 Windsor Castle in Modern Times by Landseer depicts the Queen and the Prince Consort "at home" in the 1840s. The term "Victorian fashion" refers to fashion in clothing in the Victorian era, or the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). It is strictly used only with regard to the United Kingdom and its colonies, but is often used loosely to refer to Western fashions of the period. It may also refer to a supposedly unified style in clothing, home décor, manners, and morals, or a culture, said to be prevalent in the West during this period. Image File history File links Windsor Castle in Modern Times by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1841-1845. ...
Image File history File links Windsor Castle in Modern Times by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1841-1845. ...
Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1851: the image was widely distributed in steel engravings Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (March 7, 1802 - October 1, 1873) was a British painter, well known for his paintings of animals - particularly horses, dogs and stags. ...
For the 80s New Wave band, see Fashion The term fashion applies to a characteristic means of expression or presentation; fashions may follow trends, in which they gain or lose popularity. ...
For the 80s New Wave band, see Fashion The term fashion applies to a characteristic means of expression or presentation; fashions may follow trends, in which they gain or lose popularity. ...
Jump to: navigation, search (See also List of types of clothing and Clothing terminology) Humans nearly universally wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments, or attire) on the body. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...
Jump to: navigation, search (See also List of types of clothing and Clothing terminology) Humans nearly universally wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments, or attire) on the body. ...
In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which show the actor to be cultured, polite, and refined. ...
Look up Culture on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikinews has news related to this article: Culture and entertainment Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cultural Development in Antiquity Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Culture and Civilization in Modern Times Classificatory system for cultures and civilizations, by Dr. Sam Vaknin...
Usefulness of the term
Those who have studied the period in detail would protest against vacuous generalizations. Clothing, décor, manners, and morals varied from year to year, country to to country, and class to class. Whether or not there is a style or unified culture connecting a Scottish fisherwoman, for example, and an aristocratic London lady, might well be debated. Look up Culture on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikinews has news related to this article: Culture and entertainment Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Cultural Development in Antiquity Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Culture and Civilization in Modern Times Classificatory system for cultures and civilizations, by Dr. Sam Vaknin...
If we carefully restrict our language, however, and take Victorian fashion to refer to the dress, or in a wider sense, the culture of an upper-middle-class London family of fashion and conventional attitudes, and describe it as it varied from decade to decade, we may be able to usefully describe these phenomena.
We can also usefully speak of contemporary stereotypes of the Victorian era. These stereotypes, while not historically valid, help us understand current uses of the term “Victorian”. In modern usage, a stereotype is a simplified mental picture of an individual or group of people who share a certain characteristic (or stereotypical) qualities. ...
Historical overview Several general style trends of the Victorian era transcend any one facet of fashion, but rather had broad influence across clothing styles, architecture, literature, and the decorative arts. Many of these had their roots in the 18th century but flowered in the Victorian age. These include: // Scope and intentions According to the very earliest surviving work on the subject, Vitruvius De Architectura, good buildings should have Beauty (Venustas), Firmness (Firmitas) and Utility (Utilitas); architecture can be said to be a balance and coordination among these three elements, with none overpowering the others. ...
The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, or textile. ...
(17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...
The Great Exhibition of 1851 had a marked impact on fashion, especially home décor, and even social reform movements influenced fashion, through dress reform and rational dress. Orientalism is a British term referring to the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures by Westerners. ...
The Scottish Highlands are the mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault. ...
Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ...
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Jane Morris (The Blue Silk Dress) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. ...
The Aesthetic movement is a loosely defined movement in art and literature in later nineteenth century Britain. ...
The Great Exhibition was an international exhibition held in Hyde Park London, from 1 May to 15 October 1851 and the first in a series of Worlds Fair exhibitions of culture and industry that were to be a popular 19th century feature. ...
During the middle and late Victorian period, various reformers proposed, designed, and wore clothing supposedly more rational and comfortable than the fashions of the time. ...
Clothing Methods of clothing production and distribution varied enormously over the course of Victoria's long reign.
In 1837, cloth was manufactured (in the mill towns of northern England, Scotland, and Ireland) but clothing was generally custom-made by seamstresses, milliners, tailors, hatters, glovers, corsetiers, and many other specialized tradespeople, who served a local clientele in small shops. Families who could not afford to patronize specialists made their own clothing, or bought and modified used clothing.
By 1907, clothing was increasingly factory-made and sold in large, fixed price department stores. Custom sewing and home sewing were still significant, but on the decline.
New machinery and materials changed clothing in many ways.
The introduction of the lock-stitch sewing machine in mid-century simplified both home and boutique dressmaking, and enabled a fashion for lavish application of trim that would have been prohibitively time-consuming if done by hand. Lace machinery made lace at a fraction of the cost of the old, laborious methods. A modern machine (Singer Symphonie 300) A sewing machine is a mechanical (or electromechanical) device that joins fabric using thread. ...
New materials from far-flung British colonies gave rise to new types of clothing (such as rubber making gumboots and mackintoshes possible). Chemists developed new, cheap, bright dyes that displaced the old animal or vegetable dyes. Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky emulsion (known as latex) in the sap of a number of plants but can also be produced synthetically. ...
New Zealand term for a Wellington boot. ...
Mackintosh shop, Burlington Arcade London A Mackintosh is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made out of rubberised fabric. ...
Look up chemist on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Yarn drying after being dyed in the early American tradition, at Conner Prairie living history museum. ...
Women's clothing Women's fashionable clothing started with a straight, Regency silhouette, bloomed into exaggerated skirts and sleeves, moved to small shoulders and even wider skirts supported by crinolines and hoops, and narrowed by way of the bustle to hobble skirts. Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Crinoline crinoline patented Cutaway view of a crinoline, Punch magazine, August 1856 Crinoline was originally a stiff fabric with a weft of horse-hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread. ...
A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a womens undergarment worn in various periods to hold the skirt extended into a fashionable shape. ...
The ladys dress in this 1880s fashion plate is supported by a bustle. ...
A postcard depicting a woman wearing a hobble skirt. ...
Charles Frederick Worth, the "father of haute couture" and the prototype of the fashion designer as the dictator of modes, was a London draper who relocated to Paris in the 1840s. His success lead to the dominance of Paris fashion houses over women's upper-class clothing in both Britain and America. Jump to: navigation, search Charles Frederick Worth (October 13, 1826 – March 10, 1895), widely considered the Father of Haute Couture, was an English-born fashion designer of the 19th century. ...
Jump to: navigation, search This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Brief introduction on the history of fashion design and designers Fashion design is the art dedicated to the creation of wearing apparel and lifestyle. ...
Haute couture (French for high sewing, pronounced O-ht Koo-tuh-r) is a common term for custom-fitted clothing as produced in Paris and imitated in other fashion capitals such as New York, London, and Milan. ...
Reactions to the elaborate confections of French fashion led to various calls for reform on the grounds of both beauty (Artistic and Aesthetic dress) and health (dress reform). Arthur Lasenby Liberty challenged the dominance of French fashion when he showed English gowns in Paris at the end of the century. Jane Morris (The Blue Silk Dress) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. ...
During the middle and late Victorian period, various reformers proposed, designed, and wore clothing supposedly more rational and comfortable than the fashions of the time. ...
Arthur Lasenby Liberty (August 13, 1843 _ May 11, 1917) was born in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. ...
Men's clothing Men's fashionable clothing was perhaps the least volatile, but there was still an enormous difference between the wasp waist and frock coats of the 1830s dandy and the sober sack suits and Norfolk jackets of 1901. Corporal in a nine-button frock coat, 1862 A frock coat is a mens coat introduced in the early nineteenth century characterized by knee-length skirts all around, in contrast to tail coats and cutaways. ...
Suits from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog A suit, also known as a business suit (US) or lounge suit (UK), comprises a collection of matching clothing consisting of: a coat (commonly known as a jacket) a waistcoat (optional) (USA vest) for men, a pair of trousers (USA pants), or...
A Norfolk jacket is a loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the front and back, now with a belt or half-belt. ...
Children's clothing The Victorian era saw the end of the fashion for dressing children as miniature adults. Fashions for boys included Highland dress (following the lead of the Queen, who dressed the young princes in this fashion) and sailor suits.
The romanticizing of childhood as a time of sweetness and innocence led to the adoption of simpler styles for children, under the influence of the children's book illustrations of Kate Greenaway. Kate Greenaway (Catherine Greenaway) ( London, March 17, 1846 - November 6, 1901) was a childrens book illustrator and writer. ...
Home décor Home decor started spare, veered into the elaborately draped and decorated style we today regard as Victorian, then embraced the retro-chic of William Morris as well as pseudo-Japonaiserie. Jump to: navigation, search William Morris, socialist and innovator in the arts & crafts movement William Morris, publisher Davids Charge to Solomon (1882), a stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts. ...
Charles Eastlake's Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and other Details (1868) attempted to educate the middle class on the proper artistic decoration of homes, which required "taste" rather than lavish expenditure. For the 19th century English painter, see Sir Charles Lock Eastlake Charles Locke Eastlake (1836 - 1906) was an architect and furniture designer. ...
Contemporary stereotypes Lytton Strachey writing to Virginia Woolf, November 8, 1912: Giles Lytton Strachey (March 1, 1880–January 21, 1932) was a British writer and critic. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Virginia Woolf (January 25, 1882 – March 28, 1941) was a British author and feminist, who is considered to be one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. ...
- Is it prejudice, do you think, that makes us hate the Victorians, or is it the truth of the case? They seem to me to be a set of mouthing bungling hypocrites; but perhaps really there is a baroque charm about them which will be discovered by our great-great-grandchildren as we have discovered the charm of Donne, who seemed intolerable to the 18th century. Only I don't believe it... I should like to live for another 200 years (to be moderate).
(Cited in The Letters of Lytton Strachey, edited by Paul Levy, Penguin, 2005. ISBN 0670891126.)
Lytton Strachey's 1918 book of biographical essays, Eminent Victorians, is an amusing but acerbic attack on a constellation of attitudes that Strachey believed to be “Victorian”. He was expressing the attitude of his time, in which forward-thinking men and women despised the staid, prim, proper, and fusty era just past. To a great extent, contemporary stereotypes of "Victorian fashion" carry on the Strachey tradition of seeing the period as a whole.
Victorian prudery For most, the Victorian period is still a byword for sexual repression. Men's clothing is seen as formal and stiff, women's as fussy and over-done. Clothing covered the entire body, we are told, and even the glimpse of an ankle was scandalous. Corsets constricted women's bodies and women's lives. Homes were gloomy, dark, cluttered with massive and over-ornate furniture and proliferating bric-a-brac. Even piano legs were scandalous, and covered with tiny pantalettes. The term bric-a-brac refers to a selection of items of low value, often sold in street markets. ...
 A mid-Victorian interior: Hide and Seek by James Tissot c. 1877 Of course, much of this is untrue, or a gross exaggeration. Men's formal clothing may have been less colorful 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. Corsets stressed a woman's sexiness, exaggerating hips and bust by contrast with a tiny waist. Women's ball gowns bared the shoulders and tops of the breasts. The tight-fitting jersey dresses of the 1880s may have covered the body, but they left little to the imagination. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (733x789, 317 KB)Detail from Hide and Seek by James Tissot, c. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (733x789, 317 KB)Detail from Hide and Seek by James Tissot, c. ...
James Joseph Jacques Tissot ( October 15, 1836 – August 8, 1902) was a French painter. ...
A waistcoat (called a vest in Canada and the US) is a type of garment. ...
A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with black tie. ...
A smoking jacket is an item of clothing, now relatively rare, specifically designed for the purposes of smoking tobacco, usually in the form of pipes and cigars. ...
Brocade can stands for: thick heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven. ...
Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Corset Hourglass corset from around 1880. ...
Ball gown, traditionally a full-skirted gown reaching at least to the ankles, made of luxurious fabric, delicately and exotically trimmed. ...
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 extreme social mobility, there were ever more nouveaux riches making a rich show.
The materials 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 colors that didn't show soot quickly. When all washing was done by hand, curtains were not washed as frequently as they might be today. Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen. ...
There is no actual evidence that piano legs were considered scandalous. Pianos and tables were often draped with shawls or cloths -- but if the shawls hid anything, it was the cheapness of the furniture. There are references to lower-middle-class families covering up their pine tables rather than show that they couldn't afford mahogany. The piano leg story seems to have originated in Captain Frederick Marryat's 1839 book, Diary in America, as a satirical comment on American prissiness. Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the modern musical instrument. ...
Hesquiat woman keeping warm with a thick shawl A shawl is an extremely simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, sometimes also over the head. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Species About 115. ...
Genera and Species Entandophragma - Sapele - Utile or African Mahogany Guarea - Pink Mahogany Khaya - Ivory Coast Mahogany - Senegal Mahogany Swietenia - Honduras Mahogany - West Indian Mahogany Toona - Indian Mahogany - Chinese Mahogany The name Mahogany was first used in the New World for three trees of the genus Swietenia, namely (West Indian Mahogany...
Captain Frederick Marryat (July 10, 1792 - August 9, 1848) was an English novelist, a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the seafaring story. ...
Victorian manners, however, may have been as strict as imagined -- on the surface. One simply did not speak publicly about sex, childbirth, and such matters, at least in the respectable middle and upper classes. However, as is well known, discretion covered a multitude of sins. Prostitution flourished. Upper-class men and women indulged in adulterous liaisons, in French fashion. Then of course there were the artists and bohemians, as well as the lower classes.
Victorian chic Some people now look back on the Victorian era with wistful nostalgia. They imagine a dream world of lacy dresses, lavish balls, country house parties, and charming cottages surrounded by old-fashioned flowers (see, for example, the paintings of Thomas Kinkade). Historians would say that this is as much a distortion of the real history as the stereotypes emphasizing Victorian repression and prudery. Thomas Kinkade (born 1958) is an American painter whose mass-produced prints are often displayed in the home. ...
Also notable is a contemporary counter-cultural trend called steampunk. Youth who dress steampunk wear Victorian-style clothing that has been "tweaked" in edgy ways: tattered, distorted, melded with Goth, Punk, and Rivet styles. Jump to: navigation, search Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Gothic girl, medieval style, with spikes and piercings long hair and black leather coats are typical features of Goth Gothic girl with elaborate clothing of black lace and skull-shaped jewellery This article is about the contemporary goth/gothic subculture. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Punk fashion is a fashion style largely associated with the punk movement during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ...
A rivetted buffer beam on a steam locomotive A rivet is a mechanical fastener consisting of a smooth cylindrical shaft with heads on either end, the second one formed in position. ...
See also Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Corset Hourglass corset from around 1880. ...
Cathie Jung (born 1937), wearing a sterling silver corset, holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest waist on a living person, at 38. ...
For the 1979 sitcom, see Bloomers (television). ...
The status of Women in the Victoria Era is often seen as an illustration of the striking discrepancy between the nations power and richness and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions. ...
Jump to: navigation, search This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
External links - Victorian fashion, etiquette, and sports
- Form and Fashion — the evolution of women's dress during the 19th century (many photographs)
- Educational Game: Mix and Match — build a 19th century dress using a virtual mannequin
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