Saturday, February 9, 2019

THE BIRTH OF SPORTSWEAR--AND AN INTRIGUING IMAGE

leaning on a column from the house of Lady Cornelia Baroness Wimborne (1847-1927), sister of Lord Randolph Spencer-Churchill, at Canford Magna near Bournemouth.
This photograph of Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill, was supposedly taken at the home of her sister-in-law, Lady Cornelia Guest, Baroness Wimbourne.  And it's dated 1892. She's wearing British country-house clothing--not exactly a riding habit, but a walking suit, correct for casual days spent striding around the estate. These were separates--a blouse worn with a skirt indoors, the jacket only donned for exterior wear. The fact that Jennie has left hers unbottoned, to reveal the glorious lace jabot of her blouse, emphasizes the informality--what Coco Chanel would term "sportswear" in the next century.

Jennie's youthful face and figure suggest the 1892 date is fairly accurate--she would have been 38 years old that year--but I can't square the almost Edwardian walking suit she's wearing with the late 1890s. So I did some visual research.

Here's a walking suit from 1891:



Notice the much shorter tails of the jacket and the much fuller skirt. The shape is still hourglass, suggesting tight corseting. And here are a few more images, specifically from 1892: The one on the left is from the Metropolitan Museum's collection, and the one on the right is a fashion plate from 1892. In that, the impossibly tall woman on the left is wearing the longer jacket. But the skirts, again, seem too full.



Walking suits from a decade later, however, track more closely with Jennie's in the photograph above: There silhouette is boxier, and although there's still obviously a waist, it looks freer than the corseted silhouette of a decade earlier. Jennie, in the photograph, is wearing a belt--so it's difficult to tell whether her suit is as boxy as an Edwardian one.


In the end, however, I had to take Jennie's hat into consideration. It's nothing like a hat from 1905, when brims were vast and trimmings lavish. 



Lady's hat, 1905
I'm forced to conclude, therefore, that Jennie was simply fashion-forward in 1892--in this, as in so many things, ahead of her time.






5 comments:

  1. tanie damskie gucci, łącząc elegancki styl i najnowocześniejszą technologię, różnorodność stylów tanie gucci kluczowa sprawa, wskaźnik przechodzi między Twoim ekskluzywnym stylem smaku.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Get a COVID-19 test with same-day results at Saniset. For those looking for a quick result who don't require a laboratory PCR test. Book your Covid Testing Los Angeles now!
    Find all location including -
    Rapid Covid Testing New York City

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your blog post on the birth of sportswear and its intriguing history is a fascinating read. It delves into the evolution of athletic attire, exploring its impact on fashion and culture. The detailed insights and historical context make it an engaging exploration of this influential aspect of clothing. Sportswear

    ReplyDelete