While Men's Costume in the 1788's also becomes thinner in line, it separates it's style from women's dress by beginning to lose nearly all forms of surface decoration, lace and bright color, as "irrational" and feminine effluvia. This change is slow. Other major changes include the adoption of trousers from the dress of sailors and the urban proletariat of the French Revolution, the passing of the fashions for wigs and hair powder, and the demise of the corset. The bonnet is invented as a hat that is meant to look like a Greek helmet, but it quickly is altered in style out of all resemblance to the original. The 1780's are marked by shorter waistcoats, and fold over collars. Men's dress also keeps on a fairly steady course towards increasing dullness. Beau Brummell, the leader of male sartorial fashion in England in this period was noted for wearing only black with a white shirt for formal evening wear, a marked departure from the style of the previous century. Tubular and fitted trousers also move from a radical fashion statement to everyday wear for most men of the upper classes. Men's clothing in this era becomes less and less adventurous in style. The few outlets for male fashion expression. 

The 1789-1799 is the period of the French Revolution. It is a sharp transition period. During this period, clothes goes through a massive shift. Late 17th century, women's dress collapses from its padded and puffed look to a thin, often translucent silhouette. As the French Revolution progressed, different women's styles were adopted that appeared to have reference to the revolutionary politics, social structure and philosophy of the time. In the early 1790's, for example, the "English" or man-tailored style was favored as it hinted towards the leanings of constitutional monarchy. There was a brief fashion for plain dresses in dark colors during the Terror of 1792, but when the Directory took over French fashion again went wild, trying out "Rousseauesque" fashions in Greek, Roman, Sauvage,and Otaheti styles. The Psudo is a look proved most popular and was adopted as the standard style in Europe in the late 1790's. The direction of fashions towards dress for women, and increasingly drab utilitarian on men, continue in a steady manner in this very stylistically stable period. Women's dress locks into a pattern of light colored muslin gowns, high waisted with little puffed sleeves, and psudo. As the period proceeds, the originally simple lines of these gowns are increasingly decorated with ruffles and puffs, the skirts get puffed out with petticoats, the waist lowers and tightens with corsets, until by 1800 it is hard to see how the style worn was ever imagined to look Greek.