Page 17 - Layout 1

It was not until 1850 that the top hat really took off when Prince
Albert started wearing it in public and it became the fashion rage. From
1850 to 1900, the top hat was a compulsory fashion accessory for any
gentleman, who would have been required to own one for every
occasion, time of day, and season in the requisite colors of pearl gray
(for daytime), black (for day or night), and beige, fawn, and white.
Felted beaver skin was the preferred material for top hats because of
its waterproof properties. Because of the high demand for beaver
fashion (men’s coats were also popular), the Victorian top hat practically
wiped out the beaver population in America by 1900.

Monocles
In the present day, a
monocle is almost always
Illustrations from H. LeBlanc’s The Art of Tying the Cravat.
part of a costume. It’s a A number of quasi-comic cravat-tying manuals appeared in the
visual shorthand for a mid- to early-18th century, schooling the would-be gentleman in the complex
stock character: a wealthy significance of different techniques. photo: cabinetmagazine.org
gentleman with the air of a 1880s antique
Gilded Age aristocrat ready Victorian estate necktie, varied in style throughout the day and evolved over the century.
for a black-tie gala or a night 9ct solid yellow It was an elaborately folded and lightly starched linen or cambric
at the opera. He peers through gold monocle neckcloth worn under the collar of the shirt. For evening wear, the
selling online
its single lens to project a critical for $1,499.23 white tie was de rigueur; while the dark tie or cravat was worn for less
gaze at a work of art or perhaps a raffish orphan given formal occasions or as respectable daywear.
into his care. It drops from his eye to mark astonishment at a breach of In the second half of the 19th century, the Ascot tie began to take
manners or an abrupt revelation. Or else, the monocle-wearer is a prominence, named for its association with the races at Ascot, where
sinister European gentleman. Aristocratic, yes, but cold and calculating, gentleman dressed in a certain fashion to attend this upper-crust event.
filled with menace. The villainous Penguin fights Batman wearing a The wide tie, often fastened with a pin, was sold readymade in very
monocle, Mr. Peanut is never seen without his, and Eustace Tilley, The bright colors. Ascots are still worn today for formal weddings.
New Yorker’s cartoon mascot, is defined by his. Ultimately, the cravat of the 19th century gave rise to four main
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the monocle was styles: the bow tie, scarves and neckerchiefs, the Ascot, and the four-in-
generally associated with wealthy upper-class men. Combined with a hand or long tie. The long tie or vertical tie originated as young men’s
morning coat and a top hat, the monocle completed the costume of the sporting attire in the 1850s but became widespread within a decade.
stereotypical 1890s capitalist. Early versions of this style of tie were simple rectangular strips of
There are three styles of monocles. The first style consists of a simple material with identical square ends that reached no lower than the
loop, typically framed in gold, with a lens designed to be fixed in the sternum as waistcoats were usually worn. Practical because it neither
eye socket and held in place hands-free, wedged behind the loose skin impeded movement nor came undone, it was adopted both by
around the eye thanks to the orbicularis oculi, the muscle that closes workers and by the leisure classes as high, stiff collars gave way to soft,
the eyelid. These were the first monocles worn in England and could turned-down ones.
be found from the 1830s onwards. Men’s evening gloves, ca. 1848
The second style, which Gloves photo: metmuseum.org
was developed in the 1890s, Gloves were an impor-
was the most elaborate, tant accessory for 19th
consisting of a frame with a century men as well and
raised edge-like extension were worn at every social
known as the gallery. The occasion. The well-dressed
gallery was designed to help man of the late 1800s
secure the monocle in place never removed his gloves,
by raising it out of the eye’s whether dancing at a ball or
orbit slightly so that the eye- relaxing at home.
lashes would not jar it. Besides gloves made of
Monocles with galleries were (kid) leather, there were
often the most expensive. The numerous types of gloves of
wealthy would have the the 1800s made from fabric
frames custom-made to fit or materials that included
their eye sockets. thread, cotton, silk, worsted weight, and knit materials. Thread gloves
The third style of monocle
was frameless. This consisted were sometimes made from unbleached yarn but were usually made from
linen or cotton.
of a cut piece of glass, with a Social codes prescribed the types of gloves to be worn during
serrated edge to provide a grip Alice Pike Barney, Man with Monocle, particular day and evening engagements. To appear in public without
and sometimes a hole drilled ca. 1887-1889, oil on canvas, gloves could invite censure or ridicule. Colors were white for the
into one side for a cord. Often Smithsonian American Art Museum evening, grey for daytime, and tan leather for riding or driving.
the frameless monocle had no Maintaining one’s gloves was also very important, as soiled gloves were
cord and would be worn freely. This style was popular at the beginning reflective of poor etiquette. As a result, gentlemen were required to
of the 20th century as the lens could be cut to fit any shape eye orbit purchase their gloves in multiple quantities and carry spare pairs with
inexpensively, without the cost of a customized frame.
them on outings should one pair become soiled.
Cravats Spats
“A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life,” was one of the
Spats, not to be confused with sportsmen’s or military gaiters, were
memorable lines from Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance that the ultimate shoe accessory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
premiered in 1893. They were stiff fabric covers attached to the top of the shoe and extending
Like other fashion accessories, the cravat, the precursor to the
Continued on page 22
December 2021 15