Fin de Siecle Costume - The Gay 90's

In this period the fashionable man was called a "dude" and he was a dandy that would never let hair mess up the square modeling of his jaw. He wore super-exquisite clothes, felt undressed without his cane and if he had courage sported a monocle. The ordinary man dressed much like he had in the eighties except he felt fine wearing informal sack suits and soft hats for every occasion. The manly silhouette of the nighties man was rather square-shouldered, and straight-waisted. Men wore their hair parted down the middle or on the side just a little left of center and it was a little longer than modern hair.

After the eighties teased the woman with comfortable dress, the pendulum swung back. The were the most absurdly unhygienic of any age. Women constricted her middle to an orthodox eighteen inches, and squeezed her feet into patent-leather shoes with toothpick toes and very high heels. Sleeve at this time were about the size of balloons which each sleeve contained enough stuff material to have made a dress. The skirt spread from the wasp-waist to the ground like a tee-pee. Suprisingly, she did all of her sports; golf, tennis, croquet, and bicycling in a costume like this. Women wore their hair back from the forehead and knotted on top with a pompadour or parted down the middle. The French twist was popular at this time and hats were on the smaller side.