…as they were influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne Jones who idealized medieval life in imaginary ethereal scenes. The women in these paintings appear to wear no corsetry and have freedom and “naturalness” that was admired by the Aesthetes.
(Featured: painting by Pre-Raphaelite leader J.W. Waterhouse “Hylas and Nymph”)
(Below: painting inspiration by Aesthetic for gown)