# Costume: Fanciful, Historical, and Theatrical

COSTUME
FANCIFUL, HISTORICAL, AND THEATRICAL
COQUELIN, AS CYRANO DE BERGERAC, FROM A WATER COLOUR DRAWING BY PERCY ANDERSON.
(Reproduced by special permission.)
COSTUME: FANCIFUL, HISTORICAL AND THEATRICAL
COMPILED BY Mrs. ARIA
ILLUSTRATED BY PERCY ANDERSON
London MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1906
All rights reserved
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
"It is merely a question of head" said Percy Anderson to me one day whilst we were discussing some easy method of solving a problem in fancy dress.
And he continued:
"Indeed, I would say that, broadly speaking, of all costume. The fashion of any period is distinguished primarily by the way its wearer dresses her hair."
"And chooses her sleeves," I suggested, and received his approval.
We agreed then that we were both most keenly interested in dress, regarding it as one of the fine and essential arts; and we decided that we would try to preach its best doctrines and traditions to the world at large, while we did not ignore the fact that many more worthy had previously enriched literature with the same object. Realising this most acutely, it came to pass that I found myself searching libraries for information which could serve to point my moral, while Mr. Anderson consented to adorn my tale and help me in my endeavour to present concisely, and with as little ceremony and as much simplicity as possible, the main facts of the fashions which have obtained through the centuries.
A few practical details and suggestions are included in the hope that they may obviate some difficulties of those who fret their hour on the stage or at the fancy-dress ball, while, for the benefit of the next generation, I have devoted a small space to personal reminiscences of theatrical heroes and heroines, and to some facts of theatrical dress, as it has been expressed in classic and popular dramas produced by the leading actors and actresses of our time.
E. ARIA.
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
COLOURED :
| | | PAGE |
| Coquelin, as Cyrano dc Bergerac. (From Drawing by Percy Anderson) | Frontspeice |
| In Ancient Greece | To face | 5 |
| In the Twelfth Century | " | 12 |
| In the Thirteenth Century | " | 22 |
| The Queen of Richard II. | " | 28 |
| A German Student in the Fourteenth Century | " | 32 |
| Varieties of the Hennin | " | 40 |
| In the Eighteenth Century | " | 78 |
| Albanian Peasants | " | 120 |
| In Corfu To-day | " | 126 |
| In China of Old | " | 147 |
| The Seville Orange | " | 180 |
| An Egyptian Dancer | " | 226 |
| Isolde | " | 240 |
| Lewis Waller as Henry V. | " | 250 |
| Othello | " | 254 |
| IN THE TEXT ||
| Two Hand-Mirrors | 4 |
| A Roman Head — A Greek Head | 6 |
| A Roman Lady | 7 |
| A Dress laced in the Front — A Dress laced at the Back | 11 |
| A Coronet — A Brooch | 13 |
| A Plain Wimple | 14 ​ |
| A Shoe | 15 |
| Dagged Costume in the Twelfth Century | 16 |
| A Clasped and Jewelled Girdle—A Cloak-Fastener | 18 |
| Henry III.'s Queen | 20 |
| A Simple Buttoned Gown | 21 |
| A Quaint Wimple | 34 |
| The Head-dress of Henry IV.—A Head Drapery held with Plaited Hair | 35 |
| Embroidered Gloves | 36 |
| An Elaborate Head-dress in the Reign of Henry V | 38 |
| Elizabeth of Woodville | 39 |
| The Horned Head-dress | 41 |
| Head-dress of Jewelled Velvet and Lawn | 42 |
| The Houppelande | 43 |
| A Girdle—A Pointed Shoe | 44 |
| Elizabeth of York | 45 |
| In the Time of Henry VII. | 52 |
| A Trio of Ruffs | 55 |
| Queen Elizabeth in Full Dress | 56 |
| A Chemisette | 58 |
| An Italian Lady | 59 |
| Two Italian Coiffures—An Italian Gentleman | 60 |
| A Spaniard in the Sixteenth Century | 61 |
| A Shoulder-Jacket | 62 |
| The Cape with Buttoned Sleeve | 63 |
| Maximilian | 64 |
| A Feather and a Chicken-skin Fan | 67 |
| A Full Apron | 68 |
| The Lace Commode | 70 |
| Clogs and Chopines | 71 |
| A Mob-Cap | 73 |
| Glove with Jewelled Gauntlet | 75 |
| A Riding Costume | 76 |
| Madame de Pompadour | 79 |
| Marie Antoinette | 82 |
| A Peignoir | 83 |
| A Coiffure | 84 ​ |
| A Variety of Head-dresses adopted in the Eighteenth Century | 85 |
| A Cap and Hood | 87 |
| Some Sticks | 89 |
| Some Quaint Examples of Nineteenth-Century Headgear | 93 |
| Lady Blessington | 99 |
| Lady Blessington — Lady Dalmeny | 101 |
| Two Coiffures — Early Victorian Styles | 102 |
| In the Nineteenth Century | 103 |
| The Austrian Peasant-Bride in Black | 123 |
| A Croatian Peasant | 124 |
| A Croatian Peasant | 125 |
| A Greek Peasant in Mediæval Days | 127 |
| A Greek Peasant—A Greek Peasant Woman—A Greek Priest—A Greek Brigand | 128 |
| A Westphalian Peasant | 142 |
| A Hungarian Peasant in the Seventeenth Century | 144 |
| A Chinese Actor | 152 |
| A Chinese Peasant | 153 |
| An Egyptian Peasant Woman | 159 |
| An Egyptian Water-Carrier | 160 |
| An Egyptian Peasant | 161 |
| An Old Indian Festival Dress | 165 |
| A Botticelli Dancing-Dress | 181 |
| An Eighteenth-Century Pierrot | 183 |
| A South Sea Islander | 186 |
| The Knave of Diamonds | 187 |
| Miss Ellen Terry as Mistress Page | 239 |
| George Alexander as Guy Domville | 245 |
| Julian L'Estrange as Hermes | 247 |
| Beerbohm Tree as Malvolio | 249 |
| Miss Constance Collier as Viola | 251 |
| Miss Gertrude Elliot as Desdemona | 253 |
| Véronique | 255 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1931, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 92 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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