Fashion & Dress
An age of wasp waists and towering top hats — how the Victorians dressed, from full mourning black to paisley shawls.
The Crinoline
A cage of spring steel that freed women's legs from the weight of a dozen petticoats — and turned every doorway into a comedy.
The Bustle
Fashion moved the volume from all around to all behind — a padded, projecting shelf that made the Victorian silhouette famous.
Mourning Dress
After Prince Albert died in 1861, the Queen wore black for forty years — and turned grief into the strictest dress code in fashion.
The Top Hat
Six inches of black silk that told the world a man was a gentleman — and collapsed flat when he went to the opera.
The Corset
Laced at the back, busked at the front, and argued about everywhere — the most controversial garment of the century.
Spats
Little buttoned gaiters that kept a gentleman's shoes spotless — and became the most imitated detail of Edwardian swagger.
Bloomers
A knee-length skirt over loose Turkish trousers — the outfit that got its name from the newspaper editor who dared to wear it.
The Paisley Shawl
The pine-cone patterned shawl every fashionable woman wanted — so costly that owning one was a statement of serious wealth.