Fascinating Vintage Photos Show Young Men’s Fashion in the Late 19th Century

 

During the Victorian era, men's wear typically consisted of a suit, consisting of a coat, trousers, and waistcoat—all garments were usually not of the same color or material.

As outerwear, men of the Victorian period used coats or cloaks. Sometimes, they may have had two to three different costumes for different occasions.

While one garment was usually the staple for the general occasion, the others were usually kept for special events. Among clothing, the trouser form hardly survived this period, while the waistcoat survived in large quantities.

Earlier in the Victorian era, breeches were disappearing while trousers became just an occasional wear. In addition, there were also pantaloons, a tight-fitting garment that reached the ankle or calf.

It can be said that the basic characteristic of Victorian men's clothing was clean and basic lines, the use of dark colors and an elaborate work of dress.

Along with the coat, men also wore waistcoats or vests. These vests can be single or double breasted. There were different fashions for morning and evening wear.

For morning purposes, men wore a morning coat with light colored trousers and a dark colored coat with trousers was preferred in the evening.

The tall hat of the late 18th century was still worn and evolved into the top hat worn for day and formal dress throughout the 19th century. Hair was carefully styled into a windswept look or kept short and curled.

Men wore shoes that were either buttoned and attached with hooks or laces. Some of these shoes had elastic or "spring" siding to allow them to be worn easily.

The boots usually had pointed, narrow toes with detailing on the sides, for the less well-to-do. Many men also decorated their shoes by covering them with spats.

The socks, or "hosiery", came with ribbed tops and had almost the same pattern as current male dress socks. The men wore brown leather gloves, sometimes black, which held at the wrists.

Gloves were usually always worn, but gloves used in winter were often covered with fur. Watch chains were also common, and were worn over waistcoats.

By the late 1880s, men began wearing the newly introduced blazer for outdoor activities such as sports, sailing, etc.

Men usually kept their hair short and sported pointed beards and generous moustaches. Overall it can be said that men's clothing was formal and comparatively few changes were introduced in men's fashion.

In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.

This era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and overlaps with the first half of the Belle Epoque era of continental Europe.

There was a strong religious drive for higher moral standards led by nonconformist churches, such as the Methodists and the evangelical wing of the established Church of England.

Ideologically, the Victorian era saw a resistance to the rationalism that defined the Georgian period, and a growing turn toward romanticism and even mysticism in religion, social values, and the arts. This era saw a staggering amount of technological innovation which proved vital to Britain's power and prosperity.

Doctors moved away from tradition and mysticism towards a science-based approach; Medicine advanced thanks to the adoption of the germ theory of disease and pioneering research in epidemiology.