Romantic and Victorian Era Fashion

As fashion continued to progress throughout the ages, the importance of good fashion became more and more heightened. During the romantic era, the wardrobe had become increasingly more decorative and high-maintenance. The main things that could be taken out of this era were the fuller skirts, and the waistline became more normal in the apparel. Aside from the natural positioning of the waistline, the dreadful corseting was making a comeback as well. Based on some of my research, the Romantic Era was one in which females were once again put onto the back burner. During this time, women were looked at as more fragile and delicate. Many of this had to do with the emotional state that they were believed to have. Although women were looked at in such a fragile state, on the contrary, they were also looked down upon if they did not uphold the high moral standards. This could be seen as slightly contradictory, but nonetheless, kept the fashion tendencies high-class.

Now to the Victorian Era… Queen Victoria herself influenced all of the fashion during the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. Queen Victoria was known to be modest to a point, and she was very much a model for leadership, motherhood, and marriage. She essentially had the entire package going for her. All of the clothing that was influenced by the Queen, were not only influential, but also reflected her values during that time period. One of the main articles of clothing that came out of this time period, were the exceptionally long and full skirts. These skirts had a tendency to completely envelope the bottom portion of the female figure. In this time period that is when hoops began to emerge. These hoops were essentially large rings that would support the skirt and many other layers underneath of those skirts. Those skirts began to be the greater attraction in regards to the elegant outfits. The top portion of the dresses and skirts were still kept relatively tiny. These proportions were still being designed so that women looked as though they had a weak upper frame. This was probably one of the more modest eras in our history. Although the clothing was incredibly elegant, materials and garments covered for the most part the entirety of the female body. This was also when females sported higher end bonnets as well. These bonnets covered the females’ faces so that from the side, people could not really see their profiles.

Now, one may think to themselves, why did the females never rebel from wearing these styles of clothing? This was the era that the problems with the restrictive dress began to arise. Many people would commonly recognize this portion of history as the beginning stages of the suffrage movement. More concerns with the health and welfare of woman began to surface during this time. Females began to see this restrictive clothing as unhealthy and restricting in regards to what they could physically do as well.

As a transition into next week, this is when bloomers first made their debut! More next week on that…

http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/dress/historic/romantic/romantic.htm