…marriage.  Girls were groomed like racehorses in preparation for that, making sure she could sing, play an instrument, speak foreign languages, and above all be innocent, virtuous, biddable, dutiful, and ignorant of all intellectual opinion. (Colorized photo: Dating in 1860’s upper Manhatten, USA)

… wielded their swords.” (Tennyson).  The prevailing attitude of men towards women in the Victorian Era was that all women were weak and helpless fragile and delicate flowers incapable of making decisions beyond selecting the menu and children were taught moral values. A gentlewoman ensured that the home was a …

…Victorian women.  While the houses, streets, and many of the gadgets we use today were just earlier versions of what we have today (pianos, carpet sweepers, sewing machines), the main difference was the place of women in society. A woman’s place was in the home. There were of course, independent …

… what’s available, accessible, and affordable given the information at hand.  As we study the Victorian era and fashion, it is important to understand the many levels and the complexity of the time in many countries.  Victoria did set fashion  trends, but they were interpreted differently by different women in …

.. specific items such as British made lace, or Scottish plaids.  She held balls and activities that specifically order the participants to dress a certain way. (Photo:  Victoria’s actual Tartan (plaid) gown worn in 1845)

Breaking all the previous “rules” of fashion, Victoria insisted on wearing white to her wedding, establishing the “rule” for that activity.. forever.  Her dictates from this point on, told all Britains (and so all other countries who were following their lead) what was appropriate to wear on what occasion. Note: …

.. under Victoria, Britain grew, expanded – literally boomed in every way.  She was a champion of British technology, arts, sciences, and fashion.  In every situation she required, or at the very least, suggested, British goods be used in manufacture of textiles and clothing.  The new wealth of the rising …

..in places like church where the higher classes sat in reserved pews, and on trains where they had luxurious cars.  Lower classes remained lower classes, but the rising bourgeoisie middle class had an outward display of wealth through clothing and possessions that allowed them to mix in with the high …

Improved transportation and the ability to get around meant the English could seek jobs that were not available to them before.  While many lived in poverty, others rose in status as the previously defined class structure changed. Employers moved away from their industrial source of wealth. They bought country estates …

.. and by 1850, under Queen Victoria, half the country had moved to the cities.  Industrial growth and the resulting building boom, and the spread of the railroad combined with a population boom had the character of Britain suddenly changing. Small towns were overtaken by giant industries.  Towns like Crewe …