When Victoria became Queen of England in 1837, she was 18 years old. In 1837, it was still the Regency Era – defining fashion and attitudes – coming off the former King Georges and influences of the French under Napoleon Bonaparte.
Regency’s “little white dress” had evolved into elaborate Rococco ornamented styles, lower waistlines, and stiff, “tinkle bell” shaped skirts that would become the signature shape in the ’40’s and ’50’s worldwide.
(Portrait: Queen Victoria in 1843, 6 years into her reign and 24 years old. You can see the Regency shape morphing into something new.)