Wool dress, England

<p> Wool dress, England, 1836 - 1838. Museum no. T. 11-1935</p>

Dress
England
1836 - 1838
Wool with a printed trefoil design
Museum no. T. 11-1935
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The fitted bodice has a low, round neck and a slightly high waistline. The skirt is box-pleated more tightly at the centre back. The sleeves are set low, tightly pleated below the shoulder. They have been altered by having the fullness reduced and a frill attached at the elbow. The sleeve puffs are stiffened with calico and supported with tapes. The main seams are faced, the bodice is lined with cotton and the skirt faced with glazed cotton.

Bonnets were fashionable at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign when indoor caps were still worn by most married women. Both started to go out of fashion in the 1860s when hats gradually replaced bonnets and indoor caps were worn only by widows.

Isabella Grace and Florence Elizabeth. Photograph by Lady Hawarden, England

<p> Isabella Grace and Florence Elizabeth. Photograph by Lady Hawarden, England, about 1862. Museum no. PH.300-1947</p>

Isabella Grace & Florence Elizabeth Maude on the Balcony of 5 Princes Gardens, London
Clementina, Lady Hawarden (1822 - 1865)
London, England
About 1862 - 63
Albumen print
Museum no. PH.300-1947
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Silk dress, France

<p> Silk dress, France, 1863 - 1865. Museum no. T.433-1976</p>

Dress
France
1863 - 1865
Silk trimmed with taffeta and a lace collar
Museum no.T.433-1976
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Green silk bodice and matching skirt. The silk material is hand-embroidered in silk and cut-steel beads, trimmed with taffeta and with a lace collar. The long skirt is fuller at the back and flatter at the front in keeping with the fashion of this period and would be worn over a steel hooped crinoline petticoat to give this distinctive shape.

Mademoiselle Fleury, France

<p> Mademoiselle Fleury, France, 1844. Museum no. E.5010-1968</p>

Print: Mademoiselle Fleury - La Jolie Fille de Gande
Alfred Edward Chalon (RA); Richard James Lane (A.R.A.); M & N Hanhart; John Mitchell
Goupil & Vibert (London and Paris)
France
1 May 1844
Hand coloured lithograph
Museum no.E.5010-1968
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The celebrated dancer Mlle. Fleury stands with her body turned half to her left, her arms curving to her left, her head turned to look across her right shoulder. Her hair is severely dressed, with a flower decoration to the back. She wears a white off-the-shoulder crinoline ball dress, with a pointed bodice trimmed over the neck and upper arms with lace and with a posy of flowers centre front; the bell-shaped skirt has a shorter overskirt of a diaphanous fabric, slit over the legs, and decorated at the top of the slit with posies of flowers.

Crinoline frame, English

<p> Crinoline frame, English, c. 1860s. Museum no. CIRC. 87-1951</p>

Crinoline
England
c. 1860s
Hoops of spring steel covered in braid
Museum no. CIRC. 87-1951
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Crinoline frame made from hoops of spring steel covered in braid. The hoops are fixed to black edged tapes wth stamped metal eyelets. There is a red woollen waistband with a frill made from horsehair, and an elastic stay holds the hoops in place.

Coloured plate, The English Woman's Domestic Magazine

<p> Coloured plate, The English Woman&#39;s Domestic Magazine, July 1860. Museum no. PP.19.F</p>

Print: The English Woman's Domestic Magazine: an illustrated journal combining practical information, instruction and amusement.
England
July 1860
Coloured engraving
Museum no. PP.19.F
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Fashion plate showing two fashionably dressed women in brightly striped crinoline dresses.

In 1852, publishing entrepreneur Samuel Beeton launched 'The English Woman's Domestic Magazine' at the startlingly low price of 2d a copy. An instant success, it had achieved a circulation of 50,000 by 1860 and became the `blueprint for the modern magazine industry'. It appealed to the rapidly- expanding middle-class sector who relished the mix of fiction, fashion and food, the latter provided by Beeton's wife, the soon-to-be lionised Isabella. Isabella visited Paris regularly and acquired fashion plates from Adolphe Goubaud's Moniteur de la Mode. A feature of Beeton's magazine was the "Practical Dress Instructor," a forerunner of the paper dressmaking pattern. In 1861, Beeton followed up his success with 'The Queen', a weekly newspaper of more topical character.

Dress and mantle, England

<p> Dress and mantle, England, mid-1840s. Museum nos. T.169-1959, T.170-1959</p>

Dress and mantle England Mid-1840s Satin dress and velvet mantle Museum nos. T.169-1959, T.170-1959 © Victoria & Albert Museum, London The dress has a high, round neck, fitted bodice and a waistline with a rounded point to which the skirt is flat- pleated except for a panel of tight gathering at the back. There is a front lace fastening. The sleeves are long with an open epaulette. The only trimmings are the agate stud buttons mounted on black velvet bows above the wrists. The bodice is piped on all the main seams, lined with cotton and boned. The skirt is lined with yellow and white washed and re-used figured silk. The back is softly interlined. There are yellow chamois dress preservers. The mantle is lined with black quilted silk and fastened with concealed hooks and eyes. It reaches to the knees and has openings for the arms. It has a rounded collar and is flounced from the waist to the hips. The edges are trimmed with matching looped braid and fringe.

Day dress, c. 1836-1840

<p> Day dress, c. 1836-1840, England. Museum no. T.32-1940</p>

Day dress
England
c. 1836 - 1840
Cotton, silk satin and linen
Museum no. T.32-1940
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

This 1830's English day dress is cotton printed in a soft pink, red, white and green floral motif against a soft light brown ground. It is edged with green silk satin piping and lined with linen and cotton. The sleeves are tightly gathered around the top and loose at the elbow. The long skirt is gathered in at the waist of the tight fitting bodice which is edged with green satin piping.

Green silk dress, England

<p> Green silk dress, England, c. 1862. Museum no. T.222-1969</p>

Green silk dress
England
c. 1862
Silk, silk braid, beads, glazed cotton
Museum no. T.32-1940
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Dress with long puffed sleeves comprising a bodice, skirt and belt. In woven green silk with a white floral design and trimmed with silk braid and beads, lined with glazed cotton, and edged with brushed braid.