To broaden my research on Victorian beauty ideals and trends, I have decided to look into women and mens fashion also, as when I am creating my character for make-up in motion I will have to consider the accessories, hairstyle and clothing I may want my model to wear to create the overall Victorian theme.
Reading the book;
'Victorian and Edwardian Fashions for Women 1840 to 1919'. By Kristina Harris, Copyright 1995.
Page 21 Chapter 3 '1840's Little women'.
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| An 1846 Fashion plate featuring a 'low corsage' dress.
The image above is taken from the book, and shows a 1840's Victorian woman wearing a 'Low corsage dress', which consists of the bell shaped hoop skirt and also the low corsage corset made from whalebone and wood. The traditional 1840's Victorian man wore, 'Tightly clinched waists, with rounded chests and flared frock-coats that gave them an hour glass figure inspired by Prince Albert. They also wore tight trousers and waistcoats, with high upstanding collars and neckties tied around them Hair was worn quite long, but sweet to the sides. Moustaches and sideburns were popular." - History of Fashion 1840- 1900 Victoria and Albert Museum, online source.
Like Victorian women, men seemed to take pride in their appearance and clothing a lot and looked very smart and formal from day to day. Something similar between Victorian fashion for both men and women is that both outfits consist of a lot of little details and structuring to create the desired shaping of their clothes etc, waistcoats, corsets and hoop skirts.
" The stay extends not only over the bosom but also all over the abdomen and back down to the hips.;"The Handbook of the toilet informed its readers about the new 1841 style of corset. "Besides being garnished with Whalebone, to say nothing of an immense wooden, metal or whalebone busk... they have been growing in length... the gait of (women) is generally stiff and awkward..."
This section from the book, explains that the new style of the 1841 corset, which consists of Whalebone and other hard man made materials that create the structure of the Victorian women's corset, was very uncomfortable and awkward to wear day to day. I feel that Victorian Women's fashion changed and developed in ways for the body of a woman to look more shapely, slim, curvy and appealing for men, but this of course was created in extreme ways.
"Why women of the Forties thought shaping them-selves like bells made them more graceful and attractive is dubious. But in order to achieve the bell look, skirts were usually heavily lined, small bustles were often built into skirts, and dresses of heavy fabrics frequently had pads at the hip and derriere, sandwiched between the dress and its lining. By the end of the Forties, skirts grew so heavy and the extreme bell shape was so desired that skirts were often lined with stiff crinoline."
References.
'Victorian and Edwardian Fashions for Women 1840 to 1919'. By Kristina Harris, Copyright 1995.
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