Victorian Style Dresses

When it came to Victorian style dresses, day dresses were known for plainness with flounces decorating the bottom, often colored at the edges and the main color being pink. Victorian style dresses in the summer held low necklines in the summer and were higher in the winter, sometimes covered with a “chemisette.” Fashion fur for winter included sable and ermine with muffs being made out of the same type of furs. In changing of the seasons, swandsdown was worn for spring and autumn. Pleats and folds hung from the shoulders in a sloping motion. Petticoats were essentially skirts that hung from the waist down and provided extra padding from under the main dress.

A ball dress could have double or triple layers for early Victorian style dresses. Satin formed the base of the skirt. If a ball dress was single there would be a decoration of lace flounces. The neckline was generally low and cut with either a bertha or flat flouncing. Sleeves that were short were usually hidden beneath a bertha or some other form of drapery. Even boots had to retain a soft veneer with silk coloring or pure white. For special occasions, artificial flowers hung in the hair and usually matched the ones decorated around the bonnet. With evening or dinner dresses, turbans and so-called Renaissance berets made appropriate head-gear in the early forties and the later part of the decade saw the use of wreaths. Little girls’ hair was shaped in ringlets hanging below the ear with shorter styles for adult women. Women had the choice of plaited hair which hung past the ears. Plaits became more fashionable towards the end of the decade, but women with naturally curly hair chose to retain the ringlet fashion.