For women of fashion at the turn of the century, the ideal body had large breasts, a slim waist, and wide hips. Known as an hourglass or S-curve shape, this silhouette was achieved by wearing a rigid corset and boned corset. Aided by their maids, fashionable women usually changed their clothes several times a day, wearing different dresses for morning, afternoon and evening.
The women wore all kinds of different day dresses. They wore a full range of clothing, with high collars and full suits being very common. They also liked to wear elaborate petticoats under their dresses. The clothes were usually hand made and required a lot of labour. Some dresses were embroidered with small flowers or draped in lace. Bodices or blouses were often pintucked, or decorated with stitched ribbons and bows.
Women then wore a wide variety of hats, including caps, straws, feathers, and parasols . Women also liked to wear jewelry. They wore various pieces such as brooches, necklaces and earrings. Following the fashion of their time, women adopted the habit of smoking in the early 1900. A fashion trend for stylish young women was to cut their hair very short.
Clothing in this time period varied greatly in style. The most common garments were day dresses and petticoats. Some women wore full dresses, while other women wore elaborate petticoats under their dresses. A wide variety of hats were also worn, along with necklaces and brooches.
