From high waists to big sleeves

I had a request from one of our readers to explain the transition from the Empire/ Regency period to the 1830s. During this time the fashion does change: colours get bolder, the waistline drops and the sleeves expand. I have done a post on the 1820s before, as it is a fashion decade that really fascinates me. The beginning of the 1820s still produces a very Regency figure with a high waist and long straight skirt. But by the end of the 1820s the look is definitely tending towards the 1830s silhouette. The interesting thing to me is that the 1820s can sometimes reflect a sense of awkwardness in the fit of the clothes. It may be how they hang on the mannequins, but it seems interesting that sometimes a dress just won't look right.

We'll start out with a classic Regency gown from the first ten years of the 1800s.

Whites or light patterned material was very popular.

Not every dress was white, but the small back and the high waistline were characteristic of this period. 

By the end of the 1810s, darker prints started becoming more common, as well as extra falderals on the sleeves and bodice (I'm a novice seamstress myself. I should know what these things are called!)

This dress is dated cautiously from 1810 to 1819. It has the extra bits along the neckline, but notice how high the waist is still.

Compare it to this dress, which also has fancy bits on the bodice and is dated 1818, but the waistline is much lower. 

When we get into the 1820s, this ambiguity towards the waistline continues, at least up until 1824:

Portrait of Sarah Wolff, 1821

Scottish mourning/ evening gown, about 1823.

In this gown from 1820, the front of the dress is high-waisted, yet the bodice is longer in the back. 

This dress, from 1818, shows the same pattern: high-waist

And a much longer bodice in the back. 

And here we are again with *very* high waist-line, in a fashion plate from 1824.

From 1825 onwards, however, both fuller sleeves and fuller skirts seem to predominate. And the waist-line sits fairly comfortably where it will remain throughout the 1830s: a little higher than the natural waist-line. 

late 1820s

1828

1827

Pelisse, 1825.

circa 1830.

Again, this may be more the fault of the way the dresses are hung, but here are a couple of 'awkward' examples of 1820s dresses. Something important about clothes of the past is that they fit the wearer very well. So to see loose or inelegant clothes from this period seems surprising.

Though this dress is silk, the bodice seems oddly cut and not ill-fitted per se, but just that it wouldn't perhaps look as nice as it could. 

I adore the material and the details on this dress, but I really can't figure out what is going on with the poofy bodice.

The back is even worse! Is it just the mannequin? What is going on? Perhaps I'm misinterpreting what is happening here. 

Something that I really like about 1820s fashion was their fondness for brown patterned cloth. They had some excellent designs. Here are some close-ups of the cloth. Before the 1820s the material is seldom this dark, and in the 1830s, though there are colourful designs, not as many can be found in browns. 

Beautiful floral/ striped patterns!

A close-up of the circa 1830 dress pictured above.

Lastly, I'll show some examples of dress from the 1830s, to show towards what the late 1820s were tending.

BIG sleeves, and fuller skirts.