MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Members of the Aesthetic Movement of the nineteenth century had specific standards of beauty for art, manners and clothing. Overall, the mainstream population of the time did did not follow these convictions and behaviors. Despite being unique at the onset, ultimately the modes of dress employed by the Aesthetes were welcomed into mainstream clothing as fashionable dress in the time period following the height of the Aesthetic Movement, as modified versions of these artistic garments.

The method for studying this progressive bond will include discovering the elements that are seen in fashionable dress and how they differ from the clothing worn by the Aesthetes. This includes analyzing undergarments such as the corset, as well as fabric choices used for the garments. The period starting from the the beginning of the First Bustle Period until the end of the Second Bustle period will be studied, showing the elements that compose fashionable dress. Historic figures such as John Ruskin, Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler will also be analyzed in how they each played a role in how clothing, both fashionable and not, was viewed. Additionally, the rise of Liberty of London will be considered as a bridge between the Aesthetes and fashionable garments.

Through understanding just how different fashionable dress was from clothing worn by the Aesthetes, one can then see how the designs of Paul Poiret from the early 1900s through the 1910s are closely tied to Artistic Dress. Poiret is associated with removing the corset for women, while this was actually seen much earlier. As such, Poiret’s work pursues the elements and standards of beauty that were outlined by the Aesthetic Movement and its members. Although Aesthetic Dress was not accepted by the fashionable population at its height, it had paved the way for future designers.