.. had to be in the current fashion. In Queen Victoria of England’s 1851 costume for Empress Eugenie’s “Stuart Ball”, she has the Bertha style (daringly low for Victoria) beautifully adorned with English lace. It has the 1850’s shape, waistline, shoulder line, and overall silhouette.
Her nods to history are the gorgeous tapestry like fabric (possibly authentic from the 1700’s?). narrower sleeves with lace cuffs reminiscent of the Georgian period, and the flower center front. She’s trying to give the idea of having a stomacher and fichu, but it still looks quite “Early Victorian” to us. Why not a stomacher with a costume we ask?
Most likely Victoria didn’t want to give up her waist cinching corset. She was getting a bit wide in girth by 1851.