Bicycle and car: effect of their invention on the fashion of the late 19th and early 20th century

Abstract

The article contains an analysis of the perfection of male and female costumes, adapted for a trip by bicycle and car in the 19th – the beginning of 20th centuries. Based on a set of published sources we consider the preferences of fabrics, accessories, and shoe types first for bicycle rides, since this mode of transport is earlier. The increase in speeds, especially on cars, required the invention of new types of overalls, coats, helmets integrated with canned glasses, convertible hats, new types of gloves, etc. Special attention was paid to changes in female costumes, since bicycling meant partly first (for young people) and then for everyone to give up on dresses during the journey, this led to a reconsideration of moral and ethical standards and to accept technical innovations that were firmly rooted in society. Thus, the period from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century was a time of serious reforms in fashion, both for men and especially for women, signaling a significant new status for vehicle owners and, consequently, a fundamental change in their images. The result of the research was the reconstruction of images of cyclists and motorists in Russia at the initial stage of the development of these modes of transport.