The formalities of the 18th c. received a severe blow at the French revolution ; and in the ten years from 1790 to 1800 a more complete change was effected in dress, by the spontaneous action of the people, than had taken place at any previous period in a century. The change began in France, partly to mark a contempt for old court usages, and partly in imitation of certain classes of persons in England, whose costume the French mistook for that of the nation generally. This new French dress was intro duced by the party who were styled the sans culottes. It consisted of a round hat, a short coat, a light waistcoat, and pantaloons; a handkerchief was tied loosely round the neck, with the ends long and hanging down, and showing the shirt-collar above ; the hair was cut short, without powder, a Sr Titus, and the shoes were tied with strings.
The comparatively simple form of dress of the sans culottes found many admirers in England, and soon became common among young men; the change from antique fashions was also greatly helped by the imposition of a tax on the use of hair-powder, which was henceforth generally abandoned. Pantaloons, which fitted closely to the leg, remained in very common use by those persons who had adopted them till about the year 1814, when the wearing of trousers, already introduced into the army, became fashionable. It is proper, however, to mention that trousers had, for the previous fifteen or twenty years, been used by boys, and were perhaps from them adopted by the army. Previous to the French revolution, the dress of boys was almost the same as that of men. Although trousers—called by the Americans pants—were generally worn after 1815, many elderly persons still held out in knee-breeches against all innovations, and to the present day an aged gentleman may occasionally be seen clinging to this 18th c. piece of dress. The general use of white neckcloths continued, notwithstanding the introduction of the standing collar, till the reign of George IV., when this monarch's taste for wearing a black silk kerchief or stock, and also the use of black stocks in the army, caused a remarkably quick abandonment of white neckcloths and the adoption of black instead: The year 1825, or thereabouts, was the era of this signal improvement in costume.
While these leading changes were effecting, other alterations of a less conspicuous nature were from time to time taking place. The disbanding of the army after the peace of 1815 led to various transformations besides those we have mentioned. While pantaloons were the fashionable dress, it became customary to wear Hessian hoots; these, which had originated among the Hessian troops, were without tops, and were worn with small silk tassels dangling from a cut in front; being drawn over the lower part of the pantaloons, they had a neat appearance; but the keeping of them clean formed a torment that prevented their universal use. See BOOTS. When trousers were introduced from the practice of the army, the use of Wellington boots to go beneath them also became common. Referring to the era of 1815 to 1825 as that in which trousers, Wellington boots, and black neckcloths or stocks came into vogue, we may place the introduction of the surtout in the same period of history. From the time when the collarless and broad-skirted coat had disappeared about the commencement of the century, the fashion of coats had changed in various ways till the above-named era, when the loose frock-coat or surtout was added to the list of garments.
Such is the general account of the progress of fashions in England until nearly the present day. In these fashions, the Welsh, Irish, and Scotch have participated, and there is now little to distinguish the inhabitants of one part of the United Kingdom from another. What differences exist in particular localities—as, for instance, the round bats of the women in Wales, the checked gray plaid of the lowland Scottish peasantry, and the tartan of the highlanders—will, receive some notice under their appropriate heads.
The general simplifying of dress subsequent to 1815, was not unaccompanied by an expiring effort to sustain a high style of fashion. The macaroni, or highly dressed beau of the 18th c.. was now succeeded by the dandy, who, with mincing, affected manners, prided himself on his starched collars, his trousers-straps, and the flashy bunch of seals which dangled from his watch-chain. The regency was the era of this kind of supreme dandyism, but it continued till later times, and characterized a number of leading pub lic personages, of whom notices occur in Raike's Reminiscences, from 1831 to 1851. In the present day, may be noted a kind of break-down of everything like formality in gen tlemen's walking costume. Plain cloths, of divers hues, called Tweeds (q.v.), have almost superseded materials of a superior quality; cloth caps, or soft felted hats, called (see HAT), cover the head.; and the feet are provided with short ankle-boots instead of Wellingtons. In the evening Or dinner costume, howeVer, the old etiquette of dress-coats and white neck-cloths is still maintained. Among the changes that are taking place in the morning or walking dress, none is so remarkable as the growing- fashion of wearing knickerbockers. These are wide loose trousers to below the knee, leaving the lower part of the leg only stockinged or covered with leggings. This fashion, which has been copied more immediately from the French zouaves (q.v.), and partly perhaps from the common practice of stuffing the lower parts of the trousers roughly into boots in the western regions of the United States, is very much a resumption of the costumes seen in old Dutch prints. Should it become general, leg-gaiters or boots will come again into use, and the present generation may live to see the fashion of male attire Work once more round to the knee-breeches of the 18th century. In female as well as in male costume, fashion seems to have a tendency to work in a circle; of this, the late, but now obsolete, resumption of the farthingale, or hoop, under the name of crinoline, offers a sufficient example, besides affording a ludicrous instance of the unreasoning manner in which extravagances in dress are usually followed. It is to be observed, however, that Englishwomen, chargeable as they are with this absurdity, set a most creditable exam ple to their sex all over the world, in allowing no fantastic change of fashion to prevent them from taking out-door exercise in all weathers, which the introduction of india rubber goloshes (q.v.) has materially aided.