1830s Fashion - Tumblr Posts
It is a normal standing collar! That’s what they look like folded all the way down by the base, since it’s just a big square. I’ve had to dawn that look myself when the heat becomes too unbearable in summer. It’s unusual to see, but it’s shown in portraiture as a summer or artistic look. It seems he has it for both reasons, but probably more artistic since he also has a notebook and pencil. Lord Byron popularised the style (see last image).
1837 Johann Nepomuk Ender - Portrait of two boys
(Moravian Gallery, Brno)
Shall we take a moment from our day to appreciate the absolute delight that was the (early) 1830, aka Romantic Era, aka the decade when western fashion peaked?
If you have heard anything about the fashion of that time, you probably know the sleeves. So let's start with them, shall we?
Behold! Big sleeve! I don't know what else to say. I'm a simple woman, who thirsts for the biggest sleeves possible. They gain even more comical proportions when you make them short, but try to keep them as wide as possible.
One of my personal favorites however are these weird sleeves which combines the short sleeves and the huge long sleeves for those of us who can't decide on anything. Very true to the spirit of this fashion: just put in everything!
A criminally underrated thing about the Romantic fashion is pelerine. it's the little cape thing that covers shoulders. Think of something like this.
But during 1830s it reached comical proportions in trying to cover the massive sleeves.
Another amazing part of this hoot of a decade was the hairstyles, which in my humble opinion peaked at the beginning of the century.
The side curls! The complex sculptures that are the hair! The flowers and jewelry added on top of that!!? Absolute madness. 10/10.
But you know what else was supremely extra? (Spoilers: everything) The hats. You thought the hair was unnecessarily big? You thought it had too much stuff thrown in?? WRONG.
What a blessed decade. The campiness of it all brings joy into my life.
Heinrich Heine by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim (1831). Heinrich-Heine-Institut, Düsseldorf.
Portrait of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen-consort of the United Kingdom (c. 1831) by William Beechey. National Portrait Gallery.