Victorian fashion

Victorian fashion refers to the various fashions and trends of Europe during the Victorian Era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901, and is named after the reigning queen of England at the time, Queen Victoria. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in clothing, architecture, literature, and visual arts.

Victoria's five daughters (Alice, Helena, Beatrice, Victoria and Louise), photographed wearing mourning black beneath a bust of their late father, Prince Albert (1862)

During this period, fashion changed a lot. In the 1800s, you had small silhouettes and pastel colors. In the 1830s, there was very exaggerated fashion. The 1860s are also famous for this along with the 1870s, the 1880s, and the 1890s. But during the early part of the 20th century, fashion was toned down in the sense of exaggeration and playfulness.

The main woman who inspired was the Queen of England and Empress of India, Victoria. She was at the peak of royalty and ruled for many years, therefore influencing many trends during the century.

By 1907, clothing was increasingly factory-made and often sold in large, fixed price department stores. Custom sewing and home sewing were still significant, but on the decline. New machinery and materials developed clothing in many ways.

The introduction of the lock-stitch sewing machine in mid-century simplified home and boutique dressmaking. It made it easy to add trimmings which would be costly if done by hand. Lace machinery made lace at a fraction of the cost of the old hand-made lace. Inventors developed new, cheap, bright dyes like mauveine which replaced the old animal or vegetable dyes.