With styles and silhouettes endlessly evolving during the Victorian period, the continuous advancements in fashion offered women more choice and freedom regarding their attire. Sworders are delighted to present a collection of Victorian clothing in our upcoming Jewellery, Designer Handbags & Accessories sale, taking place on Wednesday 23 April.
9 April 2025
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A collection of black clothing (£200-300)
Fashion has always been a rapidly evolving beast, latching onto a trend and then letting it go at the drop of a hat, and there is no greater example of this than during the 19th century, particularly within the upper class. Every decade had a new stylistic change and, in some cases, multiple changes depending on the year or season. By the 1820s in Europe, the corset had started to evolve into what we recognise it as today, with its iconic nipped waist and hourglass shape. The way women were expressing their femininity was gradually changing and through the way they dressed, the possibilities expanded. Before the corset, women wore stays and bodies in the 16th and 17th centuries, which had a more rigid, conical shape - as was the fashion then. Unlike the corset, stays did not accentuate the curves of the female form, instead, they were more stylised, ensuring good posture above all and were designed to minimise the bust.
Sleeves also played a large role within women’s fashion during the 19th century, especially in the Victorian period. During the early decades of Victorian women’s fashion, sleeves were fitted tightly to the arm, matching the tight cinched waists of the corset. The seamline on the shoulder was angled downwards to show a tighter fit. It limited a lot of upper body mobility; however, as crinolines developed, sleeves transformed into bell-like shapes, giving dresses more volume. Another popular stylistic feature was ‘engageantes’, which were false sleeves usually made of lace or linen trimmed with broderie anglaise. These were worn under sleeves and were made to be removed quickly and easily, laundered and then stitched back in place. These would have been affixed to elbow-length and bell-shaped sleeves of day dresses.
A group of three purple gowns (£400-600)
Silhouettes constantly shifted during the Victorian period. At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837, the popular shape was a long, slim torso with wide hips, but by the 1840s the bodices started to take on a V-shape, with collapsed sleeves, lower necklines and fuller skirts due to the invention of the horsehair crinoline in 1847 which at the time was one of the ultimate symbols of wealth and status for a woman. The 1850s ushered in even lower V-shaped necklines, creating the need to cover the bustline with a chemisette, whilst bodices extended over the hips creating an even longer shape to the torso. In 1856, the first cage crinoline was patented by R.C. Millet in Paris, which was designed to create an artificial hourglass silhouette emphasizing the hips. It was crafted from piecing thin metal strips together to create a circular structure, in turn, being able to support the width of a large skirt.
A group of three purple gowns (£400-600)
Synthetic dyes during the 1860s also became more prevalent, and for the first time, women were afforded more choices and freedom through these advancements in fashion. Moving forward to 1873, the introduction of the polonaise into Victorian dresses allowed for the illusion of the bodice and overskirt to be viewed as one entity instead of two separate pieces. The 1870s also saw the advent of the tournure and eventually the bustle, and by the mid-1870s bodices became tighter laced and more elongated to create a sharp point towards the front. The fullness of skirts diminished, and the excess fabric was gathered on the bustle to the back of the dress.
The 1880s was a decade littered with stylistic confusion: the Victorian Dress Reform rejected concepts such as tightlacing and favoured a more natural, lightweight silhouette, whilst the popularity of tailoring also gave rise to a more severe style. Leisure pursuits such as cycling and tennis became increasingly favoured and full ensembles were designed for such activities. Ending at the 1890s, most of the characteristics of Victorian fashion had largely fallen away. The crinoline and bustle had been abandoned, and the skirts began to naturally fall away from the wearer creating almost an A-line shape. Necklines were very high, and the sleeves of bodices gradually increased in size by the mid-1890s. The tailored jacket eventually became more of a standard item in most women’s wardrobes and thus started to reflect female liberation at that time. The exponential growth of women’s upper- and middle-class fashion in the 19th century was also a direct response to the new-found political, social and economic freedom women were starting to possess, and set the foundations for the next turbulent century which lay ahead.
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