Victorian Maiden Fashion

Corsets are an iconic fashion item for women during the Victorian era.

Victorian fashion refers to British fashion styles during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. Women as well as young ladies and teenage girls wore fairly elaborate clothing emphasizing an hourglass shape. Skirt length varied according to age. Little girls wore their skirts fairly short, teenagers wore them to mid-calf or the top of their high boots, and young ladies and women wore their skirts full length.

Petticoats

A petticoat is an underskirt that was worn underneath a dress or a skirt. It was a separate piece of clothing that was not attached to a skirt, chemise, or corset. During the Victorian era, flounced or full-skirted petticoats made of crinoline became very popular. Also, there were often many flounces attached to the bottom of the skirt. Flounces were decorative pieces of fabric, often made of lace or patterned fabrics, that would show a little at the bottom of the skirt. During the early Victorian era, hoops were fashionable. Petticoats would often be worn over a layer of hoops that made skirts and dresses even more voluminous. However, after 1860, slimmer skirts became more fashionable and hoop skirts fell out of fashion.

Bustles

After 1860, slimmer skirts became more popular, and as full-skirt petticoats and hoop skirts became less popular, bustles became fashionable. The first bustle was the soft-tiered bustle, where fabric was bunched up in the back. These bustles became popular for the "polonaise" style; they were draped and accessorized with jewelery and fringes to make elaborate trains. However, 20 years later, by 1880, the hard bustle became the style of the day. These bustles had fewer fringes and less draping. The hard bustle was more shelf-like, and was paired with a much flatter skirt in the front.

Corsets

Corsets are one of the most recognized fashion items of the Victorian era. They are waistcoats made of flexible fabric such as cotton, linen, or silk, that have boning in them to help them shape a woman's figure. Even young girls and teenagers wore corsets. They were worn very tightly laced, often extending from the breast area to just above or below the hips. Tightly laced corsets give an hourglass shape to women, and the introduction of steel boning and steel eyelets allowed for even tighter lacing of corsets. "Tight lacing" was the practice of wearing an extremely tight corset over an extended period of time to attempt to alter a young woman's figure permanently.

Swimwear

Victorian swimwear for women was made of wool, serge or flannel. Women's swimwear of the era was often a two-piece bathing suit, belted or not. The top piece was known as the bodice, and was often jacket-like in construction and shape. The bottom half featured loose three-quarter-length trousers called "bloomers" -- named after suffragette Amelia Bloomer.

References

• Swimwear in the Early Days
• Victorian Fashion History for Women: The Mid-Victorian Silhouette
• Early Victorian Costume History 1837-1860