Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians

Product Information

There was great interest at this time in ancient Greece and Rome, and this lady wears ‘fashionable full dress’, the style based on the drapery of classical statues. The waist is high and uncorsetted, and the materials light in colour and texture. Muslin had become a fashionable fabric. Her gown is still 18th century in cut, but for day wear it would have bodice, skirt and petticoat in one piece. Her accessories are varied: she carries a huge swansdown muff, wears long white gloves, has a tasselled girdle and a feather-trimmed turban. These 1762 coronation portraits of George III and Queen Caroline by Allen Ramsey (1713–84) are wonderful to admire. Ramsay reported that he had ‘the Royal robes set up upon my figure’. It was common practice for clothing to be lent to an artist after an initial sitting to avoid the subject needing to sit for lengthy periods.

Britain dramatically expanded its global reach during the 18th century via trade, travel and empire. Styles and fabrics from the Ottoman Empire, India and China were incorporated into everyday dress. In a portrait of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s stylish mistress wears a floral gown, possibly made of painted silk imported from China. The portrait will be shown alongside a roll of Chinese hand-painted silk from the 1760s covered with an almost identical pattern, on loan from The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. Discover Salvador Dali like never before in this first ever virtual reality metaverse art immersive experience. You’ll get to discover the masterpieces of surrealism’s most famous artist using state-of-the-art technology including projection mapping, visual effects, sound effects and more Portraits are an invaluable source for understanding the fashions of the past. While some were modified for artistic effect, others depicted dress with great accuracy. Painted for the Duke of Cumberland, this is a piece of propaganda exaggerating the contrast between the British redcoats and the Jacobite troops in Highland dress, reinforcing stereotypes of Highlanders as unshaven and barbaric. As well as influences from abroad, fashionable society increasingly looked to the lower classes for style inspiration, adopting previously working-class garments such as aprons and trousers. Knee breeches were worn by men for most of the 18th century; examples on display will include those depicted in Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of the famed musician, Johann Christian Fischer , and a red silk-velvet court suit from the 1760s, remarkably like that worn by Fischer, loaned by the Fashion Museum Bath. However, by the end of the Georgian period, upper-class men adopted trousers for the first time, a legacy continued today. The future George IV and Lord Byron were early adopters of the new style, as shown in a portrait of Lord Byron by George Sanders.

The Royal Mews

There was a reason for that: clothes were an outward symbol of rank, of allegiance, of political affiliations and position in the world. When a man is known by his ribbons, painters get very good at ribbon-painting. The wonderful new exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery – still the Queen’s, not the King’s – is dedicated to the study of these clothes, where they came from, and what they meant.

This exciting new exhibition includes 200 works from the Royal Collection by artists such as Gainsborough, Zoffany and Hogarth, as well as rare surviving examples of clothing and accessories, helping you explore what the Georgians wore, from the practical dress of laundry maids to the glittering gowns worn at court. Visit Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians to explore what clothing can tell us about all areas of life in the rapidly changing world of 18th-century Britain.

This also reflects a unique phenomenon that was happening during the eighteenth century – previously, fashion trends were inspired by aristocrats and replicated by the masses, but the reverse started to occur. The elite started to look to the lower classes for inspiration, heralding an era of more relaxed dressing – what Reynolds refers to as the rise of street style. At the heart of the exhibition will be a rarely displayed, full-length portrait of Queen Charlotte by Thomas Gainsborough, c.1781, which usually hangs in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. Painted by candlelight, it depicts the Queen in a magnificent gown, worn over a wide hoop and covered with gold spangles and tassels. The painting will be shown alongside a beautifully preserved gown of a similar style, worn at Queen Charlotte’s court in the 1760s, on loan from the Fashion Museum Bath. However, the curator, Anna Reynolds, has set out to uncover the function of these garments in their time. Hence she starts from the inside out: George III’s soft linen undershirt is here, along with a finely made pair of linen stays. The man wears elegant walking dress also with a slight fullness at the shoulder and a waistcoat with lapels. He wears tight pantaloons acceptable for day wear after about 1805 and wears a higher ‘top’ hat.

The exhibition will include items of jewellery from Queen Charlotte’s famed collection, such as a diamond ring featuring a miniature of her husband George III, given to her on her wedding day. Other accessories on display will include beautiful English and French fans, which reached their fashionable zenith during this period, some representing topical events such as the first hot air balloon flight, and jewel-encrusted snuffboxes, reflecting the craze amongst both men and women for taking snuff throughout the 18th century.The eighteenth century was a great period of innovation for optical aids, including the development of spectacles with side arms. Before this, they were generally of the pince-nez type (balancing on the nose) or a single eyeglass on a chain. The circular frame was most common because round lenses were easiest to grind. After Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92). Welcome to part three of our Fashion Through the Ages series. Starting from medieval fashion ending at the swinging sixties, this section covers British fashion during the Georgian period. The portrait is shown alongside a roll of Chinese hand-painted silk from the 1760s covered with an almost identical pattern, on loan from The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. Chinese, Roll of hand-painted silk, c.1760s (detail). Visitors will learn how the Georgians ushered in many of the cultural trends we know today, including the first stylists and influencers, the birth of a specialised fashion press and the development of shopping as a leisure activity. From the popularity of fancy-dress and the evolution of childrenswear, to the introduction of military uniforms and the role of clothing in showing support for revolutions at home and abroad, Style & Society will explore what clothing can tell us about all areas of life in the rapidly changing world of 18th-century Britain. The exhibition will include items of jewellery from Queen Charlotte’s famed collection, such as a diamond ring featuring a miniature of her husband George III, given to her on her wedding day. Other accessories on display will include beautiful English and French fans, which reached their fashionable zenith during this period, some representing topical events such as the first hot air balloon flight, and jewel-encrusted snuffboxes, reflecting the craze amongst both men and women for taking snuff throughout the 18th century. Advancements in haircare, cosmetics, eyewear and dentistry will also be explored. Immensely tall and wide hairstyles became fashionable for women in the latter half of the century, resulting in the development of an entirely new trade: the hairdresser. Quirky items on display will include a set of miniature bellows and a sprinkler used for applying hair powder, loaned by The School of Historical Dress.