The Victorian era is the period of the reign of Queen Victoria from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. During the Victorian era, the British economy flourished. The Industrial Revolution meant substantial technological progress and made Great Britain a forerunner for a considerable time. Furthermore, it was by anf large a peaceful time in Europe, although the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 reminded everybody that stability was not to be taken for granted. Queen Victoria had little political power or influence but the domestic policy managed to keep everything stable. However, the international policies and colonialism of the British Empire were anything but peaceful.

The changing work culture of this post-industrial revolution time meant that people (at least those not working in factories) had leisure hours and could partake in popular forms of entertainment. Education levels rose through a more formalised school system which in turn benefitted literature, theatre, galleries, music venues and the opera houses.

The Victorian Era saw fashion chance, sometimes dramatically, every couple of years. From wide, bell-shaped skirts over the crinoline to figure hugging styles in the 1870s, there is a lot of variety comprised within the generalising name 'Victorian Era'. The making of clothes and dress culture changed massively during the industrial revolution which introduced the sewing machine, mechanical weaving, and therefore made ready-made clothing possible. This overturned the entire textile industry and lastingly changed society. The rise of the middle class during the era had a formative effect on this time, brought on by the growing wealth that the industrial revolution made possible.

The Victorian era was the heyday of fashion magazines. Print, materials and technologies had become more affordable and literacy levels were up across societies. Disposable income had risen (for some) during the industrial evolution. Magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and the Journal des Demoiselles testify to this prolific output of fashion prints. These prints circulated in society, they were shared and discussed. Women ordered from the makers advertising in the magazines or took the prints as inspirations to the dressmakers of their choice. Fashion was becoming more democratic, but also somewhat more uniform by the means of mass production. 

The 1820's and 30's are a fascinating time, sandwiched between the Regency and the onset of Victorian fashion. In Germany, this era is called Biedermeier. 

Towards the end of the Regency/Empire epoch, the high empire waistline of gowns began slipping downwards by about an inch every year. By the mid-twenties, the waistline reached its natural position on the body again and an hourglass figure came back into fashion. Consequently, corsetry changed from the softer stays of the Regency era to feature a more defined waist and hip curve. The wasp-waist effect was strengthened by the contrast with the full skirts and big “leg-o-mutton” sleeves. The skirts were not yet shaped by hoop-skirts, but by layers of starched petticoats and underskirts, sometimes padded with horsehair. The voluminous sleeves were shaped by padding, corset bone inserts and stiff canvas. The new fashionable silhouette was: accentuated shoulders through the sleeves, a very slim waist and a full skirt. Evening and ball gowns remained low-cut and short-sleeved, with shortened skirts when intended for dancing. Clothes were noticeably colourful, and decorated with appliques, ribbonwork, beading and embroidery. Advances in textile production, such as printing and synthetic dyes, produced a wide variety of bright, patterned clothes. 

In the 1840s, the huge leg-o-mutton sleeves vanished to be supplanted by tight-fitting ones. The skirts became even wider, supported by crinolines. Crin, French for horse hair, gave this undergarment it's name: the crinoline is a bell shaped hoop-skirt, at first stiffened with horse hair, later normally made of steel rings and fastened around the waist with bands.

Evening gowns had a low, wide neckline and small close-fitting sleeves. Shiny, glimmering fabrics  like silk and taffeta were the thing, just as lace in form of trimming along the neckline, as gloves and stoles.

The waist appears so small through optical illusion: the very wide skirt and the bodice that is padded and cut to enhance the shoulders by big sleeves, ruffles and a wide neckline form a contrast to the waist that makes it appear smaller than it actually is. It is not necessarily the work of lacing a corset very tight. 

In this time, the Romantic Movement had reached its zenith: The Romantic fiction and historical novels and plays were loved very much by a great readership. Fashion was influenced by this pop-cultural romanticised view of the past, especially the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan Era, and for instance (small) Elizabethan ruffs appear in fashion plates from magazines of this time.  

The cage crinoline of the 1850s and 1860s as a fashion undergarment was essentially a descendant of the paniers (pocket hoops) and court hoops of the eighteenth century - think the dresses of Marie Antoinette, or of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire whose life was adapted into the 2008 film The Duchess. The paniers, padded bum rolls, split rumps and other voluminous undergarments had been left behind in the social turning point that was the French Revolution (1789-99). Yet fashion swings periodically between extremes and it was therefore only a question of time before the shape of the skirt became once again the focus of style. Therefore, by the 1850s and 1860s, the crinoline shape was the norm and the Empire dresses were already in the rear-view mirror of society. In Letters to an Incognita (edited and published 1889), author Prosper Mérimée (of novella Carmen fame, which was adapted by Bizet into the opera) wrote: "At a recent masked ball, a lady had the temerity to appear in a costume of 1806, without crinoline, which produced quite the sensation".

The steel-hooped cage crinoline was patented in 1856 in Paris, popular due to being lightweight, collapsible and fairly easy to manoeuvre. Crinolines may appear particularly extraordinary in our age of jeans and sportswear and they doubtless were cumbersome, but they were also flexible and in themselves fairy light. While the skirts slightly swayed and bobbed at every step of the wearer, the crinoline beneath could be easily lifted up to gather it up to one side to fit through a narrow doorway or into a carriage, or folded to allow the wearer to sit down (imagine it like a modern throw tent, stable but also flexible).

Evening gowns had a rather low neckline and were worn off the shoulders or just on the shoulders. Skirts with many layers of fabric creating horizontal valances were very fashionable. This flouncy style supported the bell-shape and width of the skirt even more. Although Victorian fashion looks very ornate and difficult, wearing it and getting dressed in it are no hours-long processes or hardships. Put on your chemise and drawers and stockings with garters, your corset, your skirt(s) and your bodice and voila, you are dressed!

By the late 1850s and early 1860s the crinoline had reached an enormous measure. In the early 1960s, the skirts became increasingly flatter in the front but flared out into a conical shape towards the back until in the later 1860s they became rather triangular in silhouette.

The crinoline not only altered fashion, it had an economic impact, too. Household budgets had to account for the needed materials. Crinolines were fairly widespread from the working class to the upper classes. The immense amounts of fabric required for this fashion was costly, even when choosing a reasonably affordable cloth. Therefore, even wealthy women had to consider what and how much to buy for their wardrobe. To save on material costs, several matching bodices were often made to go with a skirt. This meant that one skirt had a matching day bodice which a high neckline and long sleeves (or several) and one or more short-sleeved and lower cut bodices with varying degrees of fine trim to attend dinners and parties or go to the opera.

By the end of the 1860s, the crinoline was replaced by the bustle. The silhouette was no longer bell-shaped but strait in front and projecting in the back behind the seat. This bustle style stayed until the 1770s before briefly vanishing for a super fitted, more natural look before coming back for the Second Bustle Era in around 1882.

Either a cage bustle as in the picture was used, or bustle pads (padded pillows tied around the waist that sat in the back to give the skirts that volume and drama). During the bustle era, the dresses also consisted of two pieces: the skirt and the jacket-style bodice. The skirt with its bustles and pleats was decorated to the minutest detail with all sorts of lavish embellishment. 

In around 1874, the first bustle era concluded for the sake of a very slim and figure-hugging silhouette. The skirts are now very narrow and the undergarments are very limited and fitted for the so called 'natural form'. The cut of the bodice is lengthened well down to over the hips to create this smooth look. The skirts are usually decorated with ruffles, ruches, lace, tassels and silk flowers. They can end in a train or be floor long for more ease of walking.

The shoulders are very narrow with tight-fitting sleeves and even the hairstyles are now high to support this slim and pillar-like silhouette. This style, however, lasted only until about 1882 when the bustle returned and the skirts once more became wide at the back.

 The Second Bustle Era of the 1880s creates an almost architectural style with skirts that are round but very flat at the front while they protrude at the back. Take a look at George Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", 1884 - 1886, for an extreme and stylised depiction of this style.

From 1884 onwards till 1914, this epoch is also called fin de siècle or Belle Époche, in the US it is the Gilded Age.

The decorative arts during the fin de siècle are chiefly dominated by the Art Nouveau movement. In the 1880s and 1890s, artistic influences came from Japan  into European art and fashion. Japanese art was highly influential on the Art Nouveau Movement due to its clarity of line and natural themes. The chrysanthemum, for example, had been brought to Europe and enjoyed great popularity in embroidery.

Sleeves were usually voluminous at the shoulders and skirts were bell-shaped and flowing.

The S-curve with a large pigeon breast (also called mono-bosom) was achieved through layers of ruffled corset covers and blouses. It was not necessarily the body that was forced in an unnatural shape and rather the clothes that were styled and adapted to give that look.

Elements of Victorian era fashion survived until today: Based on Victorian styles (or clichés) are e.g. the Steampunk and Lolita movement.

 Accessories:

Folding fans, decorated with painted scenes were an important accessory. Smelling salts were carried in small scent bottles, as well as pocket watches and whole belt chatelaines with a thimble, small scissors, button hooks and trinkets all on little chains. For middle- and upper class women, protecting the complexion from a sun tan meant that gloves and parasols remained as important as they had been in the Regency and before.

For decorative purposes, modesty and for protection from draughts, shawls, lace capes such as that of the Comtesse de La Tour-Maubourg, neckerchiefs and other fashionable stoles were worn. 

The later 19th century is marked by social shifts which gave women greater freedoms. In a post-industrial revolution era, clothes and accessories had to be especially practical for women working in factories or in the newly popular department stores. Exercise for the purposes of health became increasingly recognised and integrated into the daily life of those with leisure to undertake sports, such as cycling or playing tennis. Handbags to carry around all necessary items now usually had a metal closure with a textile pouch bag attached which could be decorated by cross-stitch embroidery or beading.

Shoes:

Flat shoes made of soft leather or, for special occasions, silk can be seen in portraits and fashion plates for much of the Victorian era. These flats could either be slipped on or tied with ribbon strapping. They very much resembled Regency footwear.

Wearing heels became more fashionable in the 1870s. The heels were usually not very high and often curved, such as in this pair in the collection of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. The toes were often round or pointed. In the picture above of this pair of boots at the Otago Museum Dunedin the triangles at the ankles are made of elastic material so that the boots could easily be pulled on and fitted better. Boots could also be buttoned by many small buttons which required a button hook (a metal stick with a small hook at one end) to make opening and closing them more efficient.