Women's Fashion Accessories

A number of fashion accessories supplemented the 1890s wardrobe, including jackets, watches, parasols, fans, gloves, and feather boas and other neckwear.

A watch was often pinned to the bosom, but the bicycling fad prompted women to sport wristwatches. The women in the images below both hang small watches on chains from their bosoms. Both women also wear a small bar pin on the collar; this appears to still have been a fad at the time.

1890s Watches and Pins: Image courtesy of Joan L. Severa, Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900, 1995

The parasol was still a necessary fashion accessory for the 1890s woman. Fans and gloves were also important. A short feather boa was often worn around the neck and tied with ribbons. The woman in the image below carries a popular 1890s fan.

1890s Fan: Image courtesy of Joan L. Severa

Neck dressing was quite important in the 1890s, such as the elaborate bow seen on the woman in the image below.

1890s Neck Bow: Image courtesy of Joan L. Severa

Jackets were popular, and the puffs of the sleeves matched the sleeve fashions of blouses and bodices. Many jackets had fur trim. High, standing collars, many with trim, were often worn on jackets. The jacket on the left boasts the puffed sleeves popular on blouses and bodices during the 1890s. The jacket on the woman in the center image features a fur collar. Notice the prominent, high, standing collar on the jacket on the right.

1890s Jackets: Image courtesy of Joan L. Severa