Regency
Directoire or Pre Civil War Fashion
In France, the revolution of 1789 brought about a change in fashion more sudden than ever seen. During the early 90s, the age of the Great Terror, anything reminiscent of the nobility costume of the ancien régime was banished. Whoever showed up with a powdered wig risked its forceful removal, sometimes including that of the head.
The most obvious representatives of the revolting lower classes were the sansculottes, translating as "without breeches" - breeches being nobility wear as opposed to the full-length trousers adapted from sailors' costume. The sansculottes took pride in dressing a sloppy workman's style, with short jackets, wooden shoes and the red jacobine cap that was borrowed from galley-slaves.
Less revolutionary citizens basically kept to the developments of the previous years: English fashion was even more strongly embraced, not to a small part owing to the fact that the French fashion magazines, which had catered to the nobility, weren't available anymore.
Middle class men dressed in simple, black woolen coats, enlivened with sashes, cocardes and bows in the colours of the Tricolore.
Women adopted male styles- they still wore floor-length skirts, of course, but the upper body sported waistcoats, jackets with revers and the very popular rédingote, a coat with double or triple collars derived from the English riding-coat.
Other countries, where monarchy still reigned supreme, only partially followed these changes. There, too, French fashion journals were missed, so a turn towards English fashion was inevitable. However, the changeover was smooth, without such extremes as the sansculottes.
After a couple of years, the French were fed up with the reign of the Guillotine. They had developed a largely democratic government, headed by the Directory, and now developed a new aesthetic movement, the Directoire. While searching for models for their new democratic culture, they had turned toward Greco-Roman aniquity and adopted those styles, not only in fashion but also in architecture and art.
Women's dress reflected this change most: Following the Greek chiton, simple, short-sleeved dresses of white muslin were combined with heel-less, cross-laced sandals and high hairdos held by ribbons. Any tools that (de-)formed the body - such as stays, hoops, pads - were discarded. The courageous dropped the neckline as low as possible without having the breasts fall out. The most remarkable trait, however, is the movement of the waist to just under the bust.
Men, too, wore the waist high by moving the breeches' waistband way up above the belly. The long trousers hadn't caught on yet, but breeches were longer now, vanishing into high boots. The high waist was additionally emphasised by cutting away the lower front of the coat as it is seen in the well-known Napoleon portraits. This was the predecessor of the modern tailcoat. The standing collar now reached the ears and was supported in its effort to strangle the wearer by an overly big, high cravat.
A few yers later (1804), a little (in more than one aspect) Corsican soldier of the revolutionary army had himself crowned as emperor of France. France became an empire - and entered the era of the Empire which basically continued the classical ideals of the Directoire, with a new twist: The ancient Roman empire insted of the Roman republic.
As far as shape is concerned, there wasn't much change: high waists for men and women. But the quality changed from democratically simple to imperially pompous. The light fabrics were replaced by heavier and stiffer ones in brilliant colours. Velvet and embroidery came back into fashion.
From around 1820 on, gowns became stiffer, melting into the late Regency shape. The ladies' skirts became shorter and developed a cone-like A-shape, necklines wandered upwards. The arms were covered all down to the wrist, sleeves becoming ever wider at the top.
Men's collars became accordingly stiffer and higher. A new subculture developed, mainly in England: The dandies. They prided themselves in dressing simply in shape but extremely elegant in detail, paying great attention to perfect fit and the best materials, executed by only the very best tailors. Beau Brummel (left) was their most prominent representative.
At the same time, the top hat, an American import and yet another hommage to stiffness, entered the picture.