1870s in Western fashion

By 1870, fullness in the skirt had moved to the rear, where elaborately draped overskirts were held in place by tapes and supported by a bustle.

Sleeves of morning dresses were narrow throughout the period, with a tendency to flare slightly at the wrist early on.

The crinolette itself was quickly superseded by the true bustle, which was sufficient for supporting the drapery and train at the back of the skirt.

[5] In keeping with the vertical emphasis, hair was pulled back at the sides and worn in a high knot or cluster of ringlets, often with a fringe (bangs) over the forehead.

Bonnets were smaller to allow for the elaborately piled hairstyles and resembled hats except for their ribbons tied under the chin.

The main kind of wrap that dominated in the 1870s were capes and jackets that had a back vent in order to make room for the bustle.

The cutaway morning coat was still worn for informal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis began to sell the original copper-riveted blue jeans in San Francisco.

These became popular with the local multitude of gold seekers, who wanted strong clothing with durable pockets.

Ties knotted in a bow remained a conservative fashion, and a white bowtie was required with formal evening wear.

Top hats remained a requirement for upper class formal wear; bowlers and soft felt hats in a variety of shapes were worn for more casual occasions, and flat straw boaters were worn for yachting and other nautical pastimes.

The age of a boy could often be decided based on the length and type of trouser or how similar the attire was to that of a man's.