TITANIC FASHIONS

I am especially fond of the Titanic era, when the hats and dresses were as grand as the mighty ship itself. Who can forget the image of Rose in Titanic stepping out of the car wearing a tremendous touring hat and her elegantly styled traveling suit. That sight of her awed us!
 
The pink silk dress, circa 1912, that I am wearing on my home page is one of my favorite Titanic era dresses in my personal collection. It reminds me of a time of elegance and opulence. Let us go into the armoire of a fashionable lady in 1912 and see what awaits inside…
 
A corset was still a must in 1912 and the style was long. Some even reached the knees. Contrary to popular belief the corset was not the first article of clothing that a Victorian woman put on in the morning.
 
Her stockings were the first item, and for practical reason. Next she would put on her lace boots or button shoes. You see, once she had her corset on, there was no way she could bend down to lace her boots or button her shoes!
 
The lady then put on her drawers, not to be confused with bloomers. Drawers were open crotch, thinking that they were more practical when going to the bathroom, while bloomers were closed.
 
 A chemise would be next, with the corset over this. Another reason for the corset not to be directly against the skin is that it would chafe the skin; also it was difficult to launder. The cotton chemise underneath would absorb body oils and was easier to clean than the corset.
 
The corset would then be covered with a corset cover, this resembling a pretty lace camisole as we know today. The corset covers purpose was to hide the boning in the corset from showing through to the lady’s shirtwaist or dress.
 
 In decades past petticoats were added but during the Titanic era ladies wanted a smoother figure and slender appearance, so they omitted the petticoat.
 
Blouses were called Shirtwaists. Several styles had a wrap around look, many with apron like panels. Lovely lace examples still abound in antique shops.
A lace dickey type piece called a guimpe was worn under rounded necklines of dresses and waists.
 
Skirts by day were instep length and in the evening trains were popular. The look was slender and slimming. Common skirt materials were cotton eyelet, linen, velvet and silk.
 
Dresses were also slender with empire style waists. Many of the common fabrics used were silks, velvets and cotton lawn and eyelets. My favorite dresses were the cotton lawn lingerie dresses, popular from 1900 right through to the Titanic era. These were gauzy, delicate, lacy and absolutely lovely! If you have ever watched the movie Meet Me In St. Louis with Judy Garland you will see her wearing a breathtaking lingerie dress at the closing scene. I can personally never have enough of these dresses in my collection!
 
Outer wear included ornate lace trimmed and beaded capes. For colder weather, fur capes and muffs. Fur trimmed hats were also popular.
 
Accessories included gigantic hats, complete with ostrich feathers, large taffeta bows, and silk flowers. Shoes were adorned with rhinestones buckles and handbags, often with marcasite handles, sparkled in the gaslight. Gloves were a must as well as parasols and fans.
 
Art nouveau jewelry was popular. The motifs inspired by nature such as Flowers, grapes, leaves and butterflies were on pendants, earrings and brooches. Fairies were also popular designs.
 
Sashes, mostly made of silk, were worn at the waist of dresses and two-piece ensembles along with beautiful often-ornate belt buckles and sash pins.
 
Speaking of pins, hatpins were gorgeous with ornate beads, rhinestones and even precious gems. During this era the hat pins were very long, in order to anchor the large hats that were the fashion.
 
A word about hairstyles, long hair was a woman’s crowning glory. However she was not permitted to wear her hair down in public. Only her female relatives or her maid could see her this way if she were single. If she were married only her husband could see her hair down. This was proper etiquette of the time.
 
The hairstyle was piled in a bun high upon the head, making it easy to wear large hats with large hatpins anchored through it. Before retiring to bed the Victorian woman would brush her hair, 100 strokes she was advised, to keep it shiny. It was also braided every night, to prevent tangles.
 
 
I hope that you have enjoyed your peek into the Titanic era fashions armoire. 



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