Victorian Aesthetic Dress

  

From 1895 Punch cartoon. Gertrude: "My dear Jessie, what on earth is that Bicycle Suit for?"

Jessie: "Why, to wear, of course."

Gertrude: "But you haven't got a Bicycle!"

Jessie: "No; but I've got a Sewing Machine!"

— Public domain image, Wikipedia

 

The Victorian aesthetics seen in clothing also often reflected the worldly state of the British Empire. Women of considerable means wore dresses made from coloured silk from the Far East. In the Victorian era, women who were well-off often didn’t work, and so their clothing wasn’t needed to have much practicality. Instead, tight-fitting corsets and layered petticoats were the standard. Embroidered trim and other fine decorative elements were also reserved for wealthy women. Middle class and working women wore similar styles, although lacking the added decoration and luxurious fabrics.

Over the course of the Victorian era, women’s clothes became more form-fitting. Necklines dropped, with significant ‘v’ shapes becoming popular. Off-shoulder sleeves were also stylish in the mid-1800s. By the turn of the 20th century, the prominent bustles and hoop skirts that had exemplified Victorians were much less popular. Instead, tight dresses with bustles that created more of an hourglass or ‘mermaid’ shape rose to the fore.

Men and women wore significant jewelry throughout the Victorian era. For men, pocket watches, signet rings, tie pins, and cufflinks were commonplace. Brooches were a piece of jewellery that was particularly prominent for Victorians, serving as decoration and practicality. They could be worn as ornamentation on a coat lapel just as easily as they could be used to affix a lady’s hairstyle in place.

Victorian jewellery evolved throughout the period, with changing aesthetics and purposes. Queen Victoria herself was massively influential throughout the British Empire, being the closest thing to an international celebrity at the time. As she grew and her life circumstances changed, so did her taste in jewellery. One prominent theme seen throughout Victorian jewellery pieces is the snake. To Victorians, snakes were seen as a romantic icon, representing an eternal love between two people. Snake jewellery includes men’s jewelry just as much as women’s jewellery pieces—From the AC Silver Site Blog, 2023

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

19th C. Etiquette of Women’s Dress

What to Wear and When to Wear It

By the late 1800’s fashions were changing rapidly — “Women’s dresses often featured a combination of textiles and adornments such as lace, bows, and ruffles as a result, according to Vogue. Jewel tones were favored, as light colors were impractical on the streets of New York. Corsets were still popular in the late 1800s, and the elite always wore hats, often adorned with feathers, when stepping out of their homes. For women of the era, formal occasions called for tulle dresses that exposed the décolletage, fur-lined cloaks, and elbow-length gloves. Men wore top hats and tuxedos, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1880s.” 

- Erica Tempesta for DailyMail.com

FASHION—

Do not be too submissive to the dictates of fashion; at the same time avoid oddity or eccentricity in your dress. There are some persons who will follow, in defiance of taste and judgment, the fashion to its most extreme point; this is a sure mark of vulgarity. Every new style of dress will  admit of adaptation to individual cases, thus producing a pleasing, as well as fashionable effect. Not only good taste, but health is often sacrificed to the silly error of dressing in the extreme of fashion.  Be careful to have your dress comfortable and becoming, and let the prevailing mode come into secondary consideration; avoiding, always, the other extreme of oddity or eccentricity in costume. 

STYLE AND FORM OF DRESS—

Be always careful when making up the various parts of your wardrobe, that each article fits you accurately. Not in the outside garments alone must this rule be followed, an ill-fitting pair of corsets, or wrinkles in any other article of the under-clothes, will make a dress set badly, even if it has been itself fitted with the utmost accuracy. A stocking which is too large, will make the boot uncomfortably tight, and too small will compress the foot, making the shoe loose and untidy. In a dress, no outlay upon the material will compensate for a badly fitting garment. A cheap calico made to fit the form accurately and easily, will give the wearer a more lady-like air than the richest silk which either wrinkles or is too tightly strained over the figure. Collars or sleeves, pinned over or tightly strained to meet, will entirely mar the effect of the prettiest dress. 

ECONOMY—

And by economy I do not mean mere cheapness. To buy a poor, flimsy fabric merely because the price is low, is extravagance, not economy; still  worse if you buy articles because they are offered cheap, when you have no use for them. In purchasing goods for the wardrobe, let each material be the best of its kind. The same amount of sewing that is put into a good material, must be put into a poor one, and, as the latter will very soon wash or wear out, there must be another one to supply its place, purchased and made up, when, by buying a good article at first, this time and labor might have been saved. A good, strong material will be found cheapest in the end, though the actual expenditure of money may be larger at first. 

COMFORT—

Many ladies have to trace months of severe suffering to an improper disregard of comfort, in preparing their wardrobe, or in exposure after they are dressed. The most exquisite ball costume will never compensate for the injury done by tight lacing, the prettiest foot is dearly paid for by the pain a tight boot entails, and the most graceful effects will not prevent suffering from exposure to cold. A light ball dress and exquisite arrangement of the hair, too often make the wearer dare the inclemency of the coldest night, by wearing a light shawl or hood, to prevent crushing delicate lace or flowers. Make it a fixed rule to have the head, feet, and chest well protected when going to a party, even at the risk of a crushed flower or a stray curl. Many a fair head has been laid in a coffin, a victim to consumption, from rashly venturing out of a heated ball room, flushed and excited, with only a light protection against keen night air. The excitement of the occasion may prevent immediate discomfort in such cases, but it adds to the subsequent danger. 

DETAILS—

Be careful always that the details of your dress are perfectly finished in every point. The small articles of a wardrobe require constant care to keep in perfect order, yet they will woefully revenge themselves if neglected.  Let the collar, handkerchief, boots, gloves, and belts be always whole, neat, and adapted to the dress. A lace collar will look as badly over a chintz dress, as a linen one would with velvet, though each may be perfect of its kind. Attention to these minor points are sure tests of taste in a lady's dress. A shabby or ill fitting boot or glove will ruin the most elaborate walking dress, while one of much plainer make and coarser fabric will be becoming and lady-like, if all the details are accurately fitted, clean, and well put on. In arranging a dress for every occasion, be careful that there is no missing string, hook, or button, that the folds hang well, and that every part is even and properly adjusted. Let the skirts hang smoothly, the outside ones being always about an inch longer than the under ones; let the dress set smoothly, carefully hooked or buttoned; let the collar fit neatly, and be fastened firmly and smoothly at the throat; let shoes and stockings be whole, clean, and fit nicely; let the hair be smooth and glossy, the skin pure, and the colors and fabric of your dress harmonize and be suitable for the occasion, and you will always appear both lady-like and well-dressed. 

HOME DRESSES

 Public Promenade Dress for 1842 – Pinterest

MORNING DRESS—

The most suitable dress for breakfast, is a wrapper made to fit the figure loosely,  and the material, excepting when the winter weather requires woolen goods, should be of chintz, gingham, brilliante, or muslin. A lady who has children, or one accustomed to perform for herself light household duties, will soon find the advantage of wearing materials that will wash. A large apron of domestic gingham, which can be taken off,  if the wearer is called to see unexpected visitors, will protect the front of the dress, and save washing the wrapper too frequently. If a lady's domestic duties require her attention for several hours in the morning, whilst her list of acquaintances is large, and she has frequent morning calls, it is best to dress for callers before breakfast, and wear over this dress a loose sack and skirt of domestic gingham. This, while protecting the dress perfectly, can be taken off at a moment's notice if callers are announced. Married ladies often wear a cap in the morning, and lately, young girls have adopted the fashion. It is much better to let the hair be perfectly smooth, requiring no cap, which is often worn to conceal the lazy, slovenly arrangement of the hair. A few moments given to making the hair smooth and presentable without any covering, will not be wasted. Slippers of embroidered cloth are prettiest with a wrapper, and in summer black morocco is the most suitable for the house in the morning. 

DRESS FOR MORNING VISITS—

A lady should never receive her morning callers in a wrapper, unless they call at an unusually early hour, or some unexpected demand upon her time makes it impossible to change her dress after breakfast. On the other hand, an elaborate costume before dinner is in excessively bad taste. The dress should be made to fit the figure neatly, finished at the throat and wrists by an embroidered collar and cuffs, and, unless there is a necessity for it, in loss of the hair or age, there should be no cap or head dress worn. A wrapper made with handsome trimming, open over a pretty white skirt, may be worn with propriety; but the simple dress worn for breakfast, or in the exercise of domestic duties, is not suitable for the parlor when receiving visits of ceremony in the morning.

  

EVENING DRESS—

The home evening dress should be varied according to circumstances. If no visitor is expected, the dress worn in the morning is suitable for the evening; but to receive visitors, it should be of lighter material, and a light head-dress may be worn. For young ladies, at home, ribbon or velvet are the most suitable materials for a head-dress. Flowers, unless they be natural ones in summer, are in very bad taste, excepting in cases where a party of invited guests are expected. Dark silk in winter, and thin material in summer, make the most suitable dresses for evening, and the reception of the chance-guests ladies in society may usually expect. 

A dress for marketing– Here a dress of the most inexpensive kind is the best. There is no surer mark of vulgarity, than a costly dress in the market.

WALKING DRESSES—

Walking dresses, to be in good taste, should be of quiet colors, and never conspicuous. Browns, modes, and neutral tints, with black and white, make the prettiest dresses for the street. Above all, avoid wearing several bright colors. One may be worn with perfect propriety to take off the sombre effect of a dress of brown or black, but do not let it be too glaring, and wear but little of it. Let the boots be sufficiently strong and thick to protect the feet from damp or dust, and wear always neat, clean, nicely fitting gloves. The entire effect of the most tasteful costume will be ruined if attention is not paid to the details of dress. A soiled bonnet cap, untidy strings, or torn gloves and collar will utterly spoil the prettiest costume. There is no surer mark of vulgarity than over dressing or gay dressing in the street. Let the materials be of the costliest kind, if you will, but do not either wear the exaggerations of the fashion, or conspicuous colors. Let good taste dictate the limits where fashion may rule, and let the colors harmonize well, and be of such tints as will not attract attention. 

FOR MORNING CALLS—

The dress should be plain, and in winter furs and dark gloves may be worn. 

FOR BRIDAL CALLS—

The dress should be of light silk, the bonnet dressy, and either a rich shawl or light cloak; no furs, and light gloves. In summer, a lace or silk mantle and white gloves should be worn. 

SHOPPING DRESSES—

Should be of such material as will bear the crush of a crowded store without injury, and neither lace or delicate fabrics should ever be worn. A dress of merino in winter, with a cloth cloak and plain velvet or silk bonnet is the most  suitable.  In summer,  a dress and cloak of  plain mode colored Lavella cloth, or any other cool but strong fabric, with a simply trimmed straw bonnet, is the best dress for a shopping excursion. 

Women’s fashions for winter in England

STORM DRESSES—

A lady who is obliged to go out frequently in bad weather, will find it both a convenience and economy to have a storm dress. Both dress and cloak should be made of a woolen material, (varying of course with the season,) which will shed water. White skirts are entirely out of place, as, if the dress is held up, they will be in a few moments disgracefully dirty. A woolen skirt, made quite short, to clear the muddy streets, is the proper thing. Stout, thick-soled boots, and gloves of either silk, beaver-cloth, or lisle thread, are the most suitable. The bonnet should be either of straw or felt, simply trimmed; and, above all, carry a large umbrella. The little light umbrellas are very pretty, no doubt, but to be of any real protection in a storm, the umbrella should be large enough to protect the whole dress. 

MARKETING—

Here a dress of the most inexpensive kind is the best. There is no surer mark of vulgarity, than a costly dress in the market. A chintz is the best skirt to wear, and in winter a dark chintz skirt put on over a delaine dress, will protect it from baskets, and the unavoidable soils contracted in a market, while it looks perfectly well, and can be washed if required. 

  

                                            

“A friendly hint to young ladies who wear those dear delightful barége dresses. Always let the slip (or whatever the mysterious garment is called) be as long as the outer dress?”— Punch

TRAVELING—

Traveling dresses should be made always of some quiet color, perfectly plain, with a deep mantle or cloak of the same material. When traveling with a young babe, a dress of material that will wash is the best, but it should be dark and plain. A conspicuous traveling dress is in very bad taste and jewelry or ornaments of any kind are entirely out of place. Let the dress be made of dark, plain material, with a simple straw or felt bonnet, trimmed with the same color as the dress, and a thick barege veil. An elastic string run through a tuck made in the middle of the veil, will allow one half to fall over the face, while the other half falls back,  covering the bonnet, and protecting it from dust. If white collars and sleeves are worn, they should be of linen, perfectly plain. Strong boots and thick gloves are indispensable in traveling, and a heavy shawl should be carried, to meet any sudden change in the weather. Corsets and petticoats of dark linen are more suitable than white ones, as there is so much unavoidable dust and mud constantly meeting a traveler. 

Woman in Ball Costume 1860

EVENING DRESSES—

Must be governed by the number of guests you may expect to meet, and the character of the entertainment to which you are invited. For small social companies, a dark silk in winter, and a pretty lawn, barege, or white muslin in summer, are the most appropriate. A light head-dress of ribbon or velvet, or a plain cap, are the most suitable with this dress. For a larger party, low-necked, short-sleeved silk, light colored, or any of the thin goods made expressly for evening wear, with kid gloves, either of a color to match the dress or of white; black lace mittens are admissible, and flowers in the hair. A ball dress should be made of either very dressy silk, or light, thin material made over silk. It should be trimmed with lace, flowers, or ribbon, and made dressy. The coiffure should be elaborate, and match the dress, being either of ribbon, feather, or flowers. White kid gloves, trimmed to match the dress, and white or black satin slippers, with silk stockings, must be worn.

“There is such a variety of opinion upon the subject of mourning, that it is extremely difficult to lay down any general rules upon the subject.” –Mourning Dresses for1860

MOURNING—

There is such a variety of opinion upon the subject of mourning, that it is extremely difficult to lay down any general rules upon the subject. Some wear very close black for a long period, for a distant relative; whilst others will wear dressy mourning for a short time in a case of death in the immediate family. There is no rule either for the depth of mourning, or the time when it may be laid aside, and I must confine my remarks to the different degrees of mourning.

For deep mourning,  the dress should be of  bombazine, Parramatta cloth, delaine, barege, or merino, made up over black lining. The only appropriate trimming is a deep fold, either of the same material or of crape. The shawl or cloak must be of plain black, without border or trimming, unless a fold of crape be put on the cloak; the bonnet should be of crape, made perfectly plain, with crape facings, unless the widow's cap be worn, and a deep crape veil should be thrown over both face and bonnet. Black crape collar and sleeves, and black boots and gloves. The next degree is to wear white collar and sleeves, a bow of crape upon the bonnet, and plain white lace facings, leaving off the crape veil, and substituting one of plain black net. A little later, black silk without any gloss, trimmed with crape, may be worn, and delaine or bombazine, with a trimming of broad, plain ribbon, or a bias fold of silk. 

The next stage admits a silk bonnet trimmed with crape, and lead color, dark purple, or white figures on the dress. From this the mourning passes into second mourning. Here a straw bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon or crape flowers, or a silk bonnet with black flowers on the outside, and white ones in the face, a black silk dress, and gray shawl or cloak, may be worn. Lead color, purple, lavender, and white, are all admissible in second mourning, and the dress may be lightened gradually, a white bonnet, shawl, and light purple or lavender dress, being the dress usually worn last, before the mourning is thrown aside entirely, and colors resumed. 

It is especially to be recommended to buy always the best materials when making up mourning. Crape and woolen goods of the finest quality are very expensive, but a cheaper article will wear miserably; there is no greater error in economy than purchasing cheap mourning, for no goods are so inferior, or wear out and grow rusty so soon. 

From “The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness” by Florence Hartley, 1860

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Victorian “Mashers” Lacked Manners

Old family photos show that dressing in drag for fun is nothing new. But to dress as the opposite sex, simply to shock, “go slumming” or to get away with rude behavior, is unacceptable.

Rudeness and Victorian Female “Mashers”

The well-bred young woman, shedding good manners and decorum for “fun.” 

Saving her petticoats, retained apparently out of respect for the law that prohibits interchange of costume by the sexes, the female masher is a little man. She is stiff and starch, well set up, and all over buttons. Her hat is made at a man's shop, so is her trim little jacket, so are her innumerable waistcoats, so apparently are her boots. She is essentially tailor-made from head to foot. When the weather is gusty, she covers all over with a tailor-made tight-fitting coat, to which a certain swagger is imparted by the use of the now preposterous and most hideous swaying crinolette. If manners oft proclaim the man, costume certainly advertises the woman ; so the female masher does not assume masculine attire without imitating parrot-like the affectation of her evident model. 

On the pier and promenade of to-day, the man is not in it. It is the woman who laughs loudly, talks at the top of her voice, takes the pavement, and elbows the crowd to the right and to the left. The female masher is neither polite in her manners nor select in her conversation. As a very slight acquaintance she will communicate suspicious stories to a perfect stranger, and there is no slang or popular vulgarity with which she is not acquainted. In a dogcart at the station, she takes the reins ; in the yacht she handles the tiller. She whistles as she walks along the pier, and hitches up her clothes as if she were a sailor. At a dance in the assembly rooms at night she evidently finds the opposite sex so insipid that she seizes upon the first girl she comes across, and whirls her around the room. The ordinary, well-behaved and courteous man finds the "female masher" the most difficult person to contend with, for when she is rude — as she very frequently is — there is necessarily no reply. She can insult and injure without any chance of a "setting down" from any one, unless he be old enough to be her father. 

Such a rebuff one of these impudent minxes received in my hearing the other day at a seaside railway station. A female masher of a pronounced type, after swaggering about a railway station, walking like a dragon, and flourishing a stick instead of a parasol, was anxious to enter a train from which an elderly gentleman was handing his gray-haired wife with her innumerable impediments. The process was too tedious for Miss Masher, who observed far too audibly to her companion, “Well, I suppose when these people have got out we shall be allowed to get in.” There was a malicious sneer in the delivery of this sarcasm which would have frightened a younger man. But the old gentleman was equal to the occasion. “My dear young lady,” said he, “a little patience will do you no harm. In fact, if you practice patience it is possible that some day you may get a husband, though I should venture to consider that it was no desirable event.” Then taking off his hat, he retired with his wife and her parcels. But “Miss Masher” was far too pachydermatous even so much as to notice or appreciate the rebuff. 

She entered the carriage in which I happened to be sitting, and proceeded as follows : She first took up the newspapers which happened to be there and flung them into another seat, occupying, why I cannot conceive, the seat opposite to me.  “I don't know what these papers are, or whose they are, and I don't care,” was her first remark, although as I was the only other occupant of the carriage, it would not have been difficult to solve that problem. The conversation she indulged in with her friend was the reverse of edifying, being a coarse mixture of slang and somewhat vulgar repartee. I am not naturally over-scrupulous or over-modest, but I was obliged to stare out of the window in order to pretend not to appreciate the brazen conduct that, had it been recognized and laughed at, would have been rewarded with a sneer or a scowl, for “Miss Masher,” although she takes enough liberties herself, never allows one. 

During the remainder of the journey my edifying companion employed herself by whistling popular airs and by ruching up her dress in order to pull up her stockings — an occupation harmless in itself, but scarcely in accordance with the decorum of a public conveyance. Now, I was curious to ascertain the habitat of this young lady. Who could she be?! To what class of society could she belong? She was evidently a lady born, if not a lady bred. She was no frequenter of the music halls, where such manners are applauded as something vastly witty. Judge of my surprise when she stopped at a railway station close to the abode of a popular nobleman, and was driven off in the private omnibus attached to the mansion. If, then, such young ladies set so unenviable an example, it is small wonder that the masherdom of society in its most pronounced form should be imitated by other girls and women equally arrogant and equally vain. “Miss Masher,” of Folkestone and Eastbourne, is reproduced in a still more masculine fashion at Margate and Yarmouth. – London Truth, 1883

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Cycling Etiquette and Romance

A proper woman’s “Cycling Costume” from 1901

The Bicycle In Love-Making from 1895

Extraordinary Number of “Scorchers'” Who Become Bridegrooms! 

"All our best racers are getting married like winking; in fact, there is an epidemic of marriage going on among them just now!" That is the testimony that comes over from London, and it would seem to be an undoubted fact that throughout England and France, at least, the wheel is rapidly augmenting marrying and giving in marriage. 

The London County Cycling Club has recognized this tendency, and has provided for it by offering prizes for the season's racing that gentlemen competitors may find acceptable and suitable to present, to their wives. The trouble is that while a cyclist is still in his salad days, and before he thinks of matrimony, he is generally interested in racing, and delights in posing as a champion "scorcher" for the benefit of lady cyclists who are there to view.
                         

"One of the most popular sporting activities was bicycling. A favored costume exists of a double-breasted jacket with large leg-of-mutton sleeves. Underneath a lady was wearing a shirt blouse with a stiffened collar and a man's tie. She also has on wide knickerbockers, coloured stockings made of cotton and a straw hat with stand-up trimmings and a face veil. For a game of tennis, a lady wore a blouse and a short skirt (two inches of the ground!), a cap, a tie and gloves. A bathing costume was made of cotton with insets of embroidery. These outfits may appear very cumbersome to us, and it is difficult imagine participating in sport hampered by so much material. These clothes however were quite revolutionary in their time and were frowned upon by many as quite scandalous. At this time, women were beginning their struggle for emancipation and it is interesting that their desire to be on an equal footing with men is reflected in the clothes that they wore. The wide leg-of-mutton sleeves gave ladies a masculine, rather aggressive appearance rather than emphasizing their femininity." From AngelPig.net

If there is anything a wheelwoman appreciates, it is a man who is strong, powerful and enduring on his cycle, and who can put up a century at very nearly record-speed. The men who can do this the best are the favorites for women to ride with. Long trips, the participants being a man and a girl alone, naturally follow, and after a few of these an engagement results. 

Watch out, scorchers... Fall in love and your cycling speeds may drop! Unless of course, your wife fancies a new brooch.

After marriage the "scorchers" begin to subside, and their pace becomes much gentler. Several of the leading cycle clubs of London have lost many of their swiftest members through marriage. In an attempt to do something to break this tendency the prizes for the 100-mile race which is to take place in London on the Herne Hill track have been so designed that they can either be used as clasps for gentlemen or as brooches lor ladies. It is hoped that the married women desirous of acquiring these will force their husbands to practice and enter.

A late 1800's Cycling Costume and Riding Habit

The effect of cycling on the matrimonial market in this country has not been especially marked here, but it is likely to be within a few months. That is, if one may judge from the number of engagements that are probably "on" at the present time. Claremont and the Casino in the park have countless couples who dismount shyly from their wheels and come into the restaurant each evening with a "Don't speak to us, don't look at us, please." style. Daisy Bell's bicycle that was built for two, never panned out half so well as these solitary wheels that scurry around through the darkness of New York in pairs. 

The bicycle wedding pictured the other day in one of the comic papers, wherein everybody in the wedding procession was cycling to the church, may yet be witnessed in New York. This picture was a joke, but as a matter of fact, and an absolutely truthful one at that, there was a bicycle wedding a few days ago in the sleepy little village of Astead, in Surrey. Every member of the bridal party went to the church mounted on a bicycle. When the procession started from Leatherhead, about two miles from the town where the ceremony was to take place, it aroused the utmost enthusiasm among the villagers, who cheered it vociferously. At the head of the company rode the bride and bridegroom, astride of a tandem cycle. The bride, who occupied the front seat and attended to piloting her better half that was to be over the rough bits of road, was a striking picture. She wore a fawn-colored costume appropriate for cycling, and her leggings were of the trimmest and neatest. Upon her head was a wreath of orange blossoms, to which was attached a long white veil which streamed out straight in the wind caused by their rapid flight and occasionally slapped in the face of the bridegroom, causing him to find vent for his annoyance by pedaling a little harder. 

Fashions for the Gilded Age Sportswoman

The bridegroom was also a thing of beauty. His raiment was light-colored, like the bride's, and it is a fact well worth noting and moralizing over that the veil and orange blossoms were the only distinguishing marks between the two. The bridesmaids and the best men hurried perspiringly in the wake of the happy pair. The best men wore "scorcher" breeches presented by the bridegroom. 

The party finally reached the church in great good humor, and after the ceremony wheeled away to the hostelry where a wedding feast had been commanded. On the road they passed that famous inn where the landlady refuses to recognize knickerbockered ladies unless they consent to wear skirts. The speechless indignation of this innkeeper is said to have been very funny.        

Undoubtedly, the innkeeper would have approved of this non-knickerbockered cyclist.

Doubtless before long there will be as rigid a system of etiquette established for bicycle weddings, as exists to-day for the ordinary sort. Probably in the near future it will be considered more common in fact for the bride and bridegroom to wheel up to the church on separate bicyles and, after they have been made one by the minister, to ride away on a tandem which might be ridden to the church by the principal bridesmaid and the best man. -1895, New York

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia