1844 fashion plate depicting fashionable clothing for men and women, including illustrations of a glove, a fanchon, and bonnetsIllustration depicting fashions throughout the 19th century
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. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. Various movement in architecture, literature, and the decorative and visual arts as well as a changing perception of gender roles also influenced fashion.
Under Queen Victoria's reign, England enjoyed a period of growth along with technological advancement. Mass production of sewing machines in the 1850s as well as the advent of synthetic dyes introduced major changes in fashion.[1] Clothing could be made more quickly and cheaply. 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. 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.[1]
Women's fashions
During the Victorian Era, women generally worked in the private, domestic sphere.[2] 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. 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 paid work entirely. Dress reflected this new, increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and was not intended to be utilitarian.
Clothes were seen as an expression of women's place in society,[3] hence were differentiated in terms of social class. 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. Middle-class women exhibited similar dress styles; however, the decorations were not as extravagant. The many layers and the construction of garments made women's clothing was much heavier than today, and more restrictive, especially in the waist (due to the stiffness of the corset) and the shoulders (due to the popularity of dropped shoulder seams). The amount and quality of fabric was often a display of wealth,
Picture of 1850s evening dress with a bertha neckline
Neck-line: For day, a close neckline was ubiquitous for most of the period. For evening, a wide, low neckline was popular, often with a bertha.[4] This cut exposed a woman's shoulders and it sometimes was trimmed over with a three to six-inch deep lace flounce, or with several horizontal bands of fabric pleats. This décolleté evening style popularized shawls or capelets and required a corset without shoulder straps. The fashion was to produce two bodices, one closed décolletage for day and one décolleté for evening.
Boning: Corsets were ubiquitous, helping to shape the female body into the fashionable silhouette. They function as an undergarment which can be adjusted to bind tightly around the waist, hold and train a person's waistline. It also helped stop the bodice from horizontal creasing. Corsets 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).
Engageants would be worn to fill open sleeves.
Sleeves: In the early Victorian era, the gigot sleeve of the Romantic Era began to tighten into a slimmer line. The armsyce was dropped off the shoulder to emphasize the hourglass silhouette.[5] However, as crinolines started to develop in fashion in the 1850s, sleeves turned to be like large bells known as pagoda sleeves. Engageantes, which were usually made of lace, linen, or lawn, with cambric and broderie anglaise, were worn under the sleeves. 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. They commonly appear under the bell-shaped sleeves of day dresses. Sleeves tightened again during the 1880s and the armscye moved back up the shoulders.[6]
Silhouette: Silhouette changed over time supported by the evolution of the undergarment. In earlier days, wide skirts were supported by layers of petticoats which used horsehair in the weave. By 1856, the hooped underpinning known as the cage crinoline was used to give skirts a bouffant shape. The 1860s saw fullness slowly move toward the back of the skirt, with the "first bustle" 1870s silhouette requiring the crinolette and then a bustle to support the fashionable draperies such as the polonaise. The bustle disappeared in the late 1870s and returned in a more shelf-like form in the "second bustle" 1880s, with hooped undergarments finally falling out of favor at the start of the 1890s.
Victorian-era cosmetics were typically minimal, as makeup was associated with promiscuity. Some cosmetics contained toxic or caustic ingredients like lead, mercury, ammonia, and arsenic.
1830s dress style
An undressed woman In 1837, featuring a fashionable hairstyle, busked corset, and layers of petticoats.English day dress of around the time of Victoria's ascendancy, with bow details and puffed sleeves.
During the start of Queen Victoria's reign in 1837, the fashionable silhouette was an hourglass shape with wide shoulders, emphasized by puffed gigot sleeves, a full skirt, and a slim waist.
Corsets were extended over the abdomen and down towards the hips, worn with a busk.[7] A chemise was worn under the corset, and cut relatively low in order to prevent exposure. Over the corset, was the tight-fitting bodice featuring a high, straight waistline. Along with the bodice was a long skirt, featuring layers of horsehair petticoats[7] worn underneath to create fullness; while placing emphasis on the small waist. To contrast the narrow waist, low and wide necklines were thus used.
1840s dress style
English silk day dress of the second half of the 1840s, with dropped shoulder seams, tight sleeves, and a pointed waist.
In the 1840s, collapsed sleeves, low necklines, elongated V-shaped bodices, and fuller skirts characterized the dress styles of women. The 1840s style was perceived as conservative and "Gothic" compared to the flamboyance of the 1830s, with the silhouette tightening, lengthening, and a move away from elaborate trims.[8]
At the start of the decade, bodices lengthened to the natural waist, and met at a point in the front. In accordance with the heavily boned corset and seam lines on the bodice as well, the popular low and narrow waist was thus accentuated.
At the start of the decade, sleeves of bodices were tight at the top, but puffed around the area between the elbow and before the wrist because of the mancheron or gigot.[9] This soon disappeared and was replaced with a tight line.
The second half of the decade saw sleeves flaring out from the elbow into a funnel shape; requiring undersleeves to be worn in order to cover the lower arms.[10]
Skirts lengthened, while widths increased due to the introduction of the horsehair crinoline in 1847; becoming a status symbol of wealth.
Extra layers of flounces and petticoats, also further emphasised the fullness of these wide skirts. In compliance with the narrow waist though, skirts were therefore attached to bodices using very tight organ pleats secured at each fold.[9] This served as a decorative element for a relatively plain skirt.
1850s dress style
A day ensemble ca. 1855, featuring tiers of ruffles and pagoda style sleeves.
The hourglass silhouette further exaggerated in the 1850s. Necklines of day dresses were sometimes cut into a V-shape, causing a need to cover the bust area with a chemisette. In contrast, evening dresses featured a bertha collar, which exposed the shoulders. Bodices began to extend over the hips, while the sleeves opened further and increased in fullness. Skirts were domelike, with increasing volume as tiers of flounces becoming popular decoration.
A print displaying the fashionable silhouette of the 1850s and then the cage crinoline needed to support it.
In 1856, the invention of the first cage crinoline allowed for even wider skirts. The cage crinoline was constructed by joining thin metal strips together to form a circular structure that could solely support the large width of the skirt. This was made possible by technology which allowed iron to be turned into steel, which could then be drawn into fine wires.[1] Although often ridiculed by journalists and cartoonists of the time as the crinoline swelled in size, this innovation freed women from the heavy weight of petticoats and was a much more hygienic option.[8]
Meanwhile, the invention of synthetic dyes made brighter colours more accessible and women experimented with gaudy or saturated colours.[1]
1860s dress style
English dress in 1864, showcasing bishop sleeves and simple trim.
The 1860s saw the shape of skirts change from bouffant and domelike to pyramidal and eventually elliptical while the hourglass form remained popular. Trims simplified and became more geometric with skirts simplifying from pleats to gored panels.[11]
An English silk morning dress from 1865, with machine-made lace.
During the first half of the 1860s, crinolines began decreasing in size at the top, while retaining their amplitude at the bottom, creating a more pyramidal shape.[12] Bodices remained relatively unchanged, ending at the natural waistline with wide pagoda sleeves or bishop sleeves. By the middle of the decade, the shape of the crinoline became flatter in the front and more voluminous behind, often with a train, requiring an elliptical crinoline. In 1868, Skirt widths diminished even further, while fullness and length remained at the back. In order to emphasize the back, the train was gathered together to form soft folds and draperies.[13][14]
1870s dress style
A fashion plate of early 1870s day and evening dress.
The style of the 1870s was characterized by an abundance of draperies and trims, in a rococo revival. The trend for broad skirts slowly disappeared during the 1870s, as women started to prefer a slimmer silhouette. The waistline of the early 1870s was high, necklines varied, while armsyce remained off the shoulder. An overskirt was extremely popular, often tied up into an apron effect at the front with a polonaise or puffed draperies at the back.[15]
A black net ball dress from 1874, with back draperies and an overskirt.
Over time though, the overskirt shortened into a detached basque, resulting in an elongation of the bodice over the hips. As the bodices grew longer in 1873, the polonaise was thus introduced into the Victorian dress styles. A polonaise is a garment featuring both an overskirt and bodice together. The tournure was also introduced, and along with the polonaise, it created an illusion of an exaggerated rear end.
By 1874, skirts began to taper in the front and were adorned with trimmings, while sleeves tightened around the wrist area. Towards 1875 to 1876, bodices featured long but even tighter laced waists, and converged at a sharp point in front. Bustles lengthened and slipped even lower, causing the fullness of the skirt to further diminish. Extra fabric was gathered together behind in pleats, thus creating a narrower but longer tiered, draped train too. Due to the longer trains, petticoats had to be worn underneath in order to keep the dress clean.
An English sheer summer dress with polonaise from around 1875.
However, when 1877 approached, dresses moulded to fit the figure,[12] as increasing slimmer silhouettes were favored. This was allowed by the invention of the cuirass bodice, which extends downwards to the hips and upper thighs. Although dress styles took on a more natural form, corsetry was still required and the train was often supported with a cage. Armscye, for the first time in the period, moved from a dropped position up to the shoulders and would remain there for the rest of the era.
1880s dress style
The lobster tail bustle of around 1885.
The saw the growing popularity of austere, menswear inspired tailoring.[8] Some credited the change in silhouette to the Victorian dress reform, which consisted of a few movements including the Aesthetic Costume Movement and the Rational Dress Movement in the mid-to-late Victorian Era advocating natural silhouette, lightweight underwear, and rejecting tightlacing. However, these movements did not gain widespread support. Others noted the growth in cycling and tennis as acceptable feminine pursuits that demanded a greater ease of movement in women's clothing.[1] Still others argued that the growing popularity of tailored semi-masculine suits was simply a fashionable style, and indicated neither advanced views nor the need for practical clothes.[8]
An 1887 portrait of English evening dress with higher shoulder placement, simple trims, and a V-shaped neckline.
After a period of slim, train-less skirts with heavy decoration, the bustle made a re-appearance in 1883, and it featured a further exaggerated horizontal protrusion at the back. Due to the additional fullness, drapery moved towards the sides or front panel of the skirt instead. Bodices on the other hand, shortened and ended above the hips. Skirts were much less full than the last time the bustle was in fashion in the 1870s and instead focused on a slim front with a shelf-like back protrusion.
Sleeves of bodices were thinner and tighter, while necklines became higher again, with a high collar being ubiquitous for day, a trend that would continue into the 1890s. For evening, the bertha fell out of favor, replaced by V-shaped necklines or draped styles due to the new higher shoulder.[16]
1890s dress style
English socialite Lady Beatrice Pole-Carew in the mid-1890s, with puffed sleeves.
By 1890, the crinoline and bustle were fully abandoned, and skirts flared in an A-line. Necklines were high, while sleeves of bodices initially peaked at the shoulders, but increased in size in the middle of the decade to a puffed leg-of-mutton style.The sleeves grew to a volume rivaling the 1830s and even sometimes required a cushion to retain their fullness. This sleeve style narrowed down towards the end of the decade. Women also adopted the style of the tailored jacket during this period, with menswear influences such as necktie inspired neckwear continuing from the previous decade.
Hats and headwear
Emma Hill by Ford Madox Brown (1853), a woman wearing a later version of the poke bonnetPerched bonnet style of the early 1870s.
Hats were crucial to a respectable appearance for both men and women. To go bareheaded was simply not proper. The top hat, for example, was standard formal wear for upper- and middle-class men.[8] For women, the styles of hats changed over time and were designed to match their outfits.
During the early Victorian decades, hats were modest in size and design, straw and fabric bonnets being the popular choice. Poke bonnets, which had been worn during the late Regency period, had high, small crowns and brims that grew larger until the 1830s, when the face of a woman wearing a poke bonnet could only be seen directly from the front. They had rounded brims, echoing the rounded form of the bell-shaped hoop skirts.
Bonnets shrunk at the end of the 1860s and moved to a perched position in the early 1870s as hairstyles grew in scale and intricacy. This led to the popularization of hats, which became the headwear of choice for the remainder of the Victorian era.[17]
Flower pot style hat of 1885.
The 1880s saw a hat inspired by the top hat for women known as the flowerpot hat, and the 1890s saw the popularity of the boater. The hats of the late Victorian era were covered with elaborate creations of silk flowers, ribbons, and above all, exotic plumes; hats sometimes included entire exotic birds that had been stuffed. Many of these plumes came from birds in the Florida everglades, which were nearly made entirely extinct by overhunting. By 1899, early environmentalists like Adeline Knapp were engaged in efforts to curtail the hunting for plumes. By 1900, more than five million birds a year were being slaughtered, and nearly 95 per cent of Florida's shore birds had been killed by plume hunters.[18]
Shoes
The women's shoes of the early Victorian period were narrow and heelless, in black or white satin. By 1850s and 1860s, they were slightly broader with a low heel and made of leather or cloth. Ankle-length laced or buttoned boots were also popular. From the 1870s to the twentieth century, heels grew higher and toes more pointed. Low-cut pumps were worn for the evening.[8]
During the 1840s, men wore tight-fitting, calf length frock coats and a waistcoat or vest. Sleeves were full at the top and waists were tight, creating an hourglass form. Waistcoats were single- or double-breasted, with shawl or notched collars, and might be finished in double points at the lowered waist. For more formal occasions, a cutaway morning coat was worn with light trousers during the daytime, and a dark tail coat and trousers was worn in the evening. Shirts were made of linen or cotton with low collars, occasionally turned down, and were worn with wide cravats or neck ties. Trousers had fly fronts, and breeches were used for formal functions and when horseback riding. Men wore top hats, with wide brims in sunny weather.
During the 1850s, men started wearing shirts with high upstanding or turnover collars and four-in-hand neckties tied in a bow, or tied in a knot with the pointed ends sticking out like "wings". The upper-class continued to wear top hats, and bowler hats were worn by the working class.
In the 1860s, men started wearing wider neckties that were tied in a bow or looped into a loose knot and fastened with a stickpin. Frock coats were shortened to knee-length and were worn for business, while the mid-thigh length sack coat slowly displaced the frock coat for less-formal occasions, with the overall effect of a looser silhouette. Top hats briefly became the very tall "stovepipe" shape, but a variety of other hat shapes were popular.
During the 1870s, three-piece suits grew in popularity along with patterned fabrics for shirts. Neckties were the four-in-hand and, later, the Ascot ties. A narrow ribbon tie was an alternative for tropical climates, especially in the Americas. Both frock coats and sack coats became shorter and more form fitting. Flat straw boaters were worn when boating.
During the 1880s, formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark waistcoat, a white bow tie, and a shirt with a winged collar. In mid-decade, the dinner jacket or tuxedo, was used in more relaxed formal occasions. The Norfolk jacket and tweed or woolen breeches were used for rugged outdoor pursuits such as shooting. Knee-length topcoats, often with contrasting velvet or fur collars, and calf-length overcoats were worn in winter. Men's shoes had higher heels and a narrow toe.
Starting from the 1890s, the blazer was introduced, and was worn for sports, sailing, and other casual activities.[19]
Throughout much of the Victorian era most men wore fairly short hair. This was often accompanied by various forms of facial hair including moustaches, side-burns, and full beards. A clean-shaven face did not come back into fashion until the end of the 1880s and early 1890s.[20]
Distinguishing what men really wore from what was marketed to them in periodicals and advertisements is difficult, as reliable records do not exist.[21]
Mourning black
Victoria's five daughters (Alice, Helena, Beatrice, Victoria and Louise), photographed wearing mourning black beneath a bust of their late father, Prince Albert (1862)Mourning Dress, 1894–95
In Britain, black is the colour traditionally associated with mourning for the dead. The customs and etiquette expected of men, and especially women, were rigid during much of the Victorian era. The expectations depended on a complex hierarchy of close or distant relationship with the deceased. The closer the relationship, the longer the mourning period and the wearing of black. The wearing of full black was known as First Mourning, which had its own expected attire, including fabrics, and an expected duration of 4 to 18 months. Following the initial period of First Mourning, the mourner would progress to Second Mourning, a transition period of wearing less black, which was followed by Ordinary Mourning, and then Half-mourning. Some of these stages of mourning were shortened or skipped completely if the mourner's relationship to the deceased was more distant. Half-mourning was a transition period when black was replaced by acceptable colours such as lavender and mauve, possibly considered acceptable transition colours because of the tradition of Church of England (and Catholic) clergy wearing lavender or mauve stoles for funeral services, to represent the Passion of Christ.[22]
The mourning dress on the right was worn by Queen Victoria, "it shows the traditional touches of mourning attire, which she wore from the death of her husband, Prince Albert (1819–1861), until her own death."[23]
Norms for mourning
Manners and Rules of Good Society, or, Solecisms to be Avoided (London, Frederick Warne & Co., 1887) gives clear instructions, such as the following:[24]
6 months: no crepe, silk or wool replaces bombazine; in last 3 months jet jewellery and ribbons can be added
6 months: colours permitted are grey, lavender, mauve, and black-and-grey
Daughter for parent
6 months: black with black or white crepe (for young girls); no linen cuffs and collars; no jewellery for first 2 months
4 months: less crepe
–
2 months as above
Wife for husband's parents
18 months in black bombazine with crepe
–
3 months in black
3 months as above
Parent for son- or daughter-in-law's parent
– Black armband in representation of someone lost
–
1-month black
–
Second wife for parent of a first wife
–
–
3 months black
–
The complexity of these etiquette rules extends to specific mourning periods and attire for siblings, step-parents, aunts and uncles distinguished by blood and by marriage, nieces, nephews, first and second cousins, children, infants, and "connections" (who were entitled to ordinary mourning for a period of "1–3 weeks, depending on level of intimacy"). Men were expected to wear mourning black to a lesser extent than women, and for a shorter mourning period. After the mid-19th century, men would wear a black hatband and black suit, but for only half the prescribed period of mourning expected of women. Widowers were expected to mourn for a mere three months, whereas the proper mourning period expected for widows was up to four years.[25] Women who mourned in black for longer periods were accorded great respect in public for their devotion to the departed, the most prominent example being Queen Victoria herself.
Women with lesser financial means tried to keep up with the example being set by the middle and upper classes by dyeing their daily dress. Dyers made most of their income during the Victorian period by dyeing clothes black for mourning.[26]
Technological advancement
Technological advancements not only influenced the economy but brought a major change in the fashion styles worn by men and women. As the Victorian era was based on the principles of gender, race and class.[27] Much advancement was in favor of the upper class as they were the ones who could afford the latest technology and change their fashion styles accordingly. In 1830s there was introduction of horse hair crinoline that became a symbol of status and wealth as only the upper-class women could wear it. In 1850s there were more fashion technological advancements hence 1850s could rightly be called a revolution in the Victorian fashion industry such as the innovation of artificial cage crinoline that gave women an artificial hourglass silhouette this meant that women did not have to wear layers of petticoats anymore to achieve illusion of wide hips and it was also hygienic.[28] Synthetic dyes were also introduced that added new bright colours to garments. These technological advancement gave women freedom and choices. In 1855's Haute couture was introduced as tailoring became more mainstream in years to follow.[29]
Charles Frederick Worth, a prominent English designer, became popular amongst the upper class though its city of destiny always is Paris. Haute couture became popular at the same time when sewing machines were invented.[30] Hand sewn techniques arose and were a distinction in compared to the old ways of tailoring. Princess Eugenie of France wore the Englishman dressmaker, Charles Frederick Worth's couture and he instantly became famous in France though he had just arrived in Paris a few years ago. In 1855, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Britain welcomed Napoleon III and Eugenie of France to a full state visit to England. Eugenie was considered a fashion icon in France. She and Queen Victoria became instant friends. Queen Victoria, who had been the fashion icon for European high fashion, was inspired by Eugenie's style and the fashions she wore. Later Queen Victoria also appointed Charles Frederick Worth as her dress maker and he became a prominent designer amongst the European upper class. Charles Frederick Worth is known as the father of the haute couture as later the concept of labels were also invented in the late 19th century as custom, made to fit tailoring became mainstream.[31]
By the 1860s, when Europe was all about made-to-fit tailoring, crinolines were considered impractical. In the 1870s, women preferred more slimmer silhouettes, hence bodices grew longer and the polonaise, a skirt and bodice made together, was introduced. In 1870s the Cuirass Bodice, a piece of armour that covers the torso and functions like a corset, was invented. Towards the end of Victoria's reign, dresses were flared naturally as crinolines were rejected by middle-class women. Designers such as Charles Frederick Worth were also against them. All these inventions and changes in fashion led to women's liberation as tailored looks improved posture and were more practical.[30]
Home decor started spare, veered into the elaborately draped and decorated style we today regard as Victorian, then embraced the retro-chic of William Morris as well as pseudo-Japonaiserie.
"The proper length for little girls' skirts at various ages", from Harper's Bazaar, showing a 1900 idea of how the hemline should descend towards the ankle as a girl got older
Many myths and exaggerations about the period persist to the modern day. Examples include the idea of men's clothing is seen as formal and stiff, women's as elaborate and over-done; clothing covered the entire body, and even the glimpse of an ankle was scandalous. Critics contend that corsets constricted women's bodies and women's lives. Homes are described as gloomy, dark, cluttered with massive and over-ornate furniture and proliferating bric-a-brac. Myth has it that even piano legs were scandalous, and covered with tiny pantalettes.
In truth, men's formal clothing may have been less colourful than it was in the previous century, but brilliant waistcoats and cummerbunds provided a touch of colour, and smoking jackets and dressing gowns were often of rich Oriental brocades. This phenomenon was the result of the growing textile manufacturing sector, developing mass production processes, and increasing attempts to market fashion to men.[21]Corsets stressed a woman's sexuality, exaggerating hips and bust by contrast with a tiny waist. Women's evening gowns bared the shoulders and the tops of the breasts. The jersey dresses of the 1880s may have covered the body, but the stretchy novel fabric fit the body like a glove.[32]
Home furnishing was not necessarily ornate or overstuffed. However, those who could afford lavish draperies and expensive ornaments, and wanted to display their wealth, would often do so. Since the Victorian era was one of increased social mobility, there were ever more nouveaux riches making a rich show.
The items used in decoration may also have been darker and heavier than those used today, simply as a matter of practicality. London was noisy and its air was full of soot from countless coal fires. Hence those who could afford it draped their windows in heavy, sound-muffling curtains, and chose colours that didn't show soot quickly. When all washing was done by hand, curtains were not washed as frequently as they might be today.
There is no actual evidence that piano legs were considered scandalous. Pianos and tables were often draped with shawls or cloths—but if the shawls hid anything, it was the cheapness of the furniture. There are references to lower-middle-class families covering up their pine tables rather than show that they couldn't afford mahogany. The piano leg story seems to have originated in the 1839 book, A Diary in America written by Captain Frederick Marryat, as a satirical comment on American prissiness.[33]
Victorian manners may have been as strict as imagined—on the surface. One simply did not speak publicly about sex, childbirth, and such matters, at least in the respectable middle and upper classes. However, as is well known, discretion covered a multitude of sins. Prostitution flourished. Upper-class men and women indulged in adulterous liaisons.
1 2 Shannon, Brent (2004). "Refashioning Men: Fashion, Masculinity, and the Cultivation of the Male Consumer in Britain, 1860–1914". Victorian Studies. 46 (4): 597–630. doi:10.1353/vic.2005.0022.
1 2 Martin, Richard; Koda, Harold. Haute Couture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
↑ Saillard, Olivier; Zazzo, Anne. Paris Haute Couture. Skira Flammarion.
↑ Gernsheim, Alison (1981). Victorian & Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey (Newed.). New York: Dover Publications. p.65. ISBN0-486-24205-6.
↑ Marryat, C.B. (1839). A Diary in America: With Remarks on Its Institutions. Vol.2. London, England: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans. pp.246–247. From pp. 246-247: "I was requested by a lady to escort her to a seminary for young ladies, and on being ushered into the reception-room, conceive my astonishment at beholding a square piano-forte with four limbs. However, that the ladies who visited their daughters, might feel in its full force the extreme delicacy of the mistress of the establishment, and her care to preserve in their utmost purity the ideas of the young ladies under her charge, she had dressed all these four limbs in modest little trousers, with frills at the bottom of them!"
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William Powell Frith's painting of 1883 contrasts women's Aesthetic dress (left and right) with fashionable attire (center).
Day dress, c. 1875 James Tissot painting.
Portrait by Alexander Melville of Queen Victoria, 1845
An artistic interior: Dante Gabriel Rossetti reading to Theodore Watts-Dunton in the drawing room at No. 16 Cheyne Walk, 1882
Men's swimwear: Cartoon from Punch by George du Maurier
