THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Since the industrial revolution in England in the eighteenth century, machinery was fast taking the place of the old forms of hand-work. The society of the day was feeling this influence through the spread of knowledge by means of cheaper books, and the improved methods of transportation, which not only enabled the manufacturer to find a more extended market for his products, but brought the people of different countries together by travel.With the increase in production due to the greater demand and larger field for operation, the employers had be-gun exploiting the workers in the factories, and now two classes, the rich and poor, or capital and labor, were most hostile to each other. Labor found that by organization it could, to a certain extent, control production, and strikes were the result; this led finally to the passing of laws to protect the workers, especially the women and children. Absolute monarchy was passing away and royalty no longer had the final word in fashion, as in everything else.

Materials.—While the voluminous skirt and large sleeves were in vogue, materials were light in weight and color; organdy, unbleached batiste, barege, and embroidered muslin were the favorites, but with the influence of the romantic and the return to mediaeval fashions, materials became heavier, such as velvet, moire, damask, and brocades and variegated silks. Colors also changed and were dark and sombre, in keeping with the affected melancholy.

Women's Dress.—The hour-glass silhouette became more and more exaggerated during the '30s. The bodice was cut extremely low and off of the shoulders; it was fitted with many seams and closed with an invisible arrangement of hooks and eyes, in the centre front or back; it terminated in a point in front and at the waistline in the back. The sleeves continued to increase in size at the top ; some finished at the elbow and some still had the leg-o'-mutton shape. They were held out at the shoulder with bags of down or by ingenious arrangements of wires. The bertha cape was still used to increase the breadth of the shoulders ; it seems to have been made of the same material as the gown, ornamented on the edge with lace or embroidery, or else all of lace.

Men's Dress.—Men's dress was becoming so rapidly standardized that few changes are noted; in some details they followed the lead of the women. During the '30s, when women were compressing the waist by means of stays, men wore a sort of corset belt, and the waistline of their coats curved in like that of the women. The skirts of these coats were full and sometimes extended to the front and sometimes only to the hip. When women were wearing dresses with trains, the skirts of the men's coats dragged on the ground. The sleeves were rather full at the top and gathered into the armhole.
http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution