Fichu

Women's clothing of triangle-folded kerchief
Descriptive drawing.

A fichu (/ˈfiːʃuː/, from the French "thrown over") is a large, square kerchief worn by women to fill in the low neckline of a bodice.

Description

It originated in the United Kingdom in the 18th century and remained popular there and in France through the 19th with many variations,[1] as well as in the United States.[2] The fichu was generally of linen fabric and was folded diagonally into a triangle and tied, pinned, or tucked into the bodice in front.

A fichu is sometimes used with a brooch to conceal the closure of a décolté neckline. The fichu can thus be fastened in the front, or crossed over the chest. The cross-over fichu sometimes extended all the way to the back. Some models include a large over-the-shoulders back piece.[3]

The fichu found in several traditional cultures resembles a poncho that covers only the shoulders and chest.

Gallery

  • Elizabeth Sewall Salisbury wears an embroidered fichu pinned at the neck, 1789.
    Elizabeth Sewall Salisbury wears an embroidered fichu pinned at the neck, 1789.
  • Jeune femme au fichu blanc, between 1790 and 1800
    Jeune femme au fichu blanc, between 1790 and 1800
  • American or European, cotton, mid-19th century.
    American or European, cotton, mid-19th century.
  • Probably American, cotton, mid-19th century.
    Probably American, cotton, mid-19th century.
  • French, silk, mid-19th century.
    French, silk, mid-19th century.
  • British, linen, knotted, mid-19th century.
    British, linen, knotted, mid-19th century.
  • American or European, silk, mid-19th century.
    American or European, silk, mid-19th century.
  • Fichu en indienne, traditionally worn in the Comtat Venaissin.
    Fichu en indienne, traditionally worn in the Comtat Venaissin.

See also

  • Pañuelo
  • Kerchief
  • Neckerchief
  • Cravat
  • 1700–1750 in fashion
  • 1750–1795 in fashion

References

  1. ^ Lewandowski, Elizabeth J. (2011). The Complete Costume Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8108-7785-6.
  2. ^ Volo, Dorothy; Volo, James M. (2009). Daily Life in Civil War America, 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-313-36604-8.
  3. ^ "fichu". fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu. Fashion History Timeline. 2018. Retrieved 2020-08-21.

Bibliography

  • Baumgarten, Linda: What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America, Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09580-5
  • Cunnington, C. Willett and Phillis Emily Cunnington: Handbook of English Costume in the Eighteenth Century. London: Faber, 1972.
  • Payne, Blanche: History of Costume from the Ancient Egyptians to the Twentieth Century, Harper & Row, 1965. No ISBN for this edition; ASIN B0006BMNFS
  • Ribeiro, Aileen: Dress in Eighteenth Century Europe 1715-1789, Yale University Prison, 2002, ISBN 0-300-09151-6

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fichu.
Look up fichu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898
  • 18th century women's kerchiefs and fichus
  • Description from Diderot's Encyclopedie
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