Wedding Dresses in the Victorian style and in general the Victorian style can be called the oldest style, which is well illustrated in photographs. They were less fortunate, because there were no photographs then, so we can only remember them from paintings, engravings and drawings.

Paintings by artists of the first half of the 19th century and more early works often true art, but even good paintings cannot capture all the details of wedding dresses and other outfits the way photographs can. Let's look at vintage photos of brides in Victorian wedding dresses and remember the history of that time.

Victorian Wedding Dresses

Many are not satisfied with an ordinary wedding, where everything is like people, or rather, like the most ordinary people. Therefore, some couples hold their weddings in a certain style. If you are also planning a wedding soon, and have not yet decided which style is best to organize the celebration, pay attention to the Victorian era.

A Victorian-style wedding is a bright, luxurious celebration where everything is thought out to the smallest detail, despite royal scope celebrations. If you cannot afford such luxury, you can limit yourself to just a Victorian-style dress and some decorative elements for tables and interiors.

As can be seen from the photo, in the Victorian era the color of wedding dresses was white, but according to the rules White dress worn only by brides getting married for the first time. If it was not the bride’s first wedding, she did not wear a white dress and wedding flowers, because these symbols personified purity and innocence.

Queen Victoria reigned for a very long time, and during this time dresses changed. The early ones had a tight bodice, a narrow waist and a full skirt. The dress was made from different fabrics - organza, tulle, lace, gauze, silk, linen and even cashmere. And the wedding look was completed with a veil made of translucent cotton fabric or lace.

Modern Victorian-style wedding dresses may have waist-emphasizing corsets, tight sleeves, and full, layered skirts. To finally decide whether this style suits you or not, look at the original wedding photos brides

Victorian wedding dresses are quite varied, sometimes borrowing elements from other styles, so you can choose an outfit for any girl.

On October 10 in Riga, at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, the exhibition " Victorian era fashion", costumes of the 1830s-1900s from the collection of fashion historian and collector Alexander Vasiliev.
50 mannequins, more than 200 accessories in 36 display cases, the backdrop of which was enlarged vintage photocopies, watercolors and paintings. The amount of insurance for exhibits is > 500 million euros (!!!).
The President of Latvia was present at the opening of the exhibition, and during the entire period of operation (August 15 - October 10, 2009), the exhibition was visited by 25 thousand visitors. Absolute record. On some days there were as many people at the exhibition as no Riga exhibition had seen for many years. I was there a week before closing, stood in line at the ticket office and pushed my way between vintage exhibits amid Russian-Latvian-Spanish-German speech. Filmed 10 minutes before closing, people don’t even think about running away, thoughtfully peering at the luxurious outfits -

Venue of the exhibition - Decorative and Applied Art Museum in West Riga

Exhibition poster.

Well, let's start the inspection.
House dresses from the mid-19th century.
Far right - moire dress (waist 58 cm), England, 1840s.


How did they, poor people, relax at home in such dresses?

Ladies' accessories in the style of sentimentalism: bonnet, Adelaide walking shoes size 32, smelling salts bottle, tortoiseshell comb, bracelet, purse embroidered with metal beads, poetry album (1849), England, Germany, France 1840s.

Two fashions, two worlds.
An elegant dress made of cashmere with a printed floral pattern (more than 30 colors were used for printing), fabric from France, sewn in Russia.

Summer dress made of cambric with stripes and crinoline. Shawl self made, Brussels lace, France, 1860

Women's accessories from the era of aniline dyes: embroidered umbrella, hat, 3 wallets, hair clip, bracelet. England, France 1860s.

The lady's portrait in the background is larger. Good, no words!

Carmine striped wool dress (Italy), travel bag, cross stitch(France), 1860s

Bolero made of panne velvet, embroidered with beads and glass beads in the Garibaldi style. Italy, 1860s

Photo for a long memory

Men's accessories: Turkish slippers, embroidered fez, suspenders, ladies' medallion with her husband's silhouette, tin snuff-box. Europe 1850-70s

Travel and walking dresses and dresses for visits.

Signature dress with gigot sleeves and embroidered appliqué, Miss Lever Fashion House, England, 1892

Floral Art Nouveau ceta ecru ball gown with pink muslin and silk flowers applique. Fashion house Worth, Paris. From the wardrobe of Princess Stroganova, née Branitskaya. France, 1900.

Rear view of the train. Simply incredible luxury.

Ballroom accessories: mother-of-pearl and silk fan, Brussels lace border, kid glove. France, 1890s. Notice how incredible long fingers at the glove!

What caught my attention the most were the trains.

Visitors

There is something to think about when looking at this...

Ivory duchesse satin ballgown with balloon sleeves, Carney Fashion House, Geneva, 1894. Machine-embroidered tulle scarf with chain stitch and appliqués, Russia, 1890s.

Embroidery is closer

Summer walking dress made of rep and machine-made lace. France, 1886

Future fashion historian?
Corsage ball gown made of purple panvelvet, Worth fashion house, Paris, 1887

Girl's corset, cotton fabric with bones (!), handmade lace. Waist 56 cm. France, 1880s.

Women's toilet accessories: 5 boxes of powder, a bottle of perfume and soap, shoes, 2 buckles. Europe 1890s

Ecru ballgown with train, trimmed with Blonde lace, France and sortie de bal cape, satin brooch with mutton wool trim, ermine muff, Russia, 1880s.

Author - Herminia Martinez "The Beauty of Valparaiso", School of Chile, 1855. Tinted paper, pencil, chalk.

From an interview with Alexander Vasiliev 10/14/2009:

Baltic Course: Are you satisfied with the results of the Riga exhibition?
A.V.: This is genius! The exhibition in Riga was visited by more than 25 thousand people in less than two months. An undoubted record! For comparison, a similar exhibition in Istanbul was viewed by 30 thousand in four months. Do the math yourself, a ticket to the exhibition in Riga cost 3 lats, multiply by the number of visitors, you get approximately 75 thousand lats.And this in an era of crisis!
BC: What's ahead, where will the collection from Latvia go?
A.V.: From Riga, the Victorian exhibition travels to Vilnius, where from November 21 to the end of January it can be viewed at the Museum of Western Art in the Radziwill Palace.

Books on the topic
(to see the description of the book, click on the picture)

28.08.2016

In the Victorian era, casual clothing was much more formal than it is today. In clothes victorian era Etiquette played an important role. Throughout the Victorian era, clothing underwent significant changes. Victorian men's clothing did not undergo such radical changes as women's clothing. Apart from clothing, the most basic accessory for any Victorian gentleman was a tie. The term "Victorian fashion" can be applied to the clothing of the Victorian era, replete with lace, frills, and flowing silhouettes.

The styles popular in the time of Queen Victoria emphasized the grace and sophistication of this era, which was considered the pinnacle of civilization, and its distance from everything crude and wild in human nature.

Victorian era. Corset, bustle, crinoline, crinolet.

Women's clothing: Dresses with a skirt long enough to cover the legs. Showing your ankles covered only with stockings was risky and was frowned upon in society. Mass production of artificial dyes has created a variety of colors in clothing that did not exist before.

Victorian style inspiration - 10 films about the Victorian era

The cane could consist of several compartments in which a bottle of perfume could be carried. Often, if glasses had lenses, they would be removed and the empty frame would become part of the outfit. Although the fabric for Victorian clothing was industrially produced, there was no ready-made dress. Tailors and seamstresses made custom-made clothes.

Towards the end of the era, crinolines disappeared from view and skirts became narrower again, but now included bustles. What has always remained in fashion is the corset. The styles of corsets changed throughout the era, but their purpose remained unchanged. To wear a Victorian dress, you had to cinch the waist tightly. The goal of young girls was to make their waists as thin as possible.

The history of men's fashion can be traced by observing the styles of trousers. IN early years During Victoria's reign, the legs were covered with tight-fitting fabric. The Victorian suit was completed with a long vest and trousers, from under which polished shoes were visible. If you're new to dressing in Victorian style, keep in mind that you'll first need a vest, coat and hat, perhaps with one or two accessories.

When creating a basic Victorian wardrobe, first of all get a vest

The Victorian waistcoat was the centerpiece of any outfit. But silk vests continued to dominate evening fashion, just as they do today. Other styles of hats were also seen throughout the Victorian period, including wide-brimmed fedoras and flat-topped pie hats.

In the 1880s, frock coats were worn both during the day and in the evening. The frock coat was the most practical item in the Victorian wardrobe. In the 1870s and later, the men's suit gained popularity. Men's suits: classic and modern with a spacious jacket. Modern people This may seem rather strange, but it was considered fashionable by Victorian era gentlemen.

Although Victorian shirts resembled modern ones in many ways, they were much looser cut because sewing and cutting technology was limited. The author actually has very mixed feelings about Victorian fashion. I really like it aesthetically, but it horrifies me from the point of view of practical sensations. But there was really little benefit from this, to put it mildly.

There were models that allowed you to sit, at least in the 90s

The Victorian style included additions to dresses in the form of luxurious lace shawls or capes. They showed off on their necks massive jewelry with stones and amulets of that era in the form of: doves, hearts, snakes or cupids.

Decent clothing covered the entire body except the hands and head, although these were often covered with gloves and hats. Bathing suits of that time covered the entire body and consisted of many meters of fabric. The exception was suits where the arms were open from the elbows.

Shoes made of good, high-quality leather could always be made to order. In the 1850s, mass production of shoes began that could be bought in stores. In a good manner It was considered to dress according to age and position in society.

The rich had their own umbrellas, while less wealthy people rented them in rainy weather. If funds did not allow for such attention to be given to clothing, families sewed clothes themselves, or found used ones. The poor visited stores of second-hand clothes, which even several people before them could have worn, but which were still suitable.

Tight sleeves gave way to leg o'mutton sleeves, gathered at the shoulder, which remained fashionable until the end of Queen Victoria's era. They looked no simpler than their predecessors, and were also richly decorated with flowers, feathers and lace. During evening outings, one shoulder and upper chest could be exposed. Only representatives of the upper and middle class dressed this way. The length of the coat changed, the cinched waist (men also wore something like a corset) gave way to a more loose jacket, in which it was easier to breathe.

Checkerboard and checkered patterns began to appear more often, although mainly in rural areas. Like the women, the man tied a silk scarf around his neck. He had a tight-fitting cap on his head that completely covered his hair.

Contemporary square-toed boots, black trousers and a modern white tuxedo shirt can complete the Victorian look and add some flair.

By the end of the century, wool and cotton vests in more conservative colors became more typical for casual wear, and the three-piece suit was gaining popularity.

Like vests, hats came in different styles. In the second half of the 19th century, frock coats prevailed - men's double-breasted jackets, fitted in front and back, which reached almost to the knee. Tailcoats - jackets, the length of which reached to the knee at the back, black What colors go with black: less gloom and pathos, have been popular for almost a century.

Victorian gentlemen wore many different waistcoats, in almost every color, style and fabric. Games and cycling have become catalysts for change in men's fashion Victorian era. By the late 1800s, long johns were introduced and a looser style of dress became acceptable during the daytime. A Victorian costume was not complete without a cane. Victorian fashion included glasses, but they were used only for image, not for vision correction.

It originated during the reign of Queen Victoria, from whom, in fact, it took its name. This era was distinguished by wealth and beauty, which left its mark on the clothing of the Victorian era. Naked parts of the body have become the height of indecency, but emphasizing female figure on the contrary, it has become fashionable. Thus, the female silhouette consisted of full skirt and an excessively narrow waist. In the latter case, corsets were actively used. Moreover, some corsets were so long that they had a V-shaped silhouette.

Victorian era - clothing in England

Graceful thin waist, sometimes reaching 40 cm in volume, was considered the ideal of beauty. However, women had to pay dearly for this beauty. Victorian clothing, namely dresses, were so tight that they squeezed chest. This often caused ladies to faint, and this state also became the standard of attractiveness. Crinolines are also being replaced by bustles, with the help of which women gave the back of the outfit an excessive bulge. The fashion for such protuberances in clothing has conquered the whole world. Victorian England, and only since 1975 narrow silhouettes have come into fashion. However, the narrow silhouette does not gain a foothold in fashion for long, as it creates inconvenience when walking, so the fashion for bustles soon returns, only now it is slightly modified and gives bulge not only from the back, but also from the sides.

Another striking feature of Victorian era clothing is the rich color. The fabrics were treated with aniline, which made the clothes incredibly bright. In addition, the length of the outfits has also changed. Thus, the Victorian style of women's clothing allowed them to bare their legs to the ankles, which was a real revolution. Long gloves and the presence of an umbrella are becoming trendy. This attribute not only complemented the image of a Victorian lady, but also protected the skin from tanning, which was out of fashion in those days.