Victorian Clothing
Table of Contents
Upper Class Men's Fashion Upper Class Women's Fashion Lower Class Men's Fashion Lower Class Women's Fashion Military Uniforms Undergarments Corsets
General Notes
All Clothing is hand sewn. The upper classes have theirs made by exclusive tailors and dressmakers, while the middle classes frequent less exclusive ones, or at the lower ends, make their own. The lower classes often make do with the castoffs of the upper classes, often taken apart at the seams and reassembled. Victorian clothing is generally stiff and confining. It requires, and enforces, an erect posture. Collars are always high, and starched or boned to keep them that way. When out of doors, all but the poorest of the citizenry will be wearing gloves and a hat. The common Zipper was not in use, although it had been invented. Clothing was fastened with hook-and-eye fasteners, buttons or laces. Footwear was boots - generally laced or buttoned above the ankle. The only common exception was ladies' dancing slippers.
Upper Class Men's Fashions
Suits are black, grey and in a few cases other dark colours. Vests are generally much brighter colours - or plaid, or even paisley. Shirts are always white, and well pressed. A Tab collar was the standard, and collars and cuffs were detachable. A Cravat, or silk scarf, was the equivalent of today's tie. It was wrapped twice about the throat, and the ends tucked into the vest. Trousers were generally plain, or occasionally striped. Men's formal wear - Shirt, trousers, "Prince Albert" coat (double-breasted frock coat with silk faced lapels, narrow waist, and a closed skirt front), silk top hat, silk scarf, gloves and spats. Younger men might wear a new style, the "Cowes" coat - today known as the Tuxedo. Less formal activities - such as a weekend in the country - called for tweeds. A Norfolk jacket (waist length, buckled at the waist) was popular sportswear. It might be worn with knickerbockers - knee pants- but ONLY in the county. Hats worn bu the upper classes included Hombergs (soft fedoras), boaters (flat straw hat - generally for younger men and casual wear), and the Derby (or Bowler) . Silk top hats were de rigeur for evening wear. Casual wear would be a soft cloth cap. Military officers can ALWAYS get away with uniform.
Upper Class Women's Fashions
Womens' clothing was much more colourful then mens'. Skirts were always long. A glimpse of an ankle was a scandalous, often arousing, event. Bustles are going out of fashion. More stylish skirts fit smoothly over the hips and flare out to a bell-shape at the bottom. The Victorian ideal is a fifteen-inch waist. This requires corseting to achieve (and the occasional removal of a rib). Blouses and dresses are tight-fitting in the bodice. Sleeves on dresses are generally wrist length. If shorter, the gloves worn with the dress extend above the elbow. They began to expand during this period, giving the 'leg-of-mutton' sleeve. Sleeves were often a different colour, or even material from the rest of the dress. Hats and bonnets of all shapes were worn, including some similar to mens' 'boaters'. Parasols were common accessories for city walks. In the country, skirts might be slightly shorter, with higher boots for walks. Such outfits were generally blouse jacket and skirt ensembles of heavy wool or tweed. For more formal wear, a evening or ball dress would have a low cut neckline, short (or no) sleeves, long kid or satin gloves, long sweeping skirts and jewelry. Footwear is either calf-high boots or low flat slippers. Hats are commonly held in place with 'hatpins' - which are often six inch long spikes of spring steel, with a head that's large enough to get a grip on. It's quite possible to use one as a weapon of last resort.
Lower Class Men's Fashions
Differences in dress between the members of the lower classes and those above them on the social ladder was not so much a matter of different types of clothing, but of different ages. The lower classes made do with whatever could be begged, borrowed or stolen from the upper classes, or made by themselves. The closer a member of the lower classes worked to the upper classes, the closer they would try to dress like them. Servants would wear plain suits of a cut no longer stylish, often cut down or altered from their employers castaways. New garments were often made from new cloth (wool, cotton, or corduroy), but also often made from older garments that had been disassembled and pieced back together. Most working poor wore their shirts without collars or cuffs attached. Again, military personell will be wearing uniforms on almost all occasions. The lowest of the low wore clothing that might be considered one step up from rags.
Lower Class Women's Fashion
Differences in dress between the members of the lower classes and those above them on the social ladder was not so much a matter of different types of clothing, but of different ages. The lower classes made do with whatever could be begged, borrowed or stolen from the upper classes, or made by themselves. The closer a member of the lower classes worked to the upper classes, the closer they would try to dress like them. Servant womens' dresses were often wool, plain blue or black in colour, very plain in style. If they had a higher quality dress, it was often one of their mistress' castaways, no longer fashionable, but still better than anything that could be afforded otherwise. Servant women often had higher quality undergarments than middle class women, again, obtained from worn garments of their employer - the lace might be tatty, but could be reomves, and a perfectly servicable undergarment was the result. New garments were often made from new cloth (wool in most women's cases), but also often made from older garments that had been disassembled and pieced back together. Lower class ladies were seldom if ever corseted, and would wear fewer layers of undergarments than upperclass ladies, perhaps as little as a chemise, a single petticoat, and woolen hose. The lowest of the low wore clothing that might be considered one step up from rags, patched and torn.
Military Uniforms
Line infantry Uniform Tunics are red. The trousers are blue, with a red stripe down the outside seam They are worn tucked into brown leather leggings over black boots. Collar and cuffs colour depends on the unit. Gloves and belts are in white leather. Headgear is a white sun helmet, or a dark blue glengarry cap. Rifle regiments are different, wearing both tunic and trousers in green, with black stripes on the trousers. The leggings and boots are black, as are gloves and belts. Again, Collar and cuffs colour depends on the unit. Again, like regular infantry, they wear a helmet, but in green. Highland infantry units wear thes same tunic and belt as the regular infantry. However, instead of the trousers, leggings and boots, they wear a kilt and sporran, and black shoes with white leggings over long red-and-white checked stockings. They wear the same headgear as the infantry. Marine light infantry wear dark blue tunics, with dark blue collars and cuffs. All the rest of the uniform is as per the regular infantry. For headgear they wear white tropical helmets with brass plates and chin scales. Cavalry uniform tunics are Red for heavy cavalry, blue for light cavalry. The trousers are blue with a red stripe. Cavalry uniforms generally have taller boots with spurs, and no leggings. Otherwise they are identical to infantry. The Royal Artillery wears a dark blue tunic with a red collar, and blue cuffs with red piping. The trousere are dark blue, with a red stripe, worn tucked into black boots. The belt is white leather. They wear the same helmets as line infantry. The Royal Horse Artillery dress as do the rest of the cavalry. The Royal Marine Artilery wear a dark blue tunic with blue collar and cuffs, the same trousers and boots as the Royal Artillery, Black leather belts, and the same helmet as the Marine Infantry. The Royal Engineers dress just like the line infantry. Naval officers wear a dark-blue double breasted coat, dark blue trousers, black leather belts and shoes, and a dark blue cap with a black brim. Under the tunic, a white woolen collarless shirt was worn by enlisted, and linen shirts by officers. The trousers were held up by suspenders under the tunic.
Undergarments
Mens' undergarments were the stereotypical one-piece "union suit" type, a one-piece woolen coverall which buttoned down the front, and had a buttoned "flap" in the rear. Ladies' undergarments were a LOT more complex. Starting from the skin out: Stockings ran to above the knee. Upper classes wore cotton or silk, lower classes wool. The 'Chemise' was a loosely fitting garment that ran from the top of the bosom to the knees or below. Upper class women wore linen, with ribbons and lace, while lower class women wore cotton or wool. A woman with any pretentions of gentility would then next wear her Corset. This was the garment that gave Victorian fashion its shape. The bosom and chest were forced up and out, the waist constricted to as little as fifteen inches, and the hips smoothed. It was laced tightly up the back - the more fashionable the woman, the tighter the lacing. The corset often also had garters attached to the stockings. Above the corset would be worn 'knickers' - long full drawers to knee length. Lower class ladies would often omit this layer. Then would be petticoats. For daywear, one to two layers of muslin petticoats (depending on social class), and for the upper classes a final silk or tafetta petticoat. For evening wear, this could increase to as many as six layers of petticoats. A 'camisole' or 'corset cover' of silk would be worn by upper and middle class women over their corset from bosom to waist. Thus, a lower-class woman might wear as few as two layers of underclothes, while an upper class woman might wear as many as seven to twelve. The undergarments of the upperclasses required a LOT of delicate care - plenty of work for the laundrymaids...
Corsets
Corsets were laced very tight. A woman could not wear one without assistance (someone else to tighten the lacings.) Women started wearing the corset as early as age 12 - or in some extreme cases, age seven. A cheap corset could cost as little as a shilling or two, while more expensive ones could cost up to a pound or more. By this period, corsets were 'boned' (made stiff) with spring steel strips, and coiled springs. These materials were both more flexible than the older cane, bamboo and whalebone, and generally cheaper as well. Corsets that still used whalebone could occasionally 'snap', the boning breaking, leaving sharp ends that could harm the wearer, even to the point of puncturing the abdomen. The ideal female figure for the period had between a fifteen and seventeen inch waist. Girls trained fom youth with tight corsets could have as low as twelve-inch waists, but this often led to serious health problems - to the extent thay they could not stand upright without the corset. A woman's maid would tie her corset with a distinctive pattern of knots. Often times the maid would use a particular pattern of knots - and would be the first one to know if a lady was having an affair, as the knots would be different in the evening when she unlaced her mistress. Jealous husbands often learned the pattern of their wife's corset lacings. To achieve the fashionable small waists of the period, some women actually had their lower ribs removed to aid in lacing the corset tight enough.
Many thanks to Charity Vespers for this analysis of Victorian clothing.