French Fashion and America

In doing research for my periodical paper, one of the articles that frequently came up in all the issues I read was "The Paris Tip of the Day." The article explained a current fashion trend in Paris (for women) and often included a drawing of a woman wearing said trend. Some of the drawings would include arrows pointing to specific places where the fashion might be more difficult (such as hairstyles or ribbons). These articles led me to wonder: why were Americans so obsessed with the French during the 19th century? Why fashion specifically?

The first thing that came to mind was that the French Revolution (1787-1799) occurred shortly after the end of the American Revolution (1765-1783). Seeing a "kindred spirit" of some sort in the French for standing up to their government, Americans latched onto the idea that the two countries were similar.

But what I found to be probably the largest influence on why Americans were so obsessed with the French ties back to the articles I found in the newspapers from the 1890's. Paris fashion. The fashion that came out of Paris in the 1800's was something that a lot of American people looked up to. Empire waists, Greek lines, and dresses reminiscent of Jane Austen novels came from this French fashion. The fashion of this time was called "Regency," named after Britain's Prince George Regent who ran the country while King George the III was ill.

The Regency period of fashion included the Romantic era, and once again, like Jane Austen, the fashion was typified by writers such as Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott. The fashion in France was also enforced by Napoleon, who, in 1804, halted the import of textiles from Britain, revived lace making, and required that no woman wear the same dress to court more than once. His wife became a fashion icon, and set many of the trends of the day.

France was certainly a site for change and progression during the 19th century. Americans, who looked up to the idea of progression, tried to emulate this kindred country's spirit in the few ways they knew how. And that's why the fashion articles appeared every day, as a tip from Paris.