18th-Century Fashions

The house servant of the Salzmann Family can hardly believe his eyes! All kinds of funny thoughts come out of this wax figure's mouth as he criticises today's fashions, which would definitely not have gone over well in the 18th century. If you would like to see what you might have been wearing back then: simply take a look into the magic mirror!

This section of the Salzburg wax museum has much to teach you about 18th-century fashions. The upper crust, exclusively, was granted the right to wear beautiful clothing made of the finest materials. Familiarize yourself with the fashion creations of the 18th century: the expensive robes of the women, which were not only of inestimable value, but which, because of tightly laced corsets, also caused harm to the health of many a woman.

Fashion for men consisted of leather shoes with large buckles and knee breeches made of silk. On his upper body he would wear a silk shirt with frills, together with a neck scarf. Worn over the waistcoat was a gilet with mother-of-pearl buttons. The finest item of men's 18th-century fashion was the justaucorps, an ostentatiously embroidered knee-length coat.

The ladies wore delicately ornamented shoes, shining forth from beneath their voluminous skirts. These skirts acquired their bulky shape from petticoats and hooped skirts, reinforced with whalebone. Indispensable for the upper body: the corset. In the truest sense of the word, its lacing was truly breath-taking, creating a narrow wasp-waist and simultaneously emphasising the décolleté even more. It was over this corset and underskirt that the fine robe of richly embroidered silks was worn. Serving as accessories were queue and bag wigs made of real hair. Colorful ribbons, artfully worked into the hairdos, along with jewellery, would serve as the crowning glory of any ensemble.