Hans Christian Andersen and Fashion Research

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish storyteller born in 1805. He was the son of a poor shoemaker however, after many struggles, he became known as a poet. Today he is best know for his fairy tales, he believed the secret to his success was that he wrote the stories as if he were telling them to a child. Each time a story is told it changes a little to suit its teller and its audience. This is because everyone has a different idea which part of the story is most interesting, that's why the stories aren't exactly as Andersen wrote them over a hundred and fifty years ago.

Andersen was the writer of the well known stories Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling and more. One of my favourites is Thumbelina as I love all the creatures she meets and the adventures she has.

In Andersen's story there isn't much of a reference to the clothes that his characters wear. This is what led me to research into 19th century clothing to inspire my costume for Thumbelina. I also took inspiration from the flowers and animals in the story and contemporary costume.

The fashion of the 19th century is known for its corsets, bonnets, top hats, bustles and petticoats. Women’s fashion during the Victorian period was largely dominated by full skirts, which gradually moved to the back of the silhouette. In the 1820's and 30's the waistline returned to it's natural position forcing the bodice into a tighter fit and skirts a fuller bell shape. Short puffed sleeves were generally saved for evening and long sleeves for the day. In the 1860's the skirt was very full and worn over a steel crinoline, a boned corset was worn over a chemise and large shawls were sometimes worn instead of a cloak. In the 1870's - 80's styles were introduced that revealed the natural silhouette. A popular style was the `princess line' dress, which was made without a waist seam to reveal the figure. Skirts fitted tightly and required streamlined all-in-one underwear combinations. Corsets became longer and were more rigidly boned. Sleeves were tight. After 1887 the bustle went out of fashion.

 

 

In the last few years of the 19th century the skirt was floor length with a slight train. The waist remained small and a corset which either laced up or fastened with clips was generally worn. A small pad was worn at the back of the waist to support the skirt. In the 1890s the top of the sleeves were sometimes puffed into an enormous shape which required lightweight stiffening or padding. The neckline for day wear was very high featuring a stand-up collar in a lightweight fabric which was boned or wired around the edge to hold it up under the chin. Women adopted a simple and rather masculine-looking shirt, jacket and skirt for day wear. Towards the end of the 19th century the rate at which the fashion silhouette changed quickened. This was due to paper patterns being sold in magazines and a demand for a constant flow of new styles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 During the 1820s hair styles became very elaborate with raised top knots and the crowns of bonnets or hats were designed to accommodate them. By the middle of the century, by contrast, hairstyles had become smooth with a central parting finished with ringlets on either side of the face and a small bun at the back or simply swept back from the face to a chignon (a mass of hair arranged on a pad at the back of the head and held in place with a net or snood). Bonnets and hats continued to be worn until the 1860s when small, elegant styles appeared which simply perched on top of the head. Even smaller hats appeared in the 1870s when hairstyles rose in the form of elaborate chignons. In the 1880s and 1890s hairstyles remained `up' but did not retain the heights or bulk of the 1870s styles. Small hats decorated with birds and feathers and artificial flowers were fashionable. In the 1880's hair was curled on top and taken into a bun at the back. Often a ringlet was brought forward over the shoulder as a finishing touch.

 

Contemporary generally means modern or of a certain time. So contemporary fashion or costume design is defined by a certain time. It would be inspired by art and other factors from a certain time and contemporary fashion from a decade ago would be different from contemporary fashion a century ago.