 1870s fashion in european and european-influenced clothing is characterized by a gradual return to a narrow silhouette after the full-skirted fashions of the 1850s and 1860s. ==women's fashions== ===overview=== right|thumb|150px|dress of the later 1870s thumb|right|150px|countess brownlow in artistic dress, 1879.for commentary on the clothes in this portrait, see jane ashelford, the art of dress by 1870, fullness in the skirt had moved to the rear, where elaborately draped overskirts were held in place by tapes and supported by a bustle. this fashion required an underskirt, which was heavily trimmed with pleats, flounces, rouching, and frills. this fashion was short-lived (though the bustle would return again in the mid-1880s), and was succeeded by a tight-fitting silhouette with fullness as low as the knees: the cuirass bodice, a form-fitting, long-waisted, boned bodice that reached below the hips, and the princess sheath dress. sleeves were very tight fitting. square necklines were common. day dresses had high necklines that were either closed, squared, or v-shaped. sleeves of morning dresses were narrow throughout the period, with a tendency to flare slightly at the wrist early on. women often draped overskirts to produce an apronlike effect from the front. evening gowns had low necklines and very short, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and were worn with short (later mid-length) gloves. other characteristic fashions included a velvet ribbon tied high around the neck and trailing behind for evening (the origin of the modern choker necklace). ===tea gowns and artistic dress=== under the influence of the pre-raphaelite brotherhood and other artistic reformers, the "anti-fashion" for artistic dress with its "medieval" details and uncorseted lines continued through the 1870s. newly fashionable tea gowns, an informal fashion for entertaining at home, combined pre-raphaelite influences with the loose sack-back styles of the 18th century.at home at tea time: tea gowns for distinction and comfort, 1870-1920, kent state university museum exhibit, april to august 1997, anne bissonnette, curator ===leisure dress=== leisure dress was becoming an important part of a women's wardrobe. seaside dress the girls in green: women's seaside dress in england, 1850â1900, deirdre murphy, the costume society, vol. 40, 2006 in england had its own distinct characteristics but still followed the regular fashions of the day.
1870s_fashion History_of_clothing_(Western_fashion)