Reconstitution against Renunciation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reconstitution against Renunciation - Essay Example â€Å"Male fashion of the 18th century was less varied than female fashion as it consisted of the same set of garments throughout breeches, waistcoat and just a corpse† (Bender, 2006). What follows are photographs with brief descriptions of eighteenth-century male fashion.It can be seen from the above photos that the waistcoat with a slit at the center back was opened at the bottom end. The front edge of the just a corps was curved slightly, with a narrow torso. Stockings were sometimes worn under the breeches, and the shoes were square-toed, with small buckles. The sleeve cuffs also reached up to the elbow. Curly wigs were worn, but compared with seventeenth-century wigs, these were shorter in length. Gentlemen were expected to always have the following accessories: the tricorn hat, walking sticks and, most importantly, the sword as a status symbol, sticking out from underneath the coat’s slit. As a further status symbol, the slit was necessary for riding a horse.Chang es in eighteenth-century male fashion noticeably become more pronounced, as evidenced by the above photographs. It can be seen that the waistcoat no longer sports the flaring bottom edge, paving the way for the eventual tailcoat, and can be buttoned only at the chest. There are lesser decorations, indicating the advent of the "new simplicity" that originated in England and had, by this time, swept all across Europe (Bender, 2006). Cuffs were smaller, and the wigs changed up to the point when they were altogether done away with.