..  in quality and how well a woman could mark her status.  The silhouette was dictated by young Victoria, but the personality was added by the individual. (Photos: Left, 1860’s maid; Right, Fanny Fern, American  humorist and novelist in the mid 1850’s obviously is poking fun at high fashion with …

… and clothing and whether it was fashionable or not clearly marked a woman’s station in life.  All women, however, followed the general dictates of Victoria in the line, length, shape, accessories, and hairstyle.  The difference was in the quality of the cut, fabric, design based on income – and …

… and always had the fashionable silhouettes of the era.  Here and 1845 sheer gown has the longer shape of the bodice with a rounded bottom (as opposed to the sharp “v” of the previous 5-8 years), and the concept of “over and under” (like we saw back in the …

.. as seen in a (left) 2013 photo of Princess Charlene and one (right) of Prince Harry’s new wife from America, Meghan Markle in 2018.

… as early Victorian fashion followed the queen’s whims into the 1850’s.  Victoria had visited Scotland, and was enamored with “plaids” (kilts) and bold fabrics of the Scots.  The rest of the world followed suit.. we mean dress. (Sketch: Prince Albert, Victoria’s husband, and Photo: Victoria with her first born …

… as were many women of the era.  With the Reform movement and the Aesthetes (discussed last month), many teens rejected high fashion’s dictates with tight corsetry, bodices, and delicate flowered fabrics, and wore the flowing robes and rich fabrics with natural hair of the “fashion rebels”. (Photo:  1840’s teen …

…  the same shape and fashion as their mothers.  Motherhood was the expected profession of all young women, so regardless of class or occupation, young women learned the basics of running a household and caring for children from an early age – all done in a corset of course.  They …

… by 1845 became the prevalent design in Victorian fashion.  The corset was still the same, but the waistline was getting less pointed, and the bodice more tightly fitted.  Young women and preteens wore the same as older women, and they did wear corsets, but the shape didn’t look quite …

.. was worn by young girls to old women, but of course modified to suit their station or status.  Since the upper and middle classes posed for portraits, we can assume in the photos of the 1840’s and 1850’s, that they are dressed in their best.  Young girls emulated the …

.. positions in life, and lifestyles wore some version of the same high fashion design.  Of course, it started with the corset, but accessories and fit of the dress varied. (Photos: two Victorian women of the early 1840’s with the collar, sleeves, and hair indicative of the time.  Note the …