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Church going on Sunday meant everyone had their Sunday best clothes. The poorer people would also do the washing that day as it was a time when you didn’t wear your work clothes. Monday was the wash day for the rich so that all their best clothes would be dry and ready for next weekend. Fashion for the poor was whatever they could afford. The better-off middle and upper class saw some subtle changes. Toward the end of this period men began to wear trousers, full length, instead of the breeches which had stopped just below the knee. Before that they had tight pantaloons, again full length. They also wore cotton shirts and these would be underneath a waistcoat with high lapels. For everyday dress many men would wear a top hat when out in public. Women would wear a frame, called a crinoline and made of steel wire or whalebone underneath their skirts to make the material stand out. The waist of these skirts were lower than the skirts worn in the last period which had seen waists well above the natural level. Large hats, often with multiple ribbons, were in fashion. Women also started wearing knickers. Originally called a pair of drawers as they were two garments, one for each leg and tied at the top.
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