The early nineteenth century

With the profligate George IV on the throne one might well have expected fashion to return to the excesses of earlier years. But people were modest in their tastes, especially the women, with their maidenly sun-bonnets, chaste necklines, and low, sweeping dresses. More and improved fabrics rapidly became available, and the choice of colours grew with increasing knowledge of natural dyewoods. Yet dyers still had no real understanding of the materials with which they had to work.

The men who humbled Napoleon were men of action. Not for them the courtly capers of previous generations, but a good pack to ride to, or an afternoon on the cricket field. Current fashions reflected the mode of life. Jackets were cut away and breeches were lengthened so as to allow the wearer more freedom of movement. Although a few of the vegetable dyes then available were sufficiently fast to resist the effect of these outdoor activities, they were difficult to apply. No one yet knew how to produce the bright, fast shades that may be so easily achieved with the synthetic dyestuffs.

It was a difficult task to match any particular shade accurately, but today dyers find shade reproduction an easy matter.