VICTORIAN TIMES

The Regency era spanned across 1811 until 1837, the end of the Regency era and the beginning of the Victorian era had a common custom to change dress several times a day, specifically once in the late morning and another time before dinner. A low, almost off-the-shoulder neckline was dictated for evening and formal wear, whilst higher necklines and collars with small shawls were appropriate for daytime.

Cinched waistlines with a low point at the front of the dresses with wide bell-shaped skirts with puffy sleeves were the typical dress at the beginning of Victoria’s reign. This silhouette was created by undergarments; the skirts were supported by many petticoats with long corsets rounding the bust.

The corsets in this time were typically hand-sewn, using hardwearing cotton, with busks made of wood or metal. There were techniques, boning and cording, to offer additional support. Boning used whalebone, also known as baleen, as it was flexible while being supportive.

Corsets were also laced from the back using stays, which caused a lot of damage to women due to the tight tying of the corsets to gain the best figure for their dresses.

This image was in one of the earlier editions of the Ladies’ Gazette and presents typical evening or formal fashion for the month of January.

The shape of these dresses used corsets to cinch in the waists and hoop skirts helped to shape the dresses. The tighter sleeve look began in the 1840s from the puffier sleeve of the previous decade. These techniques aided the illusion of a smaller waist, along with the use of frills and ruffles on the neckline and skirt.

The Romantic Movement was in full swing during this decade, influencing the fashion of the time. For example, the small Elizabethan ruffs featured in magazines drew inspiration from this movement.

The fashion evolved dramatically in the 1850s due to more modern industrial innovations. The mass production of clothes was aided by sewing machines that allowed for a variety of clothes made at a quicker pace.

Skirts continued to widen and petticoats were no longer able to give the desired volume. Crinoline became an alternative in 1856. The crinoline cage was made up of metal hoops that got became wider towards the hem, though due to this structure, women had to learn how to walk and sit in them to remain ‘lady-like’ by not showing any ankles or under clothes.

Evening gowns in this decade had an even lower neckline, meaning it was either worn off the shoulders or just about on the shoulders.

This page is from the third volume of the magazine and shows that the dresses still carried on the styles of the previous decade.

The skirts use the crinoline cage to create the wide shaping of the dress while having a tight bodice.

This image presents day dresses as the neckline is high compared to what the evening dresses would have.

By this decade, the skirts became flatter in the front, while still being flared and shaped in the back and towards the hem.

Later in the decade that the front of the skirt flattened, only flaring out at the back, making a more triangular and conical shape.

By the late 1860s, the crinoline cage had been by the bustle. This is what was used to create the shape of the flatter front but flared back silhouette that became popular; this stayed the way for shaping skirts until the 1870s.

By this point in the century, the hat had been replaced by the bonnet which can be seen in this illustration in the magazine.

Parasols and lace gloves can also be seen as accessories for the month of May and in the summer months as during the Victorian era, the upper classes took many measures to avoid a sun tan, which was associated with being poor and working a lot outside.

The emerald green shades in this fashion palette were created through the use of arsenic. Green was a difficult colour to create, produce and maintain in clothing until 1775 when Swedish chemist Carl Sheele mixed sodium carbonate with arsenious oxide to create ‘Scheele green’ or ‘arsenic green’.

In 1814 a Germany company used this discovery to create a new shade, ‘emerald green’. This shade became all the rage in fashionable dresses despite the dangerous effects of the dye, including sores and ulcers on the skin.

The bustle was a distinct undergarment during the Victorian period. A gathered overskirt over the back of the main skirt became an important feature in this decade.

The use of sewing machines made it more possible for pleated trimming to be attached in larger quantities, providing layers to the skirts.

The evening dresses were only slightly different to the day dresses, sporting a lower neckline still while also being almost sleeveless.

In this decade, a more fitted, natural style came about but didn’t last very long, and became narrower and more figure-hugging. The bodice lengthened over the hips adding to the ‘natural form’ style of the time.

While the volume of the skirts decreased, they also became more expansive by having trains fanning out behind.

The ruffles, lace and silk flowers carried on through to this decade to decorate the skirts of the everyday dress.

Women generally wore their hair up with this natural styling to aid the tightly fitted sleeves and add to the slim silhouette style.

Across these two decades in the Victorian era, there were many influences from other cultures’ art and fashion styles; including Japan and Europe. In addition, there were many influences from the Art Nouveau movement (c.1890-1910) which was strongly influenced by Japanese art. When the chrysanthemum was brought to Europe, it became a popular motif embroidery on clothing.

The second bustle era came about around 1883. This was more ‘architectural’ through it being a rounded skirt that is flat at the front but protruding more in the back; the bustle was there to support the weight of the skirt’s overdress. A ‘New Phantom’ bustle did come about in 1884 which consisted of steel wires that were collapsible when the wearer sat down, making the bustle more comfortable and adaptable to wear.

While an unnatural look came into fashion in the 1890s, the angular shapes of the previous decades weren't in favour and fashion had moved onto a simpler, less restrictive look. This can be seen as being connected to the ‘New Woman’ movement, a movement where a feminine, social and cultural shift challenged the strict gender roles of the time, being an important concept in feminism and the turn-of-the-century. The unnatural look was created through the mono-bosom, an S-curve with a large pigeon breast achieved through layers of ruffled corset covers or blouses. It was the styling of the clothes to give it the unnatural look rather than the body itself.

This page spread in the magazine presents the influence that other cultures and arts had on the Victorian era.

The cherry blossom in the background relates back to Japanese influences and the Art Nouveau movement. The second bustle era was in full swing by this point and was needed to support all of the overskirts that came together to create the layered look at the back of the dresses.