      XXXV THE EFFECT OF CLOTHES UPON THE INDIVIDUAL

      XXXVI FURTHER EFFECTS OF CLOTHES ON THE INDIVIDUAL

      XXXVII THE RISE AND FALL OF FASHIONS

      XXXVIII DRESS REFORM

      CONCLUSION

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

      INDEX

      PREFACE

      Table of Contents

      It would be difficult to find a subject of more universal interest than that of dress, and hosts of books have been written which deal with the attire that has been adopted at different times and by various nations or social classes. The ornamental and artistic sides of the question have also received much consideration, but the volumes that have appeared serve chiefly as works of reference. The present book aims at being of more immediate interest and usefulness; it starts with things as they are, and is really a popular contribution to the natural history of man.

      On all sides the advantages of observation and the need for the nature-study method in education are being rightly urged, but there is a tendency to narrow the purview. Anything in our environment is worthy of notice, and though attention is well directed towards that which is least artificial, we should not leave man and his works altogether on one side. There is material for observation, research, and deduction, even in a bowler hat and a cut-away coat.

      One of the pleasantest features in connection with the making of this book has been the kind and ready help which I have received from all sides. Here and there throughout the text the names of friends and correspondents who have given their assistance have been mentioned. To these I offer my hearty thanks, as well as to the following, who with suggestions, information, or with material for illustrations, have contributed in no small way to the interest of the book: Messrs. Fownes Brothers & Company, Mr. Allan A. Hooke, Mr. W.S. Ward, Mr. Karl, of Messrs. Nathan & Company, Messrs. Tress & Company, Messrs. Lincoln & Bennett, Mr. M.D. Hill, the Rev. A.W. Upcott, Head Master of Christ’s Hospital, Miss Clark, Miss Hodgson, the Rev. R. Ashington Bullen, Mr. Henry Miller, of the Church Association, Mr. Ravenscroft, of Messrs. Ede Sons & Ravenscroft, Mr. Paley Baildon, Mr. George Hertslet, of the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, Messrs. Wilkinson & Company, Mr. C.M. Mühlberg, Mr. W.S. Parker, of Messrs. Debenhams, Ltd., Capt. H. Trench, Major J.W. Mallet, of the Army and Navy Gazette, Mr. Basil White, of Messrs. Hawkes & Company, Mr. W.H. Jesson, Messrs. Souter & Company, Mr. William Lawrence, Mr. Heather Bigg, Dr. J. Cantlie, and the Rt. Hon. Viscountess Harberton.

      A glance at the bibliography, which is given on pages 363-7, will show the principal books and papers to which reference has been made.

      In connection with the illustrations, special thanks must be given to Monsieur Maurice Sand, the Editor of the Review of the University of Brussels, for his kind permission to reproduce a number of the figures used to illustrate a translation of Sir George Darwin’s article. These are Figures 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 46, 48, 62, 63, and 82. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. St. John Hope for Figures 86-8, to Messrs. A. & C. Black for Figures 123 and 124 and 132 and 133, and to Messrs. Prewett & Co. for Figures 111 and 112.

      For the original of Plate II, I am indebted to the kindness of Captain R. Ford, of Plate III to Mr. Henry Stevens; Plate IV has been taken from a brass rubbing in Rugby School Museum, through the kind offices of Mr. J.M. Hardwich. I have to thank Mr. R. Bamber for the original of Plate VIII, which was obtained through his instrumentality. Figure B of Plate IX was kindly contributed by the Rev. A.W. Upcott, Head Master of Christ’s Hospital, and Figures B and C on Plate X were copied from Moseley’s Voyage of the ‘Challenger,’ by the kind permission of Mr. John Murray, while Figure D is due to the courtesy of General Robley. Plate XI is reprinted from The Reliquary, by the kind permission of Messrs. Bemrose and Sons, and the source of other illustrations is acknowledged beneath them, while the classic collection of pictures which were brought together by the late Mr. F.W. Fairholt to illustrate his Costume in England has proved, as will be seen, of the utmost service.

      In conclusion, I have much pleasure in calling attention to the time and care which Mr. W.J. Webb has expended upon the figures, which are a feature of the book; and I must mention the willing help which I have been afforded in a number of details by Miss Amy Astbury and Mr. Bernard Weaver.

      WILFRED MARK WEBB.

      Odstock, Hanwell,

      November, 1907.

      LIST OF PLATES

      Table of Contents

      LIST OF FIGURES

      Table of Contents

      I

      THE THRALL OF DRESS

      Table of Contents

      THE PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION APPLIED TO CLOTHES

      The numbers in the text refer to a bibliography at the end of the book

      Unluckily, perhaps, we are born naked and helpless, but no sooner do we come into the world than we are provided with body-guards in the shape of clothes. In consequence, our social position is made manifest. Our vanity is flattered at the same time that our modesty is assured. On the other hand, however, our skin may be chafed, our hair worn away, and, should our equipment strictly follow the dictates of the Goddess Fashion, our bodies may even be deformed and our lives shortened. Moreover, there are other penalties to be paid; we are kept warm in summer as well as in winter, the purchase of our attire may entail the spending of much money, while the mere donning and doffing of our clothes gives rise to a prodigious waste of time.

      Even tramps have at intervals to replace the rags which cover them, and while, for all practical purposes, every one else takes off his clothes when going to bed and puts them on again when getting up, many of those who are at work in the daytime dress for dinner in the evening. Moreover, Society may demand a further expenditure of time on the part of its members, and the rule may be laid down that the higher the standing of a civilized individual, the more often does he change his garments. In fact, more than one monarch, from the way in which he appears in different uniforms at various functions which follow one another in quick succession, has been likened to the now familiar lightning change artist of the music-hall stage.

      It is thus quite clear that all of us are more or less under the thrall of dress. Those, therefore, who find the position irksome, will gain solace from the interesting investigations which can be made into the origin and development of costume. Others, again, whose clothes already find favour in their eyes, will enjoy looking at them from a different point of view.

      As a matter of fact, our artificial coverings have become so much a part of our life that one may perhaps be allowed to apply the methods of the naturalist to their consideration, and deal with them as if they were part and parcel of the creature which wears them.

      Darwin established beyond a doubt1 that the plants and animals of to-day are the direct descendants of older and often very different forms, and it is the task and delight of the naturalist to trace their genealogies. Most useful suggestions may be obtained from the small vestiges that remain in the bodies of present-day creatures, of structures which in early times were important and useful organs.

      For instance, if the skin be lifted from the head of a slow worm we find a third eye, which tells us that once its ancestors, like the giant Cyclops, were able to look out from the middle of their faces.

      Again, to take a case which applies to ourselves, and has a melancholy interest for us, one might mention the vermiform appendix. This is a remnant of a great sac which once was useful when our ancestors were vegetarians; now it is worse than useless, for it is very liable to become irritated and give rise to what is known as appendicitis.

      So long as a quarter of a century ago Sir George Darwin pointed out2 that the great theory of evolution established by his father could be applied with much advantage to the study of dress, and it will be seen as we proceed that not the least fascinating part of the subject are vestiges similar to those which we have just described, and which have often survived solely for ornamental reasons.

      Many of these are so familiar, that in running the eye in the ordinary way over a man’s usual costume, attention would not be drawn to them. There is the band round the outside of his hat and the little bow inside; the nick in the collar of his coat and the more or less useless buttons on his sleeves and

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