Early victorian period could be divide into two part :- Romantic Era and Pre Hoop Era
I.ROMANTIC ERA
The Romantic period started approximate 1800 BC. Piano
music, dramatic operas, and passionate songs took inspiration from art and
literature. The Romantic period is short, relative to other literary periods,
but is still quite complex. England at this time was transforming from a
primarily agricultural nation to one focused on manufacture, trade, and
industry.
Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837-1901. Before this time, men were the focus of fashion, but with a queen in power,
women surged to the forefront. The role
of a wife became to show of her husbands status and wealth to the public, with
the husband himself receding into the background. The Victorian Era was a
time where a powerful woman named Victoria ruled for several decades dominating
the political world.
The era was divided into two parts: the early, which is from 1830-1870
and the late, from 1870-1990.
some costumes related to era are as follows:-
•Began in
1820, hit the stride in 1830.
•Its French translation of LEG-O- MUTTON sleeve.
•Off shoulder, puffed outward, narrowing toward lower arm.
•V-necklines, full
skirts, give look of narrower waist.
•By 1836 Gigot sleeve collapsed abruptly.
•There came the early “Victorian look”.
•By 1840 sleeves were narrower with restrictive seam line on dropped
shoulders.
•Tight fitted pointed bodices with long and small tight fitted
waist.
•Boned bodice seam lines ,trims were directional to emphasize small waists,
it also helped stop horizontal creasing.
•Boned bodice even more elongated
into a V shape.
•Shoulder sleeve seam line drooped even more.
•An early
Victorian woman's arm movements were restricted.
•The appearance of demure
vulnerability and helplessness often associate with Victorian famine tales.
•Softer plain colors and small delicate patterns added ladylike quality to
gowns.
•By 1845 cashmere
shawl was brought back
•An outer wrap
and when folded in half and draped over the shoulders would reach almost to
ground level in some cases.
•Cartridge
pleats were used for skirt fabric in 1841.
•After 1846 flat pleating gave more
overall hemline width.
•Extra flounces
were added in 1840's to evening dresses,1845, flounces and short over skirts were regular feature of
day dresses.
•Bell shaped skirts of
1830's became wider and began to look dome shaped.
•By 1842 needed support from extra
petticoats. The wider skirts were supported by stiffened fabrics like linen
which used horsehair in the weave.
3.RATIONAL DRESS REFORM
•Rational Dress Reform was a movement that wanted
to see women’s movement- restricting clothes of the Victorian era replaced with
modest clothing that allowed for comfort and promoted health.
•The American
Mrs. Amelia Bloomer denounced the style that needed so many petticoats,
suggesting a bifurcated garment as a solution
•The baggy bloomer trousers to
the ankle,Frill cuffed and worn with a simple knee length skirt .
•The baggy
trouser outfit was worn by a minority, including the Rational Dress Reform
Society. It never gained popularity until after Mrs. Bloomer's death
•The cut of
the low shoulder line filled in to the neckline by day followed through to evening dresses.
•Evening dresses totally exposed a woman's
shoulders in a style called the 'bertha'. Bertha neckline was trimmed over with a 3 to 6 inch deep lace flounce.The bodice neckline was draped with several horizontal bands of fabric pleats.
•A Bertha collar is a wide, round, flat collar .
•It can be worn as an
accessory to a dress or a top, removable like a shawl.
•During this time period women had a magnificent
wardrobe full of spectacular gowns which included: lounge gowns ,walking out dresses ,evening or ballroom
gowns Dresses
5.THE LOUNGE GOWN
•The lounge gown was worn by the woman “at home”.The dress was made in velvet and lace with
an overdress of cashmere.There were
also bows on the shoulders of the dress.
•Another dress a Victorian woman would be seen in was a day dress, also
called a “walking out” dress.
• It consisted of a V-neckline filled with a
high ruffle collar.
II.PRE-HOOP ERA 1840-1855
•Full skirts
were supported by a vast array of petticoats. These petticoats were made of horsehair, or stiffened with cane and padding.
•The natural waist could be slightly longer than natural, with points in front and behind. Most trimmings were applied in a manner that was wide at the shoulder,
narrowing at the waist and then widening again at the hem of the skirt.
•The
bodice shoulder line ended well below the natural shoulder, often pinning the
arm of the wearer down. The sleeves were
narrow for day dresses.
•The sleeves started to become wider in the
1850's. The skirts expanded in size as
more and more petticoats were worn. Added flounces on the skirt would help create a wider look.
•Wealthy
women were often seen wearing an evening gown or a Ballroom gown.
•The gown was worn to special events.
•The gown sported a low shoulder bodice edged
with frill.
•It also had a sleeve that
hit the elbow and ended with a ruffle.
The
Crinoline Crinoline Cage Frame of 1856 by W. S. Thompson
•Six petticoats ,The
cotton, flannel or wool petticoats used under one skirt could weigh as much as
14 pounds, so clothes were uncomfortably hot and heavy in summer.
•The
invention of the crinoline changed the shape of the Victorian woman. IN 1856
•
A crinoline was a light dress frame made from steel hoops.
•Up to 35 steel
springs increased in diameter as they reached the ground.
•A crinoline
is a stiffened or structured petticoat designed to hold out a woman's skirt,
popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline
described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or
linen which was used to make underskirts and as a dress lining.
•By the 1850's
the term crinoline was more usually applied to the fashionable silhouette
provided by horsehair petticoats, and to the underskirts made using steel,
cane, whalebone or rubber hoops that replaced them in the mid-1850's
• The corset
gave a woman a conical form while lifting and supporting the bosom.
• It also minimized the waist by producing a
curved hour-glass shape.
• A corset
often laced up the center of the back to achieve tightness. However, there were
hooks in the center of the torso to allow easier removal.
• Corsets were worn over a cotton chemise,
not directly over the skin.
•During the early Victorian period hair was
generally worn long or caught up in a bun.
•By the 1840's, ringlets of curls hung on either side of the head.
•In the 1870's, women drew up the side hair
but let it hang in long, loose curls in back. Crimping also became popular in
the early 1870's.
•Throughout the
Victorian period, women wore false hair pieces and extensions, as well as
artificial flowers.
•Wealthy women boasted encrusted head pieces with diamonds
and pearls.
•Women during this time were known from their hats.
•Women would often
use birds to decorate the inside and outside of the hat.
•In some cases the
entire bird would be used to decorate the hat.
•Freshly laundered detachable white collars and false under sleeves
called engageantes. made of delicate
white work and gave an air of refinement and daintiness.
•Often made from fine lace, linen, lawn,
cambric were easy to remove, launder and re-stitch into position.
•Form of
ruffles or flounces of linen, cotton, or lace, and were often tacked inside the
elbow- length sleeves so they could be removed for cleaning.
•Throughout the period light colors were fairly general for
evening wear and were considered more suitable for young ladies, as were
cottons like muslin or Taftan,
•But by the 1860s cotton had lost ground as a
high-fashion fabric and silk, satin, taffeta, faille, moiré, silk poplin from
Ireland, and velvet
