Timeframe
The Victorian era follows Queen Victoria's reign in Britain (1837–1901). The silhouette went through three big phases: the wide bell skirt and crinoline, then the bustle at the back, then the huge sleeves of the 1890s.
Previous episode: The Romantic Era
The cage crinoline (1856)
Before 1856, skirts were held out by many heavy layered petticoats. Then came the cage of thin steel hoops, which made a very wide skirt possible at a fraction of the weight.
The bustle
Volume moved to the back: a first bustle around 1869–1876, then the slim "natural form" phase, then a second, shelf-like bustle around 1883–1889.
The birth of haute couture
Charles Frederick Worth opened his Paris house in 1858. He was among the first to show designs on live models and to sew a label with the house name into the garment, which is why he is called the father of haute couture.
A colour revolution
In 1856 the young chemist William Henry Perkin discovered mauve, the first synthetic aniline dye. Bright colours that natural dyes could not achieve soon followed.
Machine and pattern
Isaac Singer patented his sewing machine in 1851, and Ebenezer Butterick began selling graded paper patterns in 1863, bringing home dressmaking closer to professional accuracy.
Understand the silhouette to draft its pattern
From crinoline to modern dress: learn to read a shape and turn it into a pattern in Anna Stella's Manchester classes.
Sources
- Norah Waugh, Corsets and Crinolines, Batsford.
- Janet Arnold, Patterns of Fashion 2: Englishwomen's Dresses and their Construction c.1860–1940, Macmillan.
- Diana de Marly, Worth: Father of Haute Couture, Elm Tree Books.
- Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 19th-century dress collections.