Victorian fashion
Victorian fashion consists of 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 1890s. 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 gender roles also influenced fashion.
Under Queen Victoria's reign, England enjoyed a period of 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 more quickly and 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.
Women's fashions
During the Victorian Era, women generally worked in the private, domestic sphere. Unlike in earlier centuries when women would often help their husbands and brothers in family businesses and in labour, during the nineteenth century, gender roles became more defined. The requirement for farm labourers was no longer in such a high demand after the Industrial Revolution, and women were more likely to perform domestic work or, if married, give up paid work entirely. Dress reflected this new, increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and was not intended to be utilitarian.Clothes were seen as an expression of women's place in society, hence were differentiated in terms of social class. Most women wore a corset over a chemise, followed by a gown or skirt paired with a bodice, blouse, or chemisette. The shape of the skirt would be supported by layers of petticoats or, later in the period, structured support such as crinolines or bustles. Upper-class women, who did not need to work, often wore more tightly-fitting garments and corsets, adorned with numerous embroideries and trims. Middle-class women exhibited similar dress styles; however, the decorations were not as extravagant. Working-class clothing was simpler still, with less expensive fabric and fewer layers and trimmings. The many layers and the construction of garments made women's clothing much heavier than today, and more restrictive, especially in the waist and the shoulders. The amount and quality of fabric was often a display of wealth.
- Neckline: For day, a close neckline was ubiquitous for most of the period. For evening, a wide, low neckline was popular, often with a bertha. This cut exposed a woman's shoulders and it sometimes was trimmed over with a three to six-inch deep lace flounce, or with several horizontal bands of fabric pleats.
- Corsets: Corsets were ubiquitous, providing bust and posture support helping to shape the female body into the fashionable silhouette. They function as an undergarment which can be adjusted to bind tightly around the waist, hold and train a person's waistline. It also helped stop the bodice from horizontal creasing. Corsets have been blamed for causing many diseases because of tight lacing, but the practice was less commonplace than generally thought today.
- Sleeves: In the early Victorian era, the gigot sleeve of the Romantic Era began to tighten into a slimmer line. The armscye was dropped off the shoulder to emphasize the hourglass silhouette.
- Silhouette: Silhouette changed over time supported by the evolution of the undergarment. In earlier days, wide skirts were supported by layers of petticoats which used horsehair in the weave. By 1856, the hooped underpinning known as the cage crinoline was used to give skirts a bouffant shape. The 1860s saw fullness slowly move toward the back of the skirt, with the "first bustle" 1870s silhouette requiring the crinolette and then a bustle to support the fashionable draperies such as the polonaise. The bustle disappeared in the late 1870s and returned in a more shelf-like form in the "second bustle" 1880s, with hooped undergarments finally falling out of favor at the start of the 1890s.
1830s dress style
During the start of Queen Victoria's reign in 1837, the fashionable silhouette was an hourglass shape with wide shoulders, emphasized by puffed gigot sleeves, a full skirt, and a slim waist.Corsets were extended over the abdomen and down towards the hips, worn with a busk. A chemise was worn under the corset, and cut relatively low in order to prevent exposure. Over the corset, was the tight-fitting bodice featuring a high, straight waistline. Along with the bodice was a long skirt, featuring layers of stiffened petticoats worn underneath to create fullness; while placing emphasis on the small waist. To contrast the narrow waist, low and wide necklines were used.
1840s dress style
In the 1840s, narrower sleeves, elongated V-shaped bodices, and fuller skirts characterized the dress styles of women. The 1840s style was perceived as conservative and "Gothic" compared to the flamboyance of the 1830s, with the silhouette tightening, lengthening, and a move away from elaborate trims.At the start of the decade, bodices lengthened to the natural waist, and met at a point in the front. The popular low and narrow waist was accentuated by the shape of the corset and seam lines on the bodice.
At the start of the decade, sleeves of bodices were tight at the top, but puffed around the area between the elbow and before the wrist because of the mancheron or gigot. This soon disappeared and was replaced with a tight line.
The second half of the decade saw sleeves flaring out from the elbow into a funnel shape; requiring to be worn in order to cover the lower arms.
Skirts lengthened, while widths increased due to the introduction of the in 1847; becoming a status symbol of wealth.
Extra layers of flounces and petticoats also further emphasised the fullness of these wide skirts. To achieve the narrow waist, skirts were attached to bodices using very tight organ pleats secured at each fold.
1850s dress style
The hourglass silhouette further was exaggerated in the 1850s. Necklines of day dresses were sometimes cut into a V-shape, causing a need to cover the bust area with a chemisette. In contrast, evening dresses were cut low across the shoulder, often featuring a bertha collar. Bodices began to extend over the hips, while the sleeves opened further and increased in fullness. Skirts were domelike, with increasing volume as tiers of flounces became popular decorations.In 1856, the invention of the first cage crinoline allowed for even wider skirts. The cage crinoline was constructed by joining thin metal strips together to form a circular structure that could support the large width of the skirt. This was made possible by technology which allowed iron to be turned into steel, which could then be drawn into fine wires. Although often ridiculed by journalists and cartoonists of the time as the crinoline swelled in size, this innovation freed women from the heavy weight of petticoats and was a much more hygienic option.
Meanwhile, the invention of synthetic dyes made brighter colours more accessible and women experimented with gaudy or saturated colours.
1860s dress style
The 1860s saw the shape of skirts change from bouffant and domelike to conical and somewhat elliptical, with more fullness in the back. Trims simplified and became more geometric with skirts simplifying from pleats to gored panels.During the first half of the 1860s, crinolines began decreasing in size at the top, while retaining their volume at the bottom, creating a more pyramidal shape. Bodices remained relatively unchanged, ending at the natural waistline with wide pagoda sleeves or bishop sleeves. By the middle of the decade, the shape of the crinoline became flatter in the front and more voluminous behind, often with a train, requiring an elliptical crinoline. In 1868, Skirt widths diminished even further, while fullness and length remained at the back. In order to emphasize the back, the train was gathered together to form soft folds and draperies.
1870s dress style
The style of the 1870s was characterized by an abundance of draperies and trims, beginning the rococo revival. The trend for broad skirts slowly disappeared during the 1870s, as women started to prefer a slimmer silhouette. The waistline of the early 1870s was high, necklines varied, while armscye remained off the shoulder. An overskirt was extremely popular, often tied up into an apron effect at the front with a polonaise or puffed draperies at the back.Over time, the overskirt shortened into a detached basque, resulting in an elongation of the bodice over the hips. As the bodices grew longer in 1873, the polonaise was thus introduced into the Victorian dress styles. A polonaise is a garment featuring both an overskirt and bodice together. The tournure was also introduced, and along with the polonaise, it created an illusion of an exaggerated rear end.
By 1874, skirts began to taper in the front and were adorned with trimmings, while sleeves tightened around the wrist area. Towards 1875 to 1876, bodices featured long but even tighter laced waists, and converged at a sharp point in front. Bustles lengthened and slipped even lower, causing the fullness of the skirt to further diminish. Extra fabric was gathered together behind in pleats, thus creating a narrower but longer tiered, draped train too. Due to the longer trains, petticoats had to be worn underneath in order to keep the dress clean.
In 1877, dresses moulded to fit the figure, as increasingly slimmer silhouettes were favored. This was allowed by the invention of the cuirass bodice, which extends downwards to the hips and upper thighs. Although dress styles took on a more natural form, corsetry was still required and the train was often supported with a cage. The armscye, for the first time in the period, moved from a dropped position up to the shoulders and would remain there for the rest of the era.