Victorian Cloth
Posted in Antique Linens and Textiles on 04/17/2011 04:16 am by admin |
US $128.00
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Victorian Cloth
Victorian Cloth 100% Silk Made in Italy
Victorian Era Dresses
The Victorian Era was named after the reigning monarch of that period, Queen Victoria. The typical Victorian standards and fashions of this period were English, and UK, but were copied by other countries.
The 19th century saw a change in the manufacture of clothing, from hand-made and made to order, to a great rise in the amount of clothing that was made in factories. This, together with advancements in communications, meant that fashions could change more rapidly. Whereas previously a trend stayed in vogue for about a decade, they were now changing on a yearly basis.
Bonnets became very fashionable in the 1830s. Dainty, and heavily decorated, they were far more subtle than the previous fashion of the large 'Great' hats. Emphasizing this new gentility, dress sleeves became narrower, and a popular hairstyle was that of ringlets.
By the 1840s, sleeves were even more narrow, with draped shoulder seams which restricted the arm movements of the wearer. The waist was very narrow and tight, with the addition of boning in the bodice. These all added to the view that women were the 'weaker' sex.
In 1841, cartridge pleats drew up skirts, whilst flat pleats gave width to hemlines. Skirts continued to get wider, so that by 1842 additional petticoats were required to support them. These were linen, and stiffened with horse hair. The word 'crinoline' was derived from the French word 'crin' meaning horse hair. It was originally used to describe stiffened garment foundations, but later referred to the large hooped petticoats in fashion in 1856.
Men's fashions in clothing, though, were far less volatile, with trends remaining for longer periods!
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