19th Century Fashions

In Southern Africa, people from countless backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions, employed an immense cultural diversity that was expressed through the vast array of fashion.

Colonisation beginning in the 17th century and continuing through the 19th century influenced Southern African fashion in a considerable way with the arrival of new materials from Europe as well as the Eurocentric view about the body and clothing. In Europe, by the early 19th century fashion had undergone a significant change. Men began wearing trousers instead of breeches, and women’s waistlines slowly became more natural as the century progressed.