Headwear

A woolen cap with a small brim, probably styled after that worn by bicycle riders. It resembles school caps still worn in the UK and some European universities. Informal dress for upper- and middle-class Englishmen in the 1860s and '70s

Jacket

The man wears a version of the Norfolk jacket, a single-breasted lounging (or lounge) jacket that was buttoned high; its other characteristics included patch pockets and box pleats. First becoming popular with men and women in the 1880s, it replaced the earlier patrol jacket, which was "hip length, single-breasted, fastened high with a small or Prussian collar, worn with matching tight breeches for cycling during the 1870s" (Nunn 141). The Norfolk jacket remained popular well into the twentieth century and is still seen today.

Trousers

He wears easy-fitting knee-length trousers known as emtighter fitting breeches. A pair of knickerbockers and matching jacket formed the Norfolk suit, which "was much in evidence for shooting and informal country occasions" (Nunn, 141).

Foot- and legwear

Knee-length socks with spats over low boots either elastic sides or laces.

Source of Image: Detail from "I would rather take it, sir, in my own hand" an illustration by E. Borough Johnson for Hardy's Tess of the Durbervilles (1891). Compare Maurice Greffenhagen’s cartoon for the 1894 Judy.

Bibliography

Nunn, Joan. Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000. 2nd edition. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000.


Created 11 June 2001

Last modified 18 February 2022