Victorian era clothing style. Victorian style in a modern wardrobe

This style originates from the second half of the 19th century from Victorian England. It embodied the luxury, sophistication and beauty of those times. At the same time, in comparison with Baroque and many other trends, the Victorian style can safely be called the triumph of materialism and pragmatism.

Victorian style in the interior: features of royal taste

A characteristic feature of Victorian-style interiors is eclecticism. After all, they very harmoniously combine Gothic, Rococo, classic and exotic, which means elements of Indian and Chinese styles. Also, the features of the direction include the presence of vertical elongated planes with straight and arcuate lines. This interior is also distinguished by deconstructivism - the design of rooms in a certain style. For example, an office can be decorated in a Gothic style, a dining room in an Oriental style, a boudoir in a Rococo style. And many items in it can be made simultaneously in several styles.

The Victorian style color palette is also easy to spot. Traditionally, it consists predominantly of soft pastel colors, including brown, lilac, pink, green and burgundy. When creating an interior in this style, you must first select characteristic furniture, the color of which can form a reference point for the formation of the subsequent interior scheme of the room. Basically, these should be massive structures, heavy, made from valuable types of wood. Sofas, armchairs, chairs and other items must have gilding in their decor. Also, real expensive furniture is decorated with inlays made of precious metals.

The ideal type of floor is natural wooden parquet, but tiles decorated with original ornate patterns are also used. The windows are characterized by wooden Gothic designs. Also, doors are made from wood, but exclusively expensive species, the fittings of which are mainly brass, although gilding can also be used. To decorate the walls of rooms of this style, fabric wallpaper or imitating fabric is used. The most common pattern of such wallpaper is leaves, forest flowers and berries, stripes, and also complex patterns, usually three-dimensional. But no matter what elements are used to create this style, it must maintain symmetrical proportions.

Rich decoration and incredible combinations

Another feature that clearly distinguishes a Victorian-style house is the saturation of the entire interior with knick-knacks. Exotic traditions are welcomed there: Indian boxes, Chinese vases, stuffed African animals, precious antiques. So, in a room furnished in this style, there will definitely be a place for an ashtray decorated with precious stones or metals, a pen holder and a variety of candelabra. Moreover, in this style the use of fakes is absolutely not encouraged - every large thing or small thing must be natural, expensive, with a rich history. And this applies not only to accessories, so in most cases it was not possible to replace and save on materials and valuable interior items. This is exactly how the interior is recreated in a true Victorian style, distinguished by respectability and richness, diversity and harmony.

Create a modern Victorian style

To create an interior in this extraordinary style, you need to try to look at this embodiment of a conservative classic in a new way, which will require a lot of effort. And in order not to turn this respectable embodiment of style into an elementary imitation of an old-fashioned furnishings, you need to avoid excessive craving for eclecticism, which can knock the interior out of its intended concept. To avoid such overkill, it is important to take into account the developments of designers or at least the basic stylistic postulates.

Victorian style in architecture

So, in order to implement such an interior in your home, you first need to master the art of mixing. Combining elements from different styles should be approached with all possible caution, thinking through the correctness of each step. You can, for example, place a classic-style table made of natural wood in the room, and put ultra-modern acrylic chairs on it. An option made of glass or even metal is also suitable. You can mix different eras into a single piece, for example, by replacing the upholstery on an old Victorian-style sofa with a modern fabric. You can do the opposite, upholstering trendy chairs with fabric with flowers or an oriental pattern.

The exterior of a Victorian-style home should support a given fashion direction.

A distinctive feature of that era is considered to be high-quality natural wooden furniture in the Victorian style. This is necessarily handmade, using expensive wood. In those old days, mahogany, oak or walnut were predominantly used to make luxury furniture. But in modern imitation, these delights are quite successfully replaced by options made of MDF and even plastic, which cannot be distinguished from their luxury counterparts. In real Victorian interiors, intricate elements of fittings, frames, and lamps were actively used for furniture. By the way, such antique little things can even today be bought at a flea market and restored. Thus, plastic windows or doors made to look like wood can be decorated with valuable fittings. These items should not look like trash. Restorers will help bring them into proper shape. You can also take advantage of their tips on how to give rare parts a decent appearance in order to emphasize their highest quality and value.

The Victorian interior is monochromatic. Therefore, when choosing a color scheme for this style, it is advisable to give preference to noble red, green, blue and a combination of gold and brown. In the design, you need to arrange each room in its own way so that it is distinguished by its own color character, because a united space, designed in a single color scheme, is not just a deviation from the laws of the genre, but rather a completely different style.

Victorian style in the interior - wooden elements and elaborate shapes

It is characteristic that in the Victorian era, when decorating rooms, color was also used to express the importance of a given room. For example, the library or dining room was made bright and expressive, but the kitchen was decorated in less saturated colors. Too deep colors, which were so familiar to the British of that era, will seem too tiring and heavy in a modern interior. And in order to preserve the style and make the color scheme more acceptable for a modern person, an important role should be given to bright accents, which can be accessories, window frames and textiles. It is better to leave the wall color beige.

In the design of this complex interior, due attention should be paid to details. Such is the nature of the Victorian style that it is full of little things, the meaning of which is no less important than the key objects. Classic English furnishings are simply replete with paintings, textiles and other cute trinkets. To create a modern interior in this style, you can use all of the listed elements, but you can also go overboard. You need to introduce exactly the right amount of details into the interior so that there is neither more nor less, then a space will be created that is comfortable for living.

If you choose textiles with floral prints and complement it with a bouquet in a vase or a painting of blooming lilacs, this will only add romance to the created environment. The floor can be covered with a Persian carpet or a high-quality imitation of it, and an ultra-modern table made of metal and glass can be placed in the middle of the room. An antique porcelain vase, depending on its size, can be placed either on the table or in a free corner on the floor. The windows can be covered with curtains hanging from the eaves on the ceiling all the way to the floor. Wallpaper and textiles can also be designed in the same style, for example, decorated with current patterns. This will highlight the nobility of the combination of antiquity and modernity.

In order not to doubt your abilities, you can always invite a professional designer to decorate your home. But if you work scrupulously on this topic, you can independently solve such a complex task as decorating an interior in the Victorian style. The main thing is that this pretentiousness remains as comfortable as possible for living.

Victorian style clothing

Each era has its own characteristics. These are unique images, specific details, special technologies. Modern designers find it very convenient to draw inspiration from time-tested traditions and fashion examples. One of the most striking trends in clothing is the Victorian style, the fashion for which almost never loses its relevance.

The style owes its name to the prim English monarchy, or more precisely, to the eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria who ascended the throne. It was she who managed to become the trendsetter of elite fashion, and is still in favor with modern designers.

Queen Victoria in her wedding dress

This magnificent style appealed to the young ladies of those centuries who strived for wealth and luxury. It was significantly different from previous images, including corsets and full skirts. They helped to liken the silhouette to an hourglass. As a rule, the corset was used to tighten the waist so tightly that its diameter for some ladies did not exceed 30 centimeters. This, of course, was very harmful to health, but the elite of those times did not really care about it. Of course, their desire was not only external gloss, but also internal self-improvement. But the girls of that time, who belonged to high society, were educated, literate, well-read, listened to sublime music, knew history, knew how to dance, and wanted to outwardly correspond to the exquisite canons of beauty. This is exactly what Victorian fashion embodied.

Also, a special feature of the dresses of those years were stand-up collars with a wide frill or frill. This collar is a distinctive feature of the Victorian era style. By the way, if you remember cartoons and fairy tales, all the queens had a large collar that framed the entire neck and almost covered the chin.

Creating a dress in the Victorian style required a lot of financial investment and a lot of labor. Usually their cut was complex and ornate: a multi-layered skirt, an abundance of bows, lace, waves, ribbons and folds. The blouse was necessarily equipped with wide sleeves or puffs, with many ribbons and lace trim. Only expensive fabrics were suitable for all this: silk, satin, velvet, linen, satin. The most popular colors were black, white, burgundy and dark blue.

Royal fashion also inspires modern filmmakers...

...for example, the director of the film “Cinderella” (2015)

Amazing Victorian dress

The cut of Victorian dresses necessarily emphasized the difference in the volume of the chest, waist and hips. Young ladies with curvaceous figures were especially admired by these styles, because they gave their physique a gracefulness and elegance that was not entirely characteristic of them. All the luxury of this look was completed by a transparent shawl or cape on the shoulders. An equally important point in the image of this style is accessories and jewelry in the Victorian style. Women of that era lavishly decorated themselves with massive necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings made of silver and gold with many precious stones.

However, all this gloss did not allow a woman from high society to use decorative cosmetics. In those days, only actresses and women of easy virtue wore makeup.

Despite the controversy of this style, women in Victorian images always looked feminine and graceful. Perhaps this is why modern designers like to include elements of this style in their collections. Perhaps not a single show by Ralph Lauren or Alexander McQueen, these ardent admirers of the Victorian era, is complete without the obligatory elements of the “royal” style: bows, lush folds, lace in a sedate color scheme.

Exquisite vintage dress

Moreover, today not only celebrities, but also absolutely ordinary people like to dress in a similar style. Even various informal people prefer such outfits. Such representatives of the youth subculture, dressed up in retro punks, are very entertaining to watch. Of course, there is no place for a woman dressed in a Victorian era dress with bags full of groceries on our streets and on public transport. But at a party, carnival, or a themed event, the Victorian style is quite acceptable. Beauty fashion never goes away. And in a modern interpretation, looking like an English beauty is very democratic and practical. A fluffy skirt with a more modest top, or vice versa - a fluffy blouse with a formal skirt will be appropriate both in a festive look - for example, at a wedding, and in an everyday suit.

When creating an image in the Victorian style, you cannot do without eye-catching, expensive, at least in appearance, jewelry that can become a worthy addition to selected retro clothing. Any dress with a neckline, corset or flounces, typical of the English aristocratic style, will go well with jewelry, large stones and symbolic figures in the form of hearts, doves, snakes, anchors and cupids. And if you take into account all these not so complex details, then the image will turn out to be very harmonious and stylish, befitting a royal person in modern conditions.

Royal wedding accessories

Victorian style video

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The Victorian era refers to the reign of Queen Victoria, who ascended the throne at a very young age in 1837 and passed away in 1901.

During this time, many changes have occurred in the world, many of them affecting fashion. For example, in the mid-19th century, dyes were invented to add vibrant colors to clothing.

The first sewing machines appeared, which made the process of making outfits faster.

At this time, the fashion was thin waists, cinched in corsets, an hourglass silhouette, crinolines, pale aristocratic faces, sophistication and exceptional manners (books on etiquette were in the top sales!).

In the mid-nineteenth century, ladies of high society often had to sacrifice health in the name of beauty, or rather, the current idea of ​​it. Freckles were literally erased, ladies swallowed vinegar to make them look pale, to achieve the effect of dilated pupils, and dropped belladonna drops into their eyes. An electric corset was even invented, which, with a light shock of electricity, reminded the wearer that she needed to straighten her back.

The corset is a real symbol of the Victorian era. It’s easy to find a lot of pretty scary facts about corsets. The ladies were so keen on tightening them that they damaged their internal organs, and fainting was so frequent that it surprised no one.

The woman wore an impressively sized crinoline, which was wrapped in several meters of fabric. The waist was pulled into a corset, so that it seemed that the lady's head and bust were resting on a pedestal. Such was the task: it was easy for the monumental Victorian lady to keep her distance.

The main fashion designer of the Victorian era was Charles Frederick Worth. He dressed the French Empress Eugenie, the Austrian princess, Sarah Bernhardt and many famous ladies in luxurious outfits. Worth also sewed outfits for Queen Victoria, but with a “secret”: many of the Queen’s dresses were very similar to each other, with only minor changes, because Victoria advocated modesty. Worth's dresses had the sweep that can be created with crinoline. The frame of three or four hoops created such volume that the lady found herself captive of her dress: she might not fit into the carriage, not enter the door of the room and, alas, the hem would often hit the fireplace.

The outfits have improved over time. To prevent the skirt from sticking out, weights were sewn into the hem. Over time, Worth came up with a special mechanism with which a Victorian aristocrat could change the volume of her crinoline herself.

Théophile Gautier said that the crinoline indicated the false modesty of its era, which was “excited at the sight of a protruding leg or a tight-fitting glove.”

By the end of the 60s of the 19th century, the crinoline was replaced by a bustle, the idea of ​​which belonged to the same Charles Worth. Dresses of this period were distinguished by an abundance of draperies and rich decor. By the 90s, outfits became narrower and more formal: deep necklines began to be covered, bare arms were covered by sleeves, and a strict collar framed the neck. Only the corset remained unchanged...

It originated during the reign of Queen Victoria, from whom, in fact, it took its name. This era was distinguished by wealth and beauty, which left its mark on the clothing of the Victorian era. Naked parts of the body have become the height of indecency, but emphasizing the female figure, on the contrary, has become fashionable. Thus, the female silhouette consisted of a full skirt and an excessively narrow waist. In the latter case, corsets were actively used. Moreover, some corsets were so long that they had a V-shaped silhouette.

Victorian era - clothing in England

An elegant thin waist, sometimes reaching 40 cm in volume, was considered the ideal of beauty. However, women had to pay dearly for this beauty. Victorian clothing, namely dresses, were so tight that they squeezed the chest. This often caused ladies to faint, and this state also became the standard of attractiveness. Crinolines are also being replaced by bustles, with the help of which women gave the back of the outfit an excessive bulge. The fashion for such protuberances in clothing conquered the whole of Victorian England, and only in 1975 narrow silhouettes came into fashion. However, the narrow silhouette does not gain a foothold in fashion for long, as it creates inconvenience when walking, so the fashion for bustles soon returns, only now it is slightly modified and gives a bulge not only from the back, but also from the sides.

Another striking feature of Victorian era clothing is the rich color. The fabrics were treated with aniline, which made the clothes incredibly bright. In addition, the length of the outfits has also changed. Thus, the Victorian style of women's clothing allowed them to bare their legs to the ankles, which was a real revolution. Long gloves and the presence of an umbrella are becoming trendy. This attribute not only complemented the image of a Victorian lady, but also protected the skin from tanning, which was out of fashion in those days.

On October 10 in Riga, at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, the exhibition " Victorian era fashion", costumes of the 1830s-1900s from the collection of fashion historian and collector Alexander Vasiliev.

50 mannequins, more than 200 accessories in 36 display cases, the backdrop of which was enlarged vintage photocopies, watercolors and paintings. The amount of insurance for exhibits is > 500 million euros (!!!).

The President of Latvia was present at the opening of the exhibition, and during the entire period of operation (August 15 - October 10, 2009), the exhibition was visited by 25 thousand visitors. Absolute record. On some days there were as many people at the exhibition as no Riga exhibition had seen for many years. I was there a week before closing, stood in line at the ticket office and pushed my way between vintage exhibits amid Russian-Latvian-Spanish-German speech. Filmed 10 minutes before closing, people don’t even think about running away, thoughtfully peering at the luxurious outfits -

Venue of the exhibition - Decorative and Applied Art Museum in West Riga

Exhibition poster.

Well, let's start the inspection.

House dresses from the mid-19th century.

Far right - moire dress (waist 58 cm), England, 1840s.

How did they, poor people, relax at home in such dresses?

Women's accessories in the style of sentimentalism: bonnet, Adelaide walking shoes size 32, smelling salts bottle, tortoiseshell comb, bracelet, wallet embroidered with metal beads, album for poetry (1849), England, Germany, France 1840s.

Two fashions, two worlds.

An elegant dress made of cashmere with a printed floral pattern (more than 30 colors were used for printing), fabric from France, sewn in Russia.

Summer dress made of cambric with stripes and crinoline. Handmade shawl, Brussels lace, France, 1860

Women's accessories from the era of aniline dyes: embroidered umbrella, hat, 3 wallets, hair clip, bracelet. England, France 1860s.

The lady's portrait in the background is larger. Good, no words!

Carmine striped wool dress (Italy), cross-stitched traveling bag (France), 1860s.

Bolero made of panne velvet, embroidered with beads and glass beads in the Garibaldi style. Italy, 1860s

Photo for a long memory

Men's accessories: Turkish slippers, embroidered fez, suspenders, ladies' medallion with her husband's silhouette, tin snuff-box. Europe 1850-70s

Travel and walking dresses and dresses for visits.

Signature dress with gigot sleeves and embroidered appliqué, Miss Lever Fashion House, England, 1892

Floral Art Nouveau ceta ecru ball gown with pink muslin and silk flowers applique. Fashion house Worth, Paris. From the wardrobe of Princess Stroganova, née Branitskaya. France, 1900.

Rear view of the train. Simply incredible luxury.

Ballroom accessories: mother-of-pearl and silk fan, Brussels lace border, kid glove. France, 1890s. Notice how incredibly long the fingers of the glove are!

What caught my attention the most were the trains.

Visitors

There is something to think about when looking at this...

Ivory duchesse satin ball gown with balloon sleeves, Carney Fashion House, Geneva, 1894. Tulle scarf machine embroidered with chain stitch and appliques, Russia, 1890s.

Embroidery is closer

Summer walking dress made of rep and machine-made lace. France, 1886

Future fashion historian?

Violet panvelvet ball gown bodice, Worth Fashion House, Paris, 1887

Girl's corset, cotton fabric with bones (!), handmade lace. Waist 56 cm. France, 1880s.

Women's toilet accessories: 5 boxes of powder, a bottle of perfume and soap, shoes, 2 buckles. Europe 1890s

Ecru ballgown with train, trimmed with Blonde lace, France and sortie de bal cape, satin brooch with mutton wool trim, ermine muff, Russia, 1880s.

From an interview with Alexander Vasiliev 10/14/2009:

Baltic Course: Are you satisfied with the results of the Riga exhibition?

A.V.: This is brilliant! The exhibition in Riga was visited by more than 25 thousand people in less than two months. An undoubted record! For comparison, a similar exhibition in Istanbul was viewed by 30 thousand in four months. Do the math yourself, a ticket to the exhibition in Riga cost 3 lats, multiply by the number of visitors, you get approximately 75 thousand lats.And this is in an era of crisis!

BC: What's ahead, where will the collection from Latvia go?

A.V.: From Riga, the Victorian exhibition travels to Vilnius, where from November 21 to the end of January it can be viewed at the Museum of Western Art in the Radziwill Palace.

If you like films and books in the style of "Jane Eyre" or "Pride and Prejudice", you have definitely noticed the beautiful dresses in the Victorian style. Refined girls from that era look very impressive in such luxurious outfits. Therefore, many representatives of the fair sex often imagine themselves in a similar image. Making such a dream come true is not so difficult, because some echoes of the Victorian style are also present in modern outfits.

History of style

The Victorian style first appeared in the 19th century. Its name comes from the name of Queen Victoria, who ruled Great Britain at that time. It was she who introduced fluffy dresses, corsets and skirts decorated with lace into fashion.

Dresses in the Victorian style allowed girls to get as close as possible to the canon of beauty of that time. A tight corset cinching the waist created the effect of a feminine hourglass figure. Such dresses looked equally good on ladies with curvaceous figures and on thin beauties.

Only noble ladies could afford luxurious dresses with corsets. Such outfits were distinguished by their exquisite and complex design. It took a lot of time and effort to work out all the small details, which justifies the high cost.

Dresses in this style were layered and fluffy. The fabric of the skirts was decorated with lace, flounces, all kinds of bows and ribbons. Laced corsets were a must-have element of the look. Sometimes they were tightened so tightly that the waist narrowed to thirty centimeters, and it was literally impossible for the girls to breathe.

Velvet, silk, satin, satin and other expensive fabrics were used as sewing materials. The colors chosen were rich and deep - burgundy, dark blue, green or black. The girl in such a dress looked luxurious, so she did not need bright makeup. The ladies complemented their look exclusively with jewelry with natural precious stones.

Peculiarities

Victorian style dresses are very easy to recognize. First of all, they are distinguished by femininity. The hourglass style allows you to emphasize the smooth lines of a lady’s figure, and the corset lifts the chest. At the same time, due to the closed neckline, dresses in the Victorian style look restrained.

To add pomp to Victorian-style dresses, they were complemented with crinolines. This is the name for skirts on durable steel hoops that create volume. They also help maintain the straight posture we see in photographs and movies of girls of that era.

In addition to dresses, in the Victorian style you can also find spectacular combinations of multi-layered skirts with blouses embroidered with lace or ribbons. In general, lace and embroidery complemented almost all the outfits of ladies of the Victorian era.

Such luxurious images of the ladies were complemented with real jewelry. Decorations, as a rule, were massive and elaborate. Rings, earrings and bracelets in the shape of hearts, birds, snakes or angels were popular. Many women also wore shawls. Decorative capes, like dresses, were made from expensive fabrics and decorated in all available ways.

For the modern woman

With the death of Queen Victoria, fashion changed, but some elements of the Victorian style still appear in clothing today. Many designers, inspired by this interesting era, complement their collections with things that seem to have come to us from the century before last. For example, blouses with high lace collars have repeatedly appeared in the collections of such famous designers as Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren. Today, not only dresses and blouses, but also jeans and other denim items are decorated with ruffles, lace, bows and flounces.

Spectacular corsets are also often found in various designer collections. Now they are combined not only with dresses, but also with classic-cut skirts and even jeans, creating contrasting, but therefore even more interesting looks.

You can emphasize your thin waist with a lace-up corset. It can be either a purely decorative element or a functional one. In the second case, the corset will not only focus attention on the waist, but also make it thinner. However, take into account the fact that you cannot wear corsets for a long time, so as not to harm your health.

Modern Victorian dresses are also slightly different from their predecessors. They are more comfortable, since they are not complemented by crinolines and a heap of skirts that interfere with normal gait, and corsets in them serve mostly a decorative role.

A dress in the Victorian style will look impressive at various special events. By choosing this outfit for prom, you will definitely stand out among your classmates of the same type.

A Victorian-style dress will also look original at a wedding. If you like this era with its romanticism, then it is quite possible to have a themed wedding.