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University M iaonlm s International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor. Ml 48106 t 8300330 Recklies, Karen Adelc FASHION BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS: THE INFLUENCE OF STAGE COSTUMES ON WOMEN'S FASHIONS IN ENGLAND FROM 1878-1914 The Ohio Slate University P h .D . 1982 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zccb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1982 by Recklies, Karen Adele All Rights Reserved PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V . 1. Glossy photographs or pages i / ^ • 2. Colored Illustrations, paper or print_____ 3. Photooraphs with dark background'1" 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy______ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages______ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements ^ 9. 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Other____________________________________________________________________ University Microfilms international FASHION BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS: THE INFLUENCE OF STAGE COSTUMES ON WOMEN'S FASHIONS IN ENGLAND FROM 1878-1914 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Karen Adele Recklies, B.A., M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 1982 Reading Committee: Approved By Alan Woods George Crepeau Firman Brown, Jr. Advisor Department of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following, people for their help in preparing the dissertation: my advisor Alan Woods, George Crepeau, Firman Brown, Jr., Mary Millican, and my husband Don for his preparation of the illustrations. ii VITA 1971 ...................... B.A., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1971-72................... Teaching Assistant, Department of Theatre, Kent State Univer sity, Kent, Ohio 1974 ............... M.A., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1976-80 ................. Graduate Teaching Associate, Graduate Administrative Associ ate, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1981-82 ................. Graduate Administrative Associ ate, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS "Lillie Langtry's Stage Costumes: Examples of Contemporary Fashions in England and America, 1895-1900." Part of the Competitive Costume Panel at the American Theatre Association National Convention, August 1981. "Lillie Langtry's Stage Costumes: Examples of Contemporary Fashions in England and America, 1895-1900." Accepted for publication in Theatre Studies. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field; Theatre Studies in Costume Design and Costume History. Professor Michelle Guillot Studies in Literature and Criticism. Professor John Morrow Studies in History. Professor Alan WOods iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..... .............................. ii VITA ................................................ iii LIST OF PLATES ..................................................................................................................... V INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 Chapter I. COUTURE CLOTHING ONSTAGE ......................... 6 II. COUTURE HOUSES ................................... 36 III. THEATRICAL COSTUME DESIGNERS AND COSTUMIERS . 78 IV. PRODUCERS .......................................... Ill V. FASHIONABLE ACTRESSES ........................... 144 VI. PUBLIC IMITATION ................................. 172 CONCLUSION ................................................ 195 APPENDIX ...................................................200 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................. 246 iv LIST OF PLATES Page Plate I— Two of the costumes designed by Redfern for My Wife .......................... 13 Plate II— Three of the costumes worn in Frocks and F r i l l s ............................................41 Plate III— Mrs. Langry's gown of white brocaded satin with pearl and diamond trim created by the Maison Worth for The Degenerates .... 4 5 Plate IV--Mrs. Langtry's gown of Liberty satin with belt and shoulder straps of turquoise and diamonds created by the Maison Worth for The Degenerates ...................................46 Plate V— Some of the costumes by Lucile for The Catch of the Season .............................. 61 Plate VI— Three of the costumes desiqned by Edward Burne-Jones for King Arthur ...........81 Plate VII— A portrait of Olga Nethersole by Percy A n d e r s o n ......................... 90 Plate VIII--The Vice-Royal Ball scene in the Drury Lane sporting drama The Hope produced by Arthur Collins ................................. 116 Plate IX— Evelyn Millard, as Princess Flavia, wearing one of the costumes for The Prisoner of Zenda . 120 Plate X— Mrs. George Alexander modelling a black silk cloak with Japanese embroidery in red, white, and green................................. 123 Plate XI— Opening chorus at "Garrod's Store," the copy of Harrod's, in Our Miss Gibbs produced by George Edwardes .............................X28 Plate XII— Mary Moore wearing a costume by Lucile for The Liars ................................... 1 5 3 v Page Plate XIII— Sarah Bernhardt wearing two gowns from La Dame aux Camellias ............................ 15*7 Plate XIV— Camille Clifford, the embodiment of the Gibson G i r l ....................................... 1 6 1 Plate XV— Some of the costumes for Hypatia, designed by Lawrence Alma-Tadema ........................ 1 3 5 Plate XVI— Some of the costumes from Trelawny of the "Wells.*1 ....................................... 187 Plate XVII— Marie Tempest as Becky Sharp ............... 1 9 1 vi INTRODUCTION The close relationship between stage costumes, haute couture, and the dress of English fashionable women in the latter part of the nineteenth is a subject which has not received the attention it deserves. Two books on haute couture, Kings of Fashion by Anny Latour and Worth: Father of Haute Couture by Diana de Marly, each devote a chapter to couturiers' designs for theatrical costumes but both deal with work done for the Paris stage and record almost nothing about gowns created for the London stage. Other references to fashionable dress onstage have been scarce and short. Some costume historians, like Francois Boucher, mention in passing that Paris couturiers designed clothes for actresses, an example of which is found in his 20,000 years of Fashion. After writing about the couturier Redfern, Boucher added "He successfully designed theatrical costumes for celebrated actresses. 1,1 Other historians, like Ernestine Carter in The Changing World of Fashion, devote a paragraph to one or two examples of fashions which emanated from the stage. Still others credit the stage with having some influence on fashion ^ Francois Boucher, 20,000 Years of Fashion (New York: Harry Abrams, n.d.), p. 391. 1 2 but date the beginning of the influence much too later as Prudence Glynn did when she wrote: It is traditional to see the arrival of the ' Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909, or the exhibition in 1906 of Russian Art at the Salon d'Automne organised