Position:Home>History> What was the lifestyle back in the 1800s?

It would vary considerably depending on what part of the 1800s, where you lived, and what your economic status was!.

In the early 1800s, fashions for women were modelled on classical styles!. Dresses were high waisted with long, straight skirts, hair was worn short and curly, or piled up and held in place with bands in imitation of Roman styles!. A short jacket called a pelisse might be worn, and bonnets were fashionable for outdoor wear!. From about the 1820s onwards fashions became more bulky, puffed sleeves were fashionable, and wider skirts with several petticoats underneath!. The crinoline came in in about the 1840s I think (a hoop that held the skirt out, giving women a bell-shaped appearance!. small w aists were veryt fashionable, most women wore corsets to squeeze their waists in!. From about the 1870s the crinoline was replaced by the bustle (a sort of padded roll that made the skirt stick out behind!.

Most working people in the early 1800s worked very hard and long hours!. A lot of people, male and female, were employed in factories, and enormous numbers of people, especially women, worked in domestic service!. People who lived on farms would work very hard, with no modern farm machinery to help them everything would be done by hand, men would push ploughs and reap fields by hand, and women would milk the cows, churn their own butter etc!.

Married women did not work if they could afford not to!. Among the upper classes, young women generally stayed at home until they married!. From about the 1820s onwards, the expansion of the public school system meant that more teachers were needed, and many educated single women became teachers!. Women's colleges were established, and women began to attend college in the late 1860s!. There were more job opportunities for women during the later part of the 1800s!. The invention of the typewriter led to a lot of women being employed in offices, as women made better typists than men, likewise women were employed as telephonists because they had better telephone manners than men!. And the new department stores employed thousands of women as sales clerks!. Nursing became a respectable job for women from the 1850s onwards, and some women became doctors!.

Most people who could afford it employed servants to help with the housework, or if they were rich enough it would all be done by servants!. Houses got dirty very quickly because of the smoke from fires and oil lamps!. Washing was either done by hand or, if you could afford it, you might send your washing out to be done!. A lot of poor women made a living as washerwomen!.

Indoor plumbing was still a rarity, and bathtubs only really caught on after the Civil War!. Most people would wash in a basin, in cold weather people sometimes had to break the ice before they could wash (no central heating then)!.

Entertainments included music and dancing (a lot of people learned to play a musical instrument because there was no ready-made music available until the invention of the gramaphone late in the century)!. Theatres and circuses were popular, and in cities there were amusement parks!. Games like tennis, archery and croquet were popular because they could be played by both sexes, croquet sets ever came with candle holders so the game could be played at night!. At home, as well as making their own music, people enjoyed playing cards and board games, and games like charades and riddles!. People read a lot, books were often published in installments, like magazines, when they first came out!. new installments of books by popular authors like Charles Dickens were awaited eagerly!.

The best thing about the 1800s I would say is that people were more self-reliant than they are now and less inclined to sue someone every time something went wrong for them!. They were more active and went out more, and were better able to amuse themselves, not being reliant on electronic devices to keep them entertained!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Sweetie, there is a HUGE difference between life styles in 1801 and 1898!.
Look at the difference in life styles in the last 20 yrs!.
HUGE!.
Google things like "women's clothing 1800s" or Women's Roles 1800's"!.
You'll see what I mean!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/19th_centur!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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