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Men's Portrait Gallery
1840
1840’s men's fashion was marked by tightly tailored coats and trousers. In fact, some wealthy gentlemen continued to wear corsets. The coats were noticeable for their fitted sleeves and often featured oversized buttons. Frocks and cutaway coats were the most common style.
Vests were still de rigueur and are seen in both notch and shawl collar variants as well as single and double breasted styles. Shirts featured a high straight collar, though some did appear with a slight turndown over the cravat.
At the outset of the decade cravats were relatively thin and often worn in the familiar bow tie style. But by the end of the decade, gentlemen wore very wide cravats, some of which featured frames to hold the fabric in place throughout the day.
This decade also marks the movement from fall front trousers (those featuring a front flap with a button side seam) toward the fly front trouser with which we are all familiar.
The Bells
This handsome gentleman wears the high necked collar with wide cravat tied in a small, centered bow. His low-cut vest allows for a good view of his fine white shirt. Notice the wrinkling in the elbows of the sleeve, which highlights the trim tailoring of the arms. He also wears his hair long over the ears and you see the beginnings of the high frontal wave that will become so popular in the early 1850's.
Dapper Gentleman
This fashionable Victorian showcases the high collar that was so common during the 1840's and has the low cut vest and long frock coat to complete his outfit. The sleeve on his frock coat is very tightly tailored and appears to have extra decorative buttons at the wrist. His hair is casually combed slightly forward and over his ears.
