Queen Victoria’s reign lasted over six decades and two centuries, from 1837 to 1901. There were massive changes to society, technology, industry, culture, and of course, fashion. People will often use the term Victorian fashion when discussing nineteenth century fashion. However, given that the Victorian period covers such a massive range, there is no standard style of “Victorian fashion”. (Despite what Pinterest will show you…) So today, I’m going to share some of my favourite Victorian fashion, from four different points in Queen Victoria’s reign!
I have included pieces here from both the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Fashion Museum in Bath. Both have amazing collections, and have wonderful timelines of fashion history, focusing largely on UK fashion history. I have used Lydia Edward’s How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashions from the 16th to the 20th Century as a source for this post, as well.
Lace and Gauze Frock, c. 1817, Fashion Museum Bath
Queen Victoria was born in 1819, so this slightly pre-dates her, but would have been in style by the end of the decade. The Fashion Museum describes it as a “frock made of transparent silk gauze, called Madras lace, with silk satin details.” I wanted to include this style because it is similar to gowns that Victoria wears in many of her younger portraits, into the late 1820s. And interestingly, gowns were called “frocks” starting in the early 1800s. (The language of fashion is ever evolving!)
A lace dress could signify that the wearer was wealthy, as lace was expensive to have handmade. However, “the development of machine-made net after 1809 led to more lace in fashion. A visitor to Borwood House in Wiltshire remarked on: “… more profusion of lace than anything my poor countrified imagination could have conceived.” (Exhibition info) The silk satin details would have indicated some wealth, as well, though.
Day Dress, c. 1830, Victoria and Albert Museum
This day dress is dated to roughly 1830. It is an interesting garment for a few different reasons. As soon as I saw it, the pattern struck me immediately- I’ve not seen many dresses with mixed patterns that survive. (That isn’t to say that they don’t exist, they absolutely do- I’ve just not seen them. The V&A describes it as “design of stylised floral trails and stripes, in buff, two shades of purple and yellow”, and although it does seem muted, the bright yellow does still jump out at you. Many of the younger portraits of Victoria show her in white or light coloured gowns, but patterns, particularly printed cotton/wool were quite common. The industrial revolution and developing technology made patterned fabrics much more accessible.
The wider sleeves, also known as gigot sleeves, are common of the period, as well. A gigot will flare out and then return to a tight fit around the wrist. (Depending on when the dress was made, the sleeve will be wider at a different point- Edwards’ 1797-1837 chapter has some excellent examples.) It’s not quite the same as the puffed sleeve we will see at the end of the century, it begins below the shoulder for a gently sloping line. It takes quite a lot of skill to make these sleeves, too. I wish I could have gotten closer to it, the V&A details that “At the upper arm, intricately stitched pleats achieve the fashionable ‘collapsed sleeve’.”
Victoria would have been 9-10 years old at this time. You can see in Richard Westall’s portrait of her here that although she isn’t wearing a full sleeve, it is still a wider/puffed sleeve. Her off-the-shoulder sleeve does accomplish that ideal gentle slope. (It has led to my question- why is Victoria allergic to sleeves in portraits? A forthcoming essay….)
Dress, 1860s, Fashion Museum Bath
We now jump to the 1860s for some rather different silhouettes. Prince Albert died in December 1861, so it is unlikely that Victoria would have been that concerned with fashion. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone else couldn’t be. Lightweight cotton dresses were incredibly popular by the 1860s, and they usually consisted of a separate body and skirt. This particular dress is white cotton with a teal floral pattern, and it is quite summer-y. (Victoria and the court would have been in mourning or half-mourning colours for quite some time, so this wouldn’t have been seen at court for quite a while after 1861.)
You will notice that this silhouette is strikingly different from the previous two. It is a wider skirt, much wider than the earlier Grecian inspired skirts. This is another case of technology working for fashion, too. In past trends, wide skirts would have been held out in shape by heavy, whalebone hoops and covered by several petticoats. However, this is the cage crinoline, a much lighter version. The cage crinoline was “a new light and airy under-structure of hoops of steel, which liberated women from the countless layers of petticoats they had worn previously.” (Exhibition info) Finally! Women could have more freedom of movement and ease and maintain the fashion of the day. The one downfall of these wider skirts is that they required far more material- skirts could require up to 10 metres of fabric, not including the rest of the dress.
Princess Line Evening Dress, 1878-1880, Victoria and Albert Museum
Princess-line dresses are some of my favourite Victorian silhouettes, because they remind me of one of my favourite Victorians- Princess Alexandra. (Yes, who would become Queen Alexandra!) She was a Victorian fashion trendsetter, and took up the sartorial void left by Victoria after Albert’s death. Bertie, the Prince of Wales, and Alexandra married in 1863 and although she was Danish, British women looked to Alix for their next fashion choice. (See my post on Alexandra in the Royal Women exhibition at Bath and my review of Kate Strasdin’s Inside the Royal Wardrobe: A Dress History of Queen Alexandra.) The “princess style” or “princess line” was named in honour of Alix, and is still worn in modern styles today.
The princess line is a fitted dress, it has long panels without any horizontal joining at the waist. It is a streamlined silhouette, and you can see that by the 1970s, the favoured shape had swung from the wide cage crinoline. This style is meant to mimic the body’s natural curves, which were enhanced by corsets underneath. The V&A describes this dress as “Princess dress of blue and gold Jacquard-woven silk made with a fitted bodice and narrow skirt drawn back into drapes at the back. It has elbow-length sleeves and a square neckline, which are both trimmed with machine-lace.” (Note: I’ve not seen many square necklines on Alexandra, she tended to wear a higher neckline.) In any case, this blue and gold silk evening gown looks gorgeous in person.
What is your favourite era of Victorian fashion?
Cheers,
The Historian
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