Inácia Carolina Horta

What people wore

Political fashion and changing waistlines

Following the 1820 constitutional changes, fashionable Portuguese women adopted blue and white accessories like ribbons, plumes, and scarves, sometimes featuring allegorical messages and emblems. By 1825, the fashion of wearing long, natural-waistline dresses was definitively adopted, replacing the earlier high-waisted styles.

Daily life

Small, multipurpose homes with central kitchens

Many popular homes were small, multipurpose spaces where a fireplace in the kitchen served as the central point for cooking, eating, and even sleeping. For the poorest families, dwellings often lacked basic furniture such as beds, relying on chests or arks instead.

Music

Music in the royal chapel

In the royal chapel, organists sometimes played airs that were considered too tender and voluptuous for the solemnity of church services. Religious ceremonies were spectacles that combined music, incense, and lights to deeply move the kneeling crowds.

At the table

Cost of meals in Lisbon

In Lisbon, workers often bought meals at taverns, where a complete meal could cost around 80 réis, while a snack of sardines in a street stall might cost 10 réis.

Getting around

Seven days from Oporto to Lisbon

In the early 19th century, traveling from Oporto to Lisbon—a distance of 52 leagues—by mule-drawn litter took about seven days.