Victorian fashion

TABLE of CONTENTS:
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION 2
CHAPTER 1 3
1.1 Women’s fashion
1.2 Hats and shoes
1.3 Hair and make-up

CHAPTER 2 7
2.1 Men’s fashion
2.2 Contemporary stereotypes
2.3 Mourning black

CONCLUSIONS 10
REFERENCES 11

INTRODUCTION

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 Victorian fashion

Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and
developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly
from the 1830s through the first decade of the 1900s. The period saw many changes in fashion,
including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. Various
movement in architecture, literature, and the decorative and visual arts as well as a changing
perception of the traditional gender roles also influenced fashion.

Under Queen Victoria's rule, England enjoyed a period of economic growth along with
technological advancement. Mass production of sewing machines in the 1850s as well as the
advent of synthetic dyes introduced major changes in fashion. Clothing could be made quicker
and more cheaply. Advancement in printing and proliferation of fashion magazines allowed the
masses to participate in the evolving trends of high fashion, opening the market of mass
consumption and advertising. By 1905, clothing was increasingly factory made and often sold in
large, fixed-price department stores, spurring a new age of consumerism with the rising middle
class who benefited from the industrial revolution.

I chose to write about this subject because these days, there are many people fascinated with the
Victorian era, mostly because all the industries around us use historical times to create movies,
TV shows, books, art, and many other things which influence today’s modern human
preferences, such as fashion.

All the things consideres, I blieve that people today look for inspiration in the past eras to create
modern art and old trends are coming back in our days for different reasons and purposes.

CHAPTER 1
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 Victorian fashion

1.1 Women’s fashion

During the Victorian Era, a woman's place was at home. Unlike in the earlier centuries when
women could help their husbands and brothers in family businesses, in the nineteenth century,
the gender roles became more defined than ever. Their dress styles reflected their lifestyle.
Victorian fashion was not intended to be utilitarian. Clothes were seen as an expression of
women’s place in society and were hence, differentiated in terms of social class. Upper class
women, who did not need to work, often wore a tightly laced corset over a bodice or chemisette,
and paired them with a skirt adorned with numerous embroideries and trims; over layers of
petticoats. Middle class women exhibited similar dress styles; however, the decorations were not
as extravagant. The layering of these garments make them very heavy. Corsets were also stiff
and restricted movement. Although the clothes were not comfortable, the type of fabrics and the
in-numerous layers were worn as a symbol of wealth.

Neck-line Bertha is the low shoulder neck-line worn by women during the Victorian Era. The
cut exposed a woman’s shoulders and it sometimes was trimmed over with a three to six inch
deep lace flounce, or the bodice has neckline draped with several horizontal bands of fabric
pleats. However, the exposure of neck-line was only restricted to the upper and middle class,
working class women during the time period were not allowed to reveal so much flesh. The
décolleté style made shawls to become an essential feature of dresses. Corsets lost their shoulder
straps, and fashion was to produce two bodices, one closed décolletage for day and one décolleté
for evening.

Boning Corsets were used in women’s gowns for emphasizing the small waist of the female
body. They function as an undergarment which can be adjusted to bound tightly around the
waist, hold and train a person’s waistline, so to slim and conform it to a fashionable silhouette. It
also helped stop the bodice from horizontal creasing. With the corset, a very small tight fitting
waist would be shown. Yet, corsets have been blamed for causing lots of diseases because of the
tight waist bound. Ill condition examples were curvature of the spine, deformities of the ribs and
birth defects. As a result, people started to oppose the use of corsets in later times.

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 Victorian fashion

Sleeves Sleeves were tightly fit during the early Victorian era. It matched with the tight fit
women’s small waist in the design, and the shoulder sleeve seamline was drooped more to show
a tighter fit on the arm. This eventually limited women’s movements with the sleeves. However,
as crinolines started to develop in fashion, sleeves turned to be like large bells which gave the
dress a heavier volume. Engageantes, which were usually made of lace, linen, or lawn, with
cambric and broderie anglaise, were worn under the sleeves. They were easy to remove, launder
and restitch into position, so to act as false sleeves, which was tacked to the elbow-length sleeves
during the time. They commonly appear under the bell-shaped sleeves of day dresses.

Silhouette Silhouette changed over time supported by the evolution of the undergarment. In
earlier days, wide skirts were supported by fabrics like linen which used horsehair in the weave.
Crinolines were used to give skirts a beehive shape, with at least six layers petticoats worn under
the skirt, which could weigh as much as fourteen pounds. Later, the cage crinoline was
developed. Women were freed from the heavy petticoats, and were able to move their legs freely
beneath the cage. Silhouette later began to emphasise a slope toward the back of the skirt.
Polonaise style was introduced where fullness bunched up at the back of the skirt. Crinolines and
cages also started to disappear with it being more dangerous to working class women. Tournures
or bustles were developed.

1960’s Cage Crinoline 1977’s Dress

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 Victorian fashion

1.2 Hats and shoes

Hats (and gloves) were crucial to a respectable appearance for both men and women. To go
bareheaded was simply not proper. The top hat, for example, was standard formal wear for
upper- and middle-class men. For women, the styles of hats changed over time and were
designed to match their outfits.

During the early Victorian decades, voluminous skirts held up with crinolines, and then hoop
skirts, were the focal point of the silhouette. To enhance the style without distracting from it, hats
were modest in size and design, straw and fabric bonnets being the popular choice. Poke bonnets,
which had been worn during the late Regency period, had high, small crowns and brims that
grew larger until the 1830s, when the face of a woman wearing a poke bonnet could only be seen
directly from the front. They had rounded brims, echoing the rounded form of the bell-shaped
hoop skirts. The silhouette changed once again as the Victorian era drew to a close. The shape
was essentially an inverted triangle, with a wide-brimmed hat on top, a full upper body with
puffed sleeves, no bustle, and a skirt that narrowed at the ankles (the hobble skirt was a fad
shortly after the end of the Victorian era).

The women's shoes of the early Victorian period were narrow and heelless, in black or white
satin. By 1850s and 1860s, they were slightly broader with a low heel and made of leather or
cloth. Ankle-length laced or buttoned boots were also popular. From the 1870s to the twentieth
century, heels grew higher and toes more pointed. Low-cut pumps were worn for the evening.

Picture showing a 1900 idea of how the hemline should descend towards the
ankle as a girl got older

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 Victorian fashion

1.3 Hair and make-up

Women's hair was generally worn long, caught up in a chignon or bun. In the 1840s, ringlets of
curls hung on either side of the head. In the 1870s, women drew up the side hair but let it hang in
long, loose curls in back.Crimping became popular in the early 1870s.

Throughout the Victorian period, women wore false hair pieces and extensions as well as
artificial flowers such as velvet pansies and roses, false leaves, and beaded butterflies often
combined into intricate and beautiful headpieces.

Make up was mostly worn by theater people. The look for women in Victorian days was very
pale skin occasionally highlighted with a smidge of rouge on the cheeks.

CHAPTER 2
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 Victorian fashion

2.1 Men’s fashion

Unlike the women’s clothing’s, men’s fashion did not undergo any radical change. Men wore
Stove-pipe pants during the initial years of the century. The men’s costumes were to be formal,
sober and elegant during the work hours and otherwise. The basic feature of the Victorian men’s
clothing was clean and basic lines, use of dark color and a detailed work of the costume.
Men also wore corsets and with time, cinching of waist was replaced by easy breathing loose
jackets. Around 1840 the general trend followed by men as far as clothes were concerned was to
wear frock coats which fitted tightly and were up to the calf length. Along with the coat, men
also wore waist-coats or vests. These vests could be single or double breasted. There was
different kind of fashion for morning and evening wear. For the morning purposes, men wore a
morning coat with light colored trousers and in the evening, a dark coat with trousers was
preferred. To complete the dress-code, hats were usually worn.
Three-piece suits were invented around 1870s and instantly were a hit among the people.
Another change that was brought during this time was in ties. Neckties were four-in-hand and a
new type, known as Ascot ties soon became popular.
By the end of 1880s, men had started wearing the newly introduced blazers for outdoor activities
like sports, sailing, etc. the shoes of the Victorian men had high heels and were narrower at the
toes. Men usually kept their hair short and had pointed beards and generous mustaches. Thus, it
can be said that men’s clothing was formal and comparatively, few changes were brought in
men’s fashion.

Drawing of Victorian men 1870s

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 Victorian fashion

2.2 Contemporary stereotypes

Many myths and exaggerations about the period persist to the modern day. Examples include the
idea of men's clothing is seen as formal and stiff, women's as elaborate and over-done; clothing
covered the entire body, and even the glimpse of an ankle was scandalous. Critics contend that
corsets constricted women's bodies and women's lives. Homes are described as gloomy, dark,
cluttered with massive and over-ornate furniture and proliferating bric-a-brac. Myth has it that
even piano legs were scandalous, and covered with tiny pantalettes.

In truth, men's formal clothing may have been less colourful than it was in the previous century,
but brilliant waistcoats and cummerbunds provided a touch of color, and smoking jackets and
dressing gowns were often of rich Oriental brocades. This phenomenon was the result of the
growing textile manufacturing sector, developing mass production processes, and increasing
attempts to market fashion to men. Corsets stressed a woman's sexuality, exaggerating hips and
bust by contrast with a tiny waist. Women's evening gowns bared the shoulders and the tops of
the breasts. The jersey dresses of the 1880s may have covered the body, but the stretchy novel
fabric fit the body like a glove.

Home furnishing was not necessarily ornate or overstuffed. However, those who could afford
lavish draperies and expensive ornaments, and wanted to display their wealth, would often do so.
Since the Victorian era was one of increased social mobility, there were ever more nouveaux
riches making a rich show.

The items used in decoration may also have been darker and heavier than those used today,
simply as a matter of practicality. London was noisy and its air was full of soot from countless
coal fires. Hence those who could afford it draped their windows in heavy, sound-muffling
curtains, and chose colours that didn't show soot quickly. When all washing was done by hand,
curtains were not washed as frequently as they might be today.

2.3 Mourning black

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 Victorian fashion

In Britain, black is the colour traditionally associated with mourning for the dead. The customs
and etiquette expected of men, and especially women, were rigid during much of the Victorian
era. The expectations depended on a complex hierarchy of close or distant relationship with the
deceased. The closer the relationship, the longer the mourning period and the wearing of black.

Victoria's five daughters (Alice, Helena, Beatrice, Victoria and Louise), photographed wearing
mourning black beneath a bust of their late father, Prince Albert (1862)

The wearing of full black was known as First Mourning, which had its own expected attire,
including fabrics, and an expected duration of 4 to 18 months. Following the initial period of
First Mourning, the mourner would progress to Second Mourning, a transition period of wearing
less black, which was followed by Ordinary Mourning, and then Half-mourning. Some of these
stages of mourning were shortened or skipped completely if the mourner's relationship to the
deceased was more distant. Half-mourning was a transition period when black was replaced by
acceptable colours such as lavender and mauve, possibly considered acceptable transition colours
because of the tradition of Church of England (and Catholic) clergy wearing lavender or mauve
stoles for funeral services, to represent the Passion of Christ.

CONCLUSIONS
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 Victorian fashion

The Victorian era ended more than 100 years ago, but its footprints can still be seen in homes.
But there’s more to modern day Victorian era than the bricks that still stand tall today in many of
America’s cities. There’s fashion, arguably the most significant trend that emerged during that
time period, which continues to influence fashion designers and society today.
Fashion from the Victorian era has left its footprints in modern day fashion in a couple ways,
though it is most evident in weddings because most women choose to wear a big, white long,
flowy dress on their big day, inspired by Queen Victoria herself.
Queen Victoria's dress also showed that her family could afford to send her off in an opulent
style. In modern day society, brides wear big, white, extravagant dresses which signify exactly
the same thing Queen Victoria's wedding dress indicated.
To conclude, I believe that Victorian fashion was one of the most important eras in fashion
industry.

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 Victorian fashion

REFERENCES

Webliography:
1. www.wikipedia.com
2. www.bellatory.com
3. www.bl.uk.com
4. www.vintagedancer.com

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