Gown from The Lady's Pocket Magazine, 1824

So it's relatively common knowledge that in nineteenth century England (and indeed, well before), ankles were viewed a bit more lustfully than they are today. Hence the long dresses, right? Gently-bred ladies were meant to keep their ankles covered at all times, (though from my reading it seems that “accidentally” allowing a glimpse was a relatively innocent form of flirtation), and great care was taken to ensure this. So the question of the day is this:

Why were ankles so scandalous?

I mean, really? What was it about a woman’s ankles that inspired so many etiquette rules, that required gowns to fall all the way to the floor? It really is a mystery to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl, and can't understand the convoluted workings of the male brain (read: libido). But honestly, I’ve never heard of modern men making remarks about a woman’s ankles. I mean, really.

But apparently, ankles got nineteenth century gents all hot and bothered.

Here are a few quotes I dug up on ankles...

La Belle Assemblée (1806):

“A lady with a well-turned ankle should never wear her petticoats too short: cheap exhibitions soon sink into contempt.”

The Lover (Sir Richard Steele, 1714):

“We who follow Plato, or are engaged in the high passion, can see a lady’s ankle with as much indifference as her wrist: we are so inwardly taken up, that the same ideas do not spring in our imaginations, as do with the common world; we are made gentle, soft, courteous, and harmless, from the force of belle passion; of which course dunces, with an appetite for women, like that they have for beef, have no conception.”

The Mirror of Graces (by a Lady of Distinction, 1813):

“Instead of a woman of refined manners and polished habits, your imagination reverts to the gross and repelling females of Portsmout-point or Plymouth-dock; or at least to the hired opera-dancer, whose business it is to make her foot and ankle the principal object which characterizes her charms, and attract the coup d'œil of the whole assembly.”

So what's the big deal? At what point did Europeans take it into their heads that the female ankle was an erotic thing to behold? All I can think is that the sight of a lady’s ankle might clue a gentleman in to the fact that - gasp! - she possessed a pair of legs. This certainly seems the case based on the quote from The Lover, which suggests that the sight of an ankle plants "ideas" into gentleman's "imaginations." Yet it seems funny that ankles were so dangerous a sight, when the evening wear many young ladies wore was so generous in displays of cleavage. Case in point:

There's not a whole lot to that neckline. But no ankles, so modesty remains intact!

Ah, Regency logic. One would think that breasts would inspire more "ideas" than ankles. But, of course, those were different times.

Of course, we are talking about upper class women here. The lower classes couldn’t afford to worry about baring their ankles. They actually had to work for their living. Horrors!

Problem is, a LOT of early nineteenth century fashion plates display an eyeful of feminine ankles. Here's a few examples:

Click to enlarge and examine the profusion of ankle!

Good Victorian ladies pretended they didn't have ankles.