Musical Fashions for Women - The Puffy Sleeves Edition

 

According to sources more knowledgeable than me,
the rise of female shoulders began in 1891,
though dates of fashion trends are never strict. 

The length and shape of garment sleeves
changed, of course, with the seasons,
the locale, and personal taste.
But generally ladies' sleeve fabrics 
began to inflate in the 1890s 

In my photograph collection of female musicians
the size and shape of sleeves
usefully serve to date a photo to a decade
when other clues for a more accurate year are absent.

The fashions of the 1890s were quite changeable 
as younger women began to reject older fashions
like the crinoline dresses of the 1850s and 1860s,
and the bustles of the 1870s and 1880s.
Women were also indulging in new outdoor pursuits
like bicycle riding which required new garments
suitable for a vigorous activity.

In a way music was a similar undertaking
that needed freedom of movement
for arms, hands, and even head.



Today I present five elegant young women,
names unknown,
who posed for the camera
in the puffy sleeve fashion of the 1890s.

My first young lady is a violinist pictured on a cabinet card by Harlow studio of Ware, Massachusetts, a city in central Massachusetts between Springfield and Worcester. Her dress is a dark fabric, not, I think, black, as it seems in this sepia tone print, but perhaps a dark red or navy blue color. It is fastened down her right front with 12 pairs of buttons. Her long sleeves are not too tight at the wrist, something a violinist would find restrictive, and gradually expand to a  sharp peak at her shoulder. Her collar is neatly tied with a wide bow in matching dark color. I'm not certain about her age, as her dress and hair give her a look that may be more mature than her actual years. However she does wear a ring on her left hand, perhaps a wedding band or engagement ring. 

* * *

My second musician is violinist from Butler, Indiana photographed by A. Newman on a "superior finish" cabinet card. This woman's dress is of a lighter summertime color, perhaps white, cream, or a pale yellow. It has short sleeves with a puffy effect, not unlike a footballer's shoulder pads, and framed with a contrasting dark lace trim. Here hair is pulled up into a topknot swirl that was another popular fashion for young women of the mid-1890s. Guessing her age is equally as challenging as with the other violinist. Maybe somewhere between 18 and 25? She has a pleasant smile.

* * *

This young lady is also a violinist but from the Pacific Northwest. Her cabinet photo was taken at the studio of C. Lindahl in the California Bld'g. in Tacoma, Washington. She is seated on an upholstered rococo style bench and wears a light color dress, likely white this time, with voluminous sleeves large enough to hide a few squirrels and a cat or two. There is ornate lacework on the cuffs and collar. She is definitely still in her teens, maybe even just 13 or 14. I like how she has a small heart locket tied around her neck. 

* * *

My next young musician plays the mandolin and the photo studio of Seigel Cooper Co. of Chicago has artfully posed her in a classic wooden armchair as if she is about to sing a song for us. Her dress is also a light color with a subtle small printed floral pattern. It has generous sized sleeves that look partly inflated but without some of the structural engineering used in other puffy sleeve designs. The tuning of a mandolin is the same as a violin but with doubled strings so many violinists also played this instrument. She has rings on fingers of both hands but she looks younger than the previous women, perhaps age 15-19.

On the back of this cabinet card is a large printed illustration that oddly left out any text about the photographer's studio. It shows three cherubs flying in  billowy clouds. One cherb holds two laurel wreaths and the other two have a target with an arrow piercing the heart in the center. Could this be a valentine day gift? 

* * *

My final example of a stylish musician is a rare photo of a female snare drummer. She, too, wears a light color dress, but this looks more white to me than any other color. It complements her hair which seems blonde or perhaps auburn. Her instrument rests on a side table with a pair of drumsticks propped across the drumhead. The photographer is Putnam studio of 198 Broadway in  Chelsea, Massachusetts, part of the Boston metropolitan area. I have several photos of young ladies by this photographer which I believe were all taken when they played in the same all-female orchestra in Boston. Based on the other photos I think this dates to 1897-1899.   

The effect of this 1890s fashion gave the photos of these five young women a statuesque quality of cultivated sophistication. But of course, they were not mannequins,  and during a performance the interaction of arms, torso, and shoulders with their instruments must have given their concerts a spirited animation of sinuous fabric. I regret not having enough understanding of fashion nomenclature to properly describe the material, trim, and craftwork in ladies' garments. But even my unschooled eye can recognize that the fine stitching on these gowns took countless hours of skilled needlework. It can't believe any of these women ever wore off-the-rack clothing. 

For more history on garments of the 19th century I recommend Wikipedia's entries: Victorian fashion which covers British styles, and 1890s in Western fashion. Both links include a lot of example images for both men and women. I also found this history blog, Recollections, very helpful. Click "Victorian Fashions" on its title bar. It was the knowledgeable "source" I referenced at the beginning of this story. 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where finding a needle is easier than stacking hay.