The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago

by Jacky Hyams

  It’s likely that the older aristocratic grande dame (think of the Dowager Duchess of Crawley, played by Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey) would be unwilling to adapt to the latest innovations in high fashion: she’s not as keen as her granddaughters are to indulge in the newer, more pared down look or the new hobble skirt: she prefers to stick to the gathered shoulders and huge bustles of her era – and she’s less likely to discard her unwanted garments readily by handing them over to the lady’s maid as the younger women do. She finds the wealthiest American women of fashion, in particular, extremely ill bred and vulgar – their rule of never ever wearing the same garment twice in public is, she insists, indicative of their lack of breeding. (They, in turn, are puzzled by the British aristocratic love of the ancient, the worn or the faded christening dress, handed down, generation after generation.) So there is still a measure of restraint in the expenditure on clothes. But not much.

  HATS

  Everyone in Edwardian society wears a hat. Even young girls cannot go out bareheaded. Huge hatboxes accompany the trunkfuls of clothes the society woman takes with her on her travels or for a ‘Saturday to Monday’. Society women’s hats are big. And they’re not just ordinary hats – they are elaborate, highly decorative confections perched atop hair piled high, worn with matching gloves, shoes and stockings, sometimes with accompanying parasols of ruched chiffon or lace, complete with ivory handles.

  These supremely elegant hats are often adorned or trimmed with everything you can think of: huge feathers, plumes, lace, braid, rich satin ribbons, even baskets of fake flowers; at times a long chiffon scarf, knotted underneath the chin, is deployed, to keep it all in place. The hatpins society women use to secure their hats are big steel weapons with jet, pearl or enamel ends showing through.

  Hats are kept on at lunch. Sometimes, they are even worn with evening dress in restaurants and the theatre. (The famous actress of the times, Sarah Bernhardt, bans hats when she manages to finance her own theatre because the hats obstruct the audience’s view of the stage.) Why are they left on so frequently? Mainly because they involve a great deal of work by the lady’s maid to secure it in the first place. Alternatively, for evening wear, the upswept hairdos may be adorned with ostrich or peacock feathers and, at very grand events, tiaras or jewel-studded combs are on display.

  LET ME BREATHE…

  All this adornment is costly, time consuming and extravagant. And until around 1908 wearing it is sheer torture to move around in. The ‘S’ shaped corset, introduced in 1900 as a ‘Health Corset’ and adopted by all fashionable women, is supposed to follow the natural lines of the body, but in fact it forces the bosom out revealingly, nips the waist in tightly and pushes out the bottom.

  This corset is hell to wear. Women are accustomed to uncomfortable corsetry, being laced in underneath, but this is extreme: the overall effect makes a woman look like her top half is way ahead of the rest of her. Given the many clothes that go underneath, the chemise, corset cover, drawers, flannel petticoat, cotton lace-trimmed petticoat and, sometimes, a silk petticoat on top of all this, it is a nightmare of restriction – and pain.

  The hats too are torture, perched as they are on top of drawn-up hair, supported by pins and combs, which has been puffed out and built up over pads (known as ‘rats’) which are inserted along the front of the head. The elaborate hatpins spear the hat to the hair underneath. (This look works best on dirty hair; clean hair is too soft to hold all the pins.) And sometimes the sharp points of the pins are quite dangerous; there’s a risk of spearing anyone who comes too close. And, of course, the hats are costly – the equivalent of three thousand pounds in today’s money for one hat.

  For years, there have been attempts to encourage less-restrictive clothing for women. But the real turning point in fashion comes in 1908 when Paris designer Paul Poiret banishes the curvy and distorting ‘S’ shape corset and brings in a more natural, straighter-line corsetry that follows the real shape of a woman’s figure. The new-style corset is lower in the bust (bringing in a need for an early version of a brassiere) and thicker at the waist. It’s still not comfortable by our standards – at first the new corset is too long, making sitting down a problem – but the die has been cast and women are able to stand and sit more naturally.

  Gradually, bit by bit, clothes become less restrictive: the frilled Edwardian petticoats go out of fashion. And as women adopt the more comfortable ‘tailor mades’, the loose-waisted jackets and straight, ankle-length skirts that are easier to walk in, often worn with fox furs and big hats, high fashion starts to become more comfortable. The flimsy tea gowns become looser and plunging necklines are more common, despite lectures from the pulpit on the moral dangers of revealing more flesh.

  Generally, as public attention is drawn to women’s rights via the suffragettes and their quest for votes for women, women’s clothes are getting more practical. By 1913 hats are flatter – but they’re still big. Handbags too are starting to become more practical, large flat bags become fashionable. And outside the country-house world, this need for more practical clothing is being driven by new working women in the cities, doing jobs that were previously all-male preserves like clerks and secretaries, and wearing tailored dresses with high collars. Fashion reflects society. And the country-house society, with all its refinements and boundaries, is poised, by 1914, to change for ever…

  MAKE-UP

  Make-up has been considered too ‘fast’ for society women until now. But encouraged by the acclaimed beauty of the theatre actresses who do wear make-up and, in many ways, overtake the wealthy elite to become the leaders of fashion, some women are starting to go a bit beyond their traditional touch of powder (usually Fuller’s Earth, see panel below) and a dab of lip salve, though lavender or rose water remain favourite scents.

  Some more daring women are creating a white skin, by using liquid creams and rice powder (tanned skin is a traditional mark of poverty) or they might even go so far as to emphasise the violet veins around their cleavage with a blue-coloured crayon. Eyebrows too may be darkened with the help of the lady’s maid, who deploys a cork singed in a lit candle. And for evenings, the lady’s dancing slippers are concealed in a fashionable little drawstring Dorothy bag, made from velvet or satin and lined in silk.

  MENSWEAR

  But what about the country-house man? He too must bow to the dictates of fashion and style. Evening wear, daywear, clothes to shoot in, clothes for leisure, his valet will lay out fresh outfits and help him change his attire at least three times a day. He’s less restricted than his wife: the toff ’s tailored ‘look’ has been long and lean for some time. His hair is cut short by his valet and, if he has a beard, it’s a bit less pointy. Moustaches are sometimes curled. His shoes are mostly boots, sometimes two-tone over-the-ankle boots with the upper half in a lighter colour than the sole, or lace-up boots in dark colours. For business, he wears Oxfords with high arches, a style still seen nowadays. Formal boots usually have white uppers, spats style, and buttons on the side. Or he might go for pumps, a cross between an Oxford and a modern woman’s low-heeled shoe.

  Daywear is usually a three-piece suit consisting of a lounge coat (replacing the previous fashion for a frock coat) with a matching waistcoat and sometimes with contrasting trousers. If he chooses, the jacket and trousers match and a contrasting single-breasted waistcoat is worn.

  If he’s bang up-to-the minute, his trousers are a bit shorter than they were before, sometimes with turn-ups. And they are sharply creased front and back. If he wants formal wear in the daytime, his valet will usually lay out a cutaway morning coat to be worn with striped trousers. And his shirt collars are very tall and stiffened.

  For shooting parties, he’s still shod in sturdy boots or shoes with leather gaiters, worn with the traditional country gentleman’s attire, the sturdy tweed Norfolk jacket, with box pleats over the chest and at the back, complete with matching breeches, knee-length stockings and a flat cap. If he’s golfing or cycling, the valet might
lay out this kind of Norfolk tweed outfit, too. For sailing trips, his trunk will carry a number of navy-blue blazers or striped flannel coats cut like a sack coat with patch pockets and brass buttons. If he’s really feeling informal, he might wear a striped shirt. Or a panama hat.

  For dinner, at home or at his men’s club, he sports a tuxedo with a shawl collar with silk or satin facings. And for really formal events, a dark tailcoat and trousers with a light or dark waistcoat is usually his chosen attire. Worn with a white bowtie and a stiff-fronted shirt with a winged collar, or a very thin bow-tie, plus a fresh flower on his lapel, a carnation or a gardenia brought to him from the estate gardens on a silver tray.

  Both men and women always wear gloves, the men’s gloves usually in white, grey or tan, sometimes matching the tie or neckwear. And in winter, the entire outfit is usually topped off by a calf-length woollen overcoat. And, of course, for all formal occasions he wears a top hat, another toff status symbol he has yet to relinquish. He may not ‘give a fig’ for fashion itself. But he’s acutely aware that his appearance, and his adherence to the dress codes of his class must send out all the ‘right’ messages to the world. So when he notices, while relaxing with a cigar in his club, that one or two of his cronies are using a very pleasant-smelling perfumed cologne, he recalls his valet mentioning to him that Mr Penhaligon’s Hammam Bouquet is all the rage now, sir. And quite soon, he’s wearing it himself.

  WHAT THE SERVANTS WEAR

  By complete contrast, life spent working in a grand country house means wearing uniform for most of the time. This ranges from the elegant, formal attire of the male uppers like the butler, valet or footmen, to the dark, drab uniform dresses with aprons worn by most of the female servants.

  A work uniform, by tradition, is not provided for female servants, who must buy or make it themselves. Male servants wearing livery, such as footmen, have traditionally had their clothing provided for them. So the young girl entering live-in service, nervously arriving at the grand house for her first day with her clothing in a black tin trunk, may have already been obliged to borrow money to buy or make her required uniform. Sometimes she might have already been working in order to save up to go into service, perhaps by looking after children in the daytime to earn enough to find the cash for her work clothing.

  Looking clean, neat and tidy yet inconspicuous is an important aspect of the rules around live-in service. So dress restrictions are usually discussed at the job interview with the housekeeper. A new housemaid will be told exactly what she needs: usually it’s four dresses, two printed working cotton ‘washing frocks’ in dark grey or navy (these are worn with pinafores and get filthy during the morning cleaning or kitchen sessions), accompanied by a black dress, plus white cap and apron for afternoon attire. (Wearing a waist apron, rather than the lowly pinafore, denotes a slightly higher status.) The second black dress is also worn outdoors and for Sunday church. In some households, specific colour coding is worn by servants, i.e. white and grey only for nursery maids.

  Headgear is a very important part of overall appearance. The rules are such that a cap must be worn at all times. In some big houses, it’s not unknown for a maid caught without her cap to be sacked by the mistress, a somewhat ancient tradition which lingers on – at one stage no respectable woman could be seen outside the bedroom without covering her hair in some way. Female servants must also wear a hat or bonnet at all times when outdoors, usually a black bonnet in a hood-like shape for Sunday church visits. Expenditure for other items like boots, black stockings and underwear is also down to the employee. (Lisle stockings – lisle is a cotton fabric with a smooth finish – cost 4 pence a pair and are frequently darned time and again.)

  The total cost of a new female servant’s working uniform can frequently add up to as much as £3 or £4, representing several months’ wages for a scullery maid. So if a new maid cannot manage to borrow from friends or family to gradually repay from her wages, the housekeeper may agree, via the mistress, that they fork out for her uniform – and deduct the cost from her pay. Hair, too, must be neat and unobtrusive: a 15-year-old housemaid with her hair severely drawn back, braided and neatly pinned usually looks much older than her years.

  Of the female upper servants, the housekeeper usually wears dark, somewhat sombre and severe plain dresses, usually black with a white frill at the collar and a white lace cap. Governesses wear similar attire. Only the lady’s maid is permitted to be remotely fashionably dressed, given the need for her to be up-to-date to advise her boss on the latest trends and looks. Yet she too, at interview stage, might be subjected to certain restrictions in her appearance by the housekeeper. She could be asked to remove the hidden ‘rats’ or pads from beneath her swept-up hairdo. Or she might be told to cut the tail off a fashionable long dress. She has to look appropriate for the lady – and the household – she works for.

  In many cases, the lady’s maid does not have much money to spend if she’s saving up for her time off and visits to her family. So she frequently wears cast-offs, excellent quality clothes given to her by her employer (or previous employers), which she can, with the help of the sewing machine, alter to suit her shape. And, of course, while she must look good to reflect her boss’s status, she can only look modestly fashionable and well turned out. Nothing too extravagant.

  Tightly laced corsets are worn by all women. For a young servant this can be even more uncomfortable and constricting than the corset worn by her mistress: wealthy women’s corsets have whalebone stays (supports) which are more pliant – yet poorer people’s stays are made from cheaper metal. So the corsets, worn over a cotton vest and cotton bloomers, really dig into the girls’ hips and stomach, let alone the discomfort of the tight waist lacing which can even make eating difficult. Given the amount of bending, stretching and kneeling the housemaids are doing as part of their everyday routine, it must have been tempting to give the corset a miss sometimes. Yet until the less restrictive underwear comes in towards the close of the Edwardian era, they must put up with it.

  Boots are an expensive item for servants to buy: one new pair of handmade boots can cost around £2. In the nineteenth century when live-in servants are paid annually, payday means a trip to the local village to pay their annual account with the shoemaker, and on settling day the shoemaker celebrates – by providing a dish of stuffed chine (salt pork filled with herbs) for his customers.

  MAISON LUCILE

  From her early dressmaking beginnings making clothes for friends, Lucy Christiana Sutherland, known professionally as ‘Lucile’, a divorced woman with a small daughter, rises to prominence – via a society marriage to Scottish landowner and sportsman, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon in 1900 – as the most important fashion designer in the country, designing exclusive, romantic, feminine and sensual lingerie, tea gowns and evening wear for royalty and the fashionable elite. (She is also the sister of acclaimed Edwardian novelist Elinor Glyn.)

  Lucile is the first designer to give her clothes names, such as ‘Do you Love me?’ or ‘When Passion’s Thrall is O’er’, and is an innovator of early ‘catwalk’ fashion shows in her plush, carpeted Hanover Square showroom where her gowns, exquisitely feminine creations of beaded and sequined embroidery, with lace inserts and garlands of tiny roses, are paraded by statuesque beauties before their elegant audience.

  The Lucile brand is expanded to New York in 1910 and Paris in 1911. She and her husband are also survivors of the ill-fated Titanic voyage in 1912; afterwards, rumours persist for many years that Cosmo bribed the crewmen in their lifeboat not to return to the sinking ship to rescue others. After World War I, when fashions change, Lucile becomes a fashion columnist and pundit until her death in 1935.

  THE MULTI-PURPOSE CLAY

  Fuller’s Earth is a highly absorbent clay, rich in minerals, used for a wide range of purposes including stain removal, as a skin cleanser, to help clear up spots or nappy rash and also as a dry shampoo. Mixed with water, Fuller’s Earth powder makes a natural face pack to hel
p remove blackheads and skin impurities. It can also give relief from insect bites when mixed with water and apple cider vinegar.

  SHOPPING FOR PLEASURE

  The growth of conspicuous consumption is significant in the Edwardian era. Shopping as a leisure activity, originally a Victorian innovation, now expands even further, thanks to greater transport facilities and the rise of the comfortably-off middle classes. Harrods in Knightsbridge is a huge draw for the elegant and wealthy as is Selfridges, whose opening in Oxford Street in 1909 draws five million people in its first five days.

  Fashionable shopping hours are between 2pm and 4pm and these upmarket stores have their own extensive workrooms employing hundreds of women hand-sewing exclusive made-to-measure garments for wealthy women, frequently offering copies of Paris models. If she can’t find time to get away, a country-house lady can also now order her clothes from a mail-order catalogue from big department stores, outfits which might consist of a ready-made skirt and material for the bodice or top, to be made up by the lady’s maid. And aspirational middle-class women are also flocking to the other big, smart department stores in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester. Many of these stores, like Fortnum & Mason (who started out as grocers in 1707) grow out of small specialist shops. Harrods starts life as a grocery store in 1849, and Thomas Burberry, originally a country draper, opens in London in 1904, creating clothes for the female motorist needing a special motoring coat to protect against dust and weather. Clothing brands like Jaeger start out as a ‘scientific’ idea promoting wool fibres for clothing, particularly underwear. This too evolves, as a number of retail stores selling men’s and women’s clothes made from fine natural fabrics start to open everywhere.