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. In earlier days, wide skirts were supported by fabrics like linen which used horsehair in the weave.
Silhouette: Silhouette changed over time supported by the evolution of the undergarment.They commonly appear under the bell-shaped sleeves of day dresses. 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. Engageantes, which were usually made of lace, linen, or lawn, with cambric and broderie anglaise, were worn under the sleeves. However, as crinolines started to develop in fashion, sleeves turned to be like large bells which gave the dress a heavier volume. This eventually limited women's movements with the sleeves. 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. Sleeves: Sleeves were tightly fit during the early Victorian era.With the corset, a very small tight fitting waist would be shown.Ĭorsets have been blamed for causing many diseases because of tight lacing, but the practice was less commonplace than generally thought today ( Effects of tightlacing on the body). It also helped stop the bodice from horizontal creasing. They function as an undergarment which can be adjusted to bind tightly around the waist, hold and train a person's waistline, so to slim and conform it to a fashionable silhouette. Boning: Corsets were used in women's gowns for emphasizing the small waist of the female body.
Corsets lost their shoulder straps, and fashion was to produce two bodices, one closed décolletage for day and one décolleté for evening. The décolleté style made shawls to become an essential feature of dresses. 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 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. Neck-line: Bertha is the low shoulder neck-line worn by women during the Victorian Era.Picture of 1850s evening dress with a bertha neckline Although the clothes were not comfortable, the type of fabrics and the numerous layers were worn as a symbol of wealth. Corsets were also stiff and restricted movement. The layering of these garments make them very heavy. Middle-class women exhibited similar dress styles however, the decorations were not as extravagant. 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. Dress reflected this new, increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and was not intended to be utilitarian.Ĭlothes were seen as an expression of women's place in society, hence were differentiated in terms of social class. 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 work entirely. 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. Women's fashionsĭuring the Victorian Era, women generally worked in the private, domestic sphere. 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. 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. Clothing could be made more quickly and cheaply. Mass production of sewing machines in the 1850s as well as the advent of synthetic dyes introduced major changes in fashion. Under Queen Victoria's reign, England enjoyed a period of growth along with technological advancement. Various movement in architecture, literature, and the decorative and visual arts as well as a changing perception of gender roles also influenced fashion. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. 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. Illustration depicting fashions throughout the 19th century
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