Guys, we made it! A whole century of fashion later, we’re at the turn of the century: 1900s fashion. At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion was moving away from the stiff, constricting styles of Victorian period to the…still pretty constricting styles of the Edwardian period.

In my last article, I touched on the over-the-top nature of 1900s Edwardian styles. In the 1900s, Paris was the center of fashion, corsets were still expected of all ladies, and opulence was a necessary part of any look. But for all of the styles of the 1900s that would look out of place today (bustles, for instance), others are still wearable. Before we get to those, let’s take a look at the sartorial history of the decade.

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1900s Fashion Overview

Not only was fashion important for wealthy ladies of the 1900s, it was practically a pastime. If you were a woman in the Edwardian period, you would have three or four changes of clothes per day. First would be your morning dress, a simple pairing of a high collared blouse and long skirt that you would wear to do errands or visit friends. After that, you’d change into an afternoon dress, for entertaining guests, followed by a loose and lacy affair called a tea dress. Lastly, if you had any parties to attend, you would don an evening gown, which was usually ruffled, embroidered, layered, or all of the above. 

Of course gloves and hats were usually worn any time a lady went outdoors. Broad, flat hats embellished with feathers, ribbons, and flowers were popular early in the decade. As for corsets, the iconic look of the 1900s, the ‘S’ curve was established by the ‘health corset’, which pushed the chest forward and forced the back into a slight bend. The silhouette was emphasized by bustles on the back of dresses, and extra ruffles and embellishments on the bust to give a girl a sort of pigeon look.