The fashion of the 19th century is renowned for its corsets, bonnets, top hats, bustles and petticoats. Women’s fashion during the Victorian period was largely dominated by full skirts, which gradually moved to the back of the silhouette. However, towards the end of the period, the less restrictive Aesthetic style began to emerge.
Introduction to 19th-Century Fashion
The Fashionable silhouette for men and women in the 19th Century.
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Victorian Dress at the V&A
The V&A's Victorian dress collection represents the fashions worn by the wealthy in the 19th century, and reflects their lives and aspirations. The clothing featured here a…
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Corsets & Crinolines in Victorian Fashion
Changes in body shape throughout the Victorian period were facilitaded by new attitudes and technology. From cage crinolines to bustles and body-huggins corsets, it was oft…
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Crinolines, Crinolettes, Bustles and Corsets from 1860-80
From 1860-80 the size of crinolines started to dimish and first crinolettes, then bustles, became popular. Skirts became narrower and flatters as more emphasis was placed o…
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Corsets and Bustles from 1880-90 - the Move from Over-Structured Opulance to the 'Healthy Corset'
From 1880-90 exaggerated bustles became fashionable and 'healthy corsets' were introduced.
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Interactive: Man's Black Wool Suit, by Unknown Maker, 1800-17
An ensemble made from black wool has been the uniform of the middle-class professional – doctor, lawyer, clergyman, academic, merchant, businessmen - since the late 16th ce…
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Interactive: Woman's Boating Outfit, by Unknown Maker, about 1872
This is a jaunty, sensible woman’s outfit of the early 1870s designed for boating or seaside walking.
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Interactive: Silk Day Dress, by Worth, 1889
With its minimal bustle and strong emphasis on the sleeves, this day dress illustrates the smoother silhouette that began to appear in the late 1880s.
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Interactive: Silk Velvet Tea Gown, by Liberty & Co., 1894
This gown would have been worn as a 'tea gown', as an informal 'at home' dress for the late afternoon, or even as a simple dinner dress.
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Interactive: Silk Velvet Evening Gown, by Stern Bros, about 1894
This sumptuous evening dress has huge puffed sleeves which were highly fashionable during the mid 1890s.
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Interactive: Woman's Walking Suit, by Jacques Doucet, about 1894
This beige linen suit, embroidered with silk cord, might well have been worn for a tour abroad. When it was conserved, reddish-brown dust was found on the surface.
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Interactive: Pink & Cream Evening Dress, by Festa & Co, 1895-1900
During this period, etiquette dictated that women of society vary their evening dress according to the occasion. Dresses like this silk satin example, with uncovered arms a…
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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British Asian Style: Fashion and Textiles
South Asian textiles have shaped British fashion and dress for centuries, from the fashionable chintzes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, t…
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Tue 23 July 2013 13:00
FREE TALK: Hailed as a second Michelangelo by his friends, J.B. Papworth was an architect of incredible versatility.
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