The mid to late Victorian era (1860s to 1901) was an interesting time for fashion. The fashion was sleek, classy and distinguished. Is it possible though, to bring some of this fashion into modern day styles? Yes, it is, and fortunately, you can do away with the corsets and heavy layers of skirts, while still creating a freer, updated Victorian style. All it takes is some creativity and adjustments to your style.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 3:
Choosing the Wardrobe
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Choose clothing that gives the impression of Victorian era style. Ideally, you'll want to look for:
- High-collard shirts or turtlenecks.
- Anything made of lace is appropriate. For example, sleeves, shirts, skirts, etc.
- Long A-line skirts (fitted at the natural waist and flares out at the bottom), knee to floor-length.
- Peasant blouses, vests, or corseted tops.
- Fitted clothing, but not revealing.
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Choose the right sorts of fabrics. To be representative of the Victorian style, consider choosing dark, heavily saturated fabric for an older look. For a younger look, choose white or soft pastels.Advertisement
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Select appropriate shoes. They were just as important to Victorian ladies as they are to many ladies in current eras. The only difference was the style of shoes and the fact that what you can wear now is much more comfortable. So, stick with the comfort but look for what could pass as Victorian footwear. Look for:
- Oxford style and Gibson style shoes.
- Any similar boots with buttons or snaps down the sides, and closed toe.
- Boots that range in length from caff to ankle.
- Earth-toned colors or dyed leather.
- Slippers for at home: Victorian women wore slippers around the house and these were typically fabric slide-ons with no back.
- It is possible to still find authentic Victorian style boots online or in some shoe shops. However, be aware that feet sizes have grown considerably over the decades and you may find them both uncomfortable and of a poor fit. Perhaps for the display cabinet rather than on your feet.
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Select undergarments with a nod to the Victorian era. Undergarments were very important in constructing the classic shape of the mid-late Victorian outfit. However, the exact style of underwear worn by Victorian women can be quite cumbersome for this day and age, so most of the time, stick to nice lace underwear that helps you to feel in sympathy with the olden day style. Still, sometimes the real style of undergarments may be nice or authentic to wear, so you could try them just for fun:
- Bustles: These were small pads or bamboo wood cages worn underneath the dress to make it poof outward in the back. These can be easily made by creating or purchasing a small pillow and folding it over. Then securing it just above the natural waist with a belt or by attaching a thick ribbon to it and tying it in place.
- Bloomers: These were a form of underwear that looked like shorts with ruffles.Try swapping out modern-day underwear for bloomers to get an extra Victorian feel with your outfit.
- Petticoats: These are underskirts designed to give a dress more volume and help keep their shape. These were usually made with fluffed up or ruffled fabric to take up space. This way the skirt or dress will not lay flat against your legs. You can purchase these currently in dress shops, online, or make one with tulle or crinoline fabric.
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Decide whether corsets are something you'd like to try. Corsets were a key part of a Victorian woman's wardrobe. You should always be careful when using a corset, as wearing one too often or for too long can damage your organs and warp your ribs, or even cause serious breathing problems. While they can be beautiful and create an elegant shape, you should limit your time in corset to no more than a few hours a day, and never sleep or exercise in one. Choose one that is sized correctly for you and never lace it so tightly that your breathing is restricted, and unlace it immediately if you start to feel faint or short of breath. Bras weren't invented in the Victorian era, so most ladies used corsets as a type of bra. Even today there are women who wear corsets quite happily day in and day out, the difference being that it's now a choice. There are two types of corsets:
- True corsets: These have steel support strips inside called boning (antique versions will have whalebone supports). If you want to achieve an accurate, realistic Victorian hourglass shape, purchasing an authentic corset and learning about waist training will form part of your experience. However, these corsets are very pricey as they're a lot of work to make and you will need to be committed to training yourself in the proper wearing of them. It might be a good idea to trial one if someone you know can lend you one and help you with it initially.
- Fashion corsets: These are worn on the outside of clothing and are not meant to lace tightly like true corsets do. They can have beautiful patterns or designs. If you want the idea and feel of a corset, but not the commitment, try searching and purchasing a fashion corset for much less money.
- Overbust corsets go over your bosom, while underbust only stop under the breast-line. These styles can be either fashion or a true corset.
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Find suitable small accessories to carry. Most Victorian women carried small things with them day-to-day. Some typical examples include:
- Fold-up fans and small drawstring purses: These are held, or attached to the bustle with a string and hung at the side.
- Parasols: These are like small umbrellas. They were used to keep the sun from tanning the skin of a proper Victorian lady, and are still very useful for the same purpose.
- White gloves: These were usually worn when going out or visiting someone. Lace wrist cuffs, gauntlets, and fingerless gloves can be a more efficient way to get this look. In addition, for evening dresses with short sleeves, long gloves were worn that were longer than the elbow.
- Fully fashioned stockings: When women went out, they always wore long stockings that reached their thighs and kept them at that height all day long.
- Spats: These are white fabric that wraps around boots and snap on securely. These were used to keep mud and dirt from getting onto new boots. Hard to find in stores, but quite easy to make using online patterns, or may be purchased online, perhaps from boutique seamstresses.
- Handkerchiefs: These were widely popular items for women to carry. They come in a range of pretty and delicate styles. Look under the collectible linens sections of auction sites for older, lacy versions that are more likely to be complementary to the Victorian style.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:
Hair, Make-up, and Jewels
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Prepare an appropriate hairdo. Victorian ladies were very proud of their hair. It was their glory and rarely or never did they cut or shave it. However, they did trim ends and bangs. Some common Victorian hairstyles were:
- Braided styles. French braids and large side-braids were most common. Many times the bangs were cut and curled and the rest of the hair was braided. Then the end of the braid was curled as well.
- Up-dos. Buns were very common among Victorian ladies, especially those who worked. Their hair stayed out of the way and was protected against any hazards.
- Curls. Corkscrew, or "Shirley Temple Curls" were popular in the Victorian age, long before Shirley Temple was even born. Many Victorian ladies had loose, curled sections of hair. However, the hair never went past shoulder-length.
- Dark hair was considered more desirable in this age. [ citation needed ] Many women dyed their hair with lead-based dyes to achieve a raven black, or brown color. Since hair dye is much safer now, you may choose to dye your hair, or purchase a wig. Or, just leave your hair as it is.
- Hats and hairpins. These accessories were used by Victorian women as well. Delicate and intricate hairpins with emerald or rubies, hats with plumes or lace, and mesh webbing were popular.
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Adapt your makeup. Many Victorian ladies wore make-up, but they didn't want anyone to know they were wearing anything at all. It was fashionable to many at the time to be as pale as possible. If you want to achieve a Victorian style make-up look, try:
- Using moisturizers and sunscreen to make the skin as smooth as possible. Smooth, porcelain-like skin was seen as most attractive.
- Evening out skin tone, sunspots, and blemishes with concealer or powder.
- Using natural lip colors such as reds, pinks and browns, or beeswax lip gloss.
- Very light blush on the apples of your cheeks.
- Remember, you want to look as natural as possible.
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Choose some signature pieces of jewelry. Every proper Victorian lady had some kind of jewelry to wear. Whether it was just one brooch, a single hatpin, or her wedding ring. Victorian era jewelry is easy to find, so you can even wear the real deal. Check antique and thrift stores and online auctions for Victorian jewelry. Be on the look out for:
- Cameos. These were profile silhouettes of women from the shoulders up. Typically they didn't have much detail and were carved out of ivory or coral. They are now made of plastic or clay, but look authentic.
- Jewel designs like little flowers or bows. These were common for brooches.
- Gems such as emeralds, rubies, diamonds, pearls, sapphires were commonly used for necklaces and earrings. Silver and gold were frequently used as well.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:
Choosing Neo-Victorian or Authentic
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Select Neo-Victorian if you want to upgrade the look. This refers to any modern-day style with a distinct Victorian inspired looks. Some of these styles include:
- Steampunk. This is Victorian-based sci-fi. Steampunk style takes all of the Victorian "morals" such as women not being able to wear pants, show their ankles, or too much skin, and rebels against it all. It's a mix of modern-day thinking in Victorian fashion. It is common for steampunk to use the colors brown, gold, silver, black, white, and cream, with splashes of color here and there. Mechanical limbs, gears, cogs, and goggles are also frequently used by those who dress steampunk.
- Victorian goth and Steamgoth. Victorian goth is basically Victorian era clothing, but mostly just black with splashes of color. Steamgoth is steampunk with mostly black instead of brown.
- Victorian Lolita (or Gothic Lolita) is a Japanese street fashion which has Victorian blouses and corsets, along with fluffy knee-length dresses, candy, anime, or sweet inspired prints on fabric, and a lot of ruffles and lace. If you are more of a "girly-girl", this may be the style for you.
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Be authentic Victorian. For the truly dedicated, only. If you really want to have an authentic Victorian wardrobe, certain things could be cut out from your closet. Such as:
- Anything with neon or extremely bright colors
- Pants, jeans, leggings, and shorts
- Miniskirts, or dresses with a short hemline
- Modern heels and gym shoes
- Sleeveless shirts
- Sweaters; shirts that reveal skin beyond the arms, shoulders, and neck; and t-shirts
- Modern underwear (using bloomers, corsets, chemises, and stays instead)
- This is true dedication, so be sure it's what you really want before throwing out any of your easy-living clothing.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhere can I find those longer skirts? I looked everywhere, but the longest I found was barely knee-length.ClaudiaCommunity AnswerTry thrift or vintage stores, since they get a variety of merchandise in. You could also try a costume or rental store.
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QuestionWould I still look Victorian if I did not wear a corset?Community AnswerYes! Corsets are not all there was to Victorian style. Stick to other similar Victorian-inspired things, and you'll be fine.
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QuestionCould it work (as a female) to wear a corduroy short-romper over a lacy white blouse, lace tights and Victorian-style boots? Or is that too revealing and 'inappropriate'?Livia HorowitzCommunity AnswerIt would be considered "acceptable" for playing/general children's wear. But if you like wearing it, then by all means wear it.
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Tips
- Remember: Lace up your boots first, then your corset. Otherwise, you'll regret it.Thanks
- Try visiting antique stores, and thrift and charity stores, such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, etc. Also check online boutiques and auction sales.Thanks
- Take a little time to learn about the Victorian era and its culture. Studying up on Impressionism art and Art Nouveau might also be helpful to you. These forms of art were popular during the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, especially in France.Thanks
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Warnings
- If you want to purchase a real corset and begin waist training, it is most important that you select the right corset. If you have any physical anomalies such as scoliosis, fibromyalgia, asthma, etc., it is advised that you not begin waist training, as it could be harmful.Thanks
- Do not use fashion corsets for waist training. These type of corsets usually have plastic or scrap metal boning and they are extremely thin. They may break through the fabric and could scratch, stab, or jab the wearer. Boning could also snap if laced too tightly.Thanks
- Never try to be something you are not. Do not try to make yourself like something, if you really don't like it. If you are not making yourself happy, then do not do it.Thanks
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References
- http://www.historyundressed.com/ – research source
- http://www.langantiques.com/ – research source
- http://thecorsetauthority.tumblr.com/ – research source
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