Spanning the 1890s to the mid-1920s, the Maymont era was a time of dramatic change for women’s clothing. In the 1890s, oversized leg-of-mutton sleeves and flared skirts gave women a sculpted, well-defined, hourglass shape. Then as the 20th century dawned, the cycle of fashion turned from elaborately tailored designs to simpler, one-piece gowns. By the 1920s, shorter, loose, unstructured garments made of lightweight fabrics stood in sharp contrast to the closely fitted clothing of the 1890s and 1910s.

Paris was the fashion center of the world at this time and in the first decade of the 20th century, French designer, Paul Poiret, was dubbed the King of Fashion. Fashion magazines such as Vogue, first published in 1892, kept their mass audiences up-to-date, and department stores with ready-to-wear clothing were displacing custom dressmakers.

The Maymont costume collection primarily focuses on the fashions of the early years, the 1890s, including fashions for a variety of different social occasions.

House Calls

Fashionable ladies often established an “at home” day, the weekday afternoon when a lady would receive calls. On these days, the lady of the house would wear “a becoming and ornamental” afternoon gown. The butler would dress in formal livery, and the parlor maid would wear a black uniform with white cuffs, collar, cap, and “a delicate and immaculate” white apron. The proper lady visitor would wear a tailored walking suit or visiting gown, always with high neck and long sleeves, hat and gloves. The lady caller would never remove her hat, nor would she remove her gloves, even when drinking tea. The gentleman caller would always remove his hat and his right glove as he would never shake hands with his hand still gloved.