Fashion In Victorian Era

Fashion in Victorian era

The present historical research has as its main objective to know and analyze the impact that fashion had in the Victorian era at the social and cultural level, in the 19th century, which is why the question raised is justified: how much importance did fashion in theVictorian era of the nineteenth century at the sociocultural level?

To address the research, secondary sources taken from reliable websites will be used. The first source belongs to the author Ruíz Gonzalo, who explains the different implications that Victorian era had in political, economic and, above all, social, which compensates for the investigative issue. However, the second source was taken from the Web Portal: HiSour, which provides a wide study of the history of the Victorian dress from a cultural point of view, an aspect taken into account for the development of the research.

In fact, despite the different origin, both sources agree that this event not only served as a means of innovation, but in a much stronger divisor of social classes.

Source I: The Victorian era

This source was obtained from a reliable website written by Ruíz Gonzalo, who publishes digital magazines in Spanish within a recognized digital brand that specializes in universal history issues. The purpose of it is to publicize the political, economic and social impact of the Victorian era in the 19th century, under the long reign of Victoria I in England. Also, this source has a great value since the information it provides is quite detailed regarding the prominence that bourgeois social classes and the effects developed that even continued after the death of the queen.

However, the source presents a great limitation, since the focus of it focuses on purely social aspects and only within English society, so the cultural effects it had were omitted, as well as its world impact.

Source II: Victorian Fashion

The second source was obtained from an online platform: Hiour, which examines the world of history, culture, humanity and art in a pleasant, transparent and reliable way. For this reason, the source has as its main purpose to explore and understand the various fashions to which the main social classes were attached: medium and high, in England, through a vast cultural development. In this sense, the source has an irrefutable value, since it corresponds to the evolution suffered by the dress in this century and its main effects on the traditional bourgeois mind.

Although, it should be noted that the source has a remarkable limitation, since it is mainly focused on the clothing used by women, and their cultural implications, leaving aside the rhythm with which society was developed at first.

Research

The Victorian era has been included from 1837 to 1901, it is known in this way because the Crown of England was occupied by the Victoria I monarch, who went up to the throne with the death of his paternal uncle, King Guillermo IV. This period is remembered for the changes produced at the political, economic, social, cultural and even technological level, which marked a before and after in terms of nineteenth century in English in English society.

Introduction of fashion and first settlements

England for those times was far ahead of the other powers, mainly due to “the British fleet, the maximum overseas authority, the smoking factories and the countless railways roads”, [Footnoteref: 1] which starred in the industrial revolution. When this event occurred, it was the factories and social groups that had a more notable impact.

First, the factories began to dedicate imminently to the textile industry, so they were generating greater stability and economic prosperity. A great technological development was also differentiated in terms of machinery, because “the introduction of the sewing machine […] simplified the preparation of dresses both in homes and in business”, in this way, making the clothing give aNew jump in English culture.

In mid -1850, the production of the dresses would have collapsed without an adequate advertising medium, however, thanks to the progress of the printing, the first catalogs appear showing slender women to lookThus fashion an elegant clothing that mainly attracted the ladies. Because of this, social classes: nobility, high bourgeoisie, middle class, workers and workers, begin to differentiate much more than before.

Now, the media social class took a very important role to instill that peculiar style of the Victorian era in English culture. These people were especially dedicated to trade and, therefore, had a good economic supply. It was for the industrial revolution, that these would begin to establish a rigorous order and moderation based on aesthetics, as a consequence, “the expected customs and label of men, and especially women, were rigid during much of the Victorian era”, Developing a culture where clothing and manners labels are important to differentiate the status and range to which they belonged.

In this sense, there was also a custom to which, both men and women, had to be subject, especially for the latter, given that “it became fashionable aspiring to a woman model that most women aspired to be, a model that later began to evolve ".[Footnoteref: 4] Although this change did not occur until the creation of crinoline and corset. Allowing society and culture, to experience new changes.

Evolution of clothing

Crinoline

Fashion for 1851 had the main purpose of defining genres more than ever. For this reason, English clothing made special emphasis on perfection, the value of details and, above all, the idealization of the female figure.

It was attractive that the ladies highlight a typical model to follow: long and thin torsos, small waist and wide hips: symbolizing fertility and motherhood. To aspire to this model, it was essential that they use pompous dresses that realize that desired silhouette, however, "as the times advanced and industrial society acquired a higher purchasing level, the costumes were becoming more recharged", since the fabrics, also called enaguas, could weigh until fourteen pounds, making it very difficult for those who used them.

Due to this and innovations in the metal industry, the famous crinolins appear that, initially, were made of mane and a linen fabric, which did not completely allow the sustenance of the dress. Subsequently, this garment was "the basis of an outfit composed of wrought iron […] that stretched the skirt and preserved its shape". In fact, it was available to all women and such was its impact that also meant the release for the women of the time, because they would no longer have to load with the heavy enaguas and enjoy more movement. 

However, since the garment was open for the entire public, the ladies of the middle society began to give it another way by 1865 and thus differentiate themselves from the common woman. Then the crinoline design is reduced by half, concentrating on the back of the dress, leaving the flat front. However, another problem arose with this garment, since there were many deaths due to the ease with which the materials they were made burned, taking into account that the use of candles and chimneys in the houses was very usual, dyingBased thousands women. For this reason, the crinolina falls into a minced and in 1870 they disappear completely.

But, on the other hand, the crinoline was not just a fashion, it also served women to hide weapons and smuggling merchandise under the skirts in the secession war, a true garment of Victorian engineering.

 The corset

Undoubtedly the Victorian corset is the most representative garment of this era of changes and the most controversial in England and worldwide. Therefore, a dispute arises as a result of it, on the one hand, represented the aesthetic beauty of women and, on the other, the oppressed physically and morally.

In 1860 the corset was small, narrow and the materials with which it was made were of animal origin: whale bones. Subsequently, in 1870, the corset suffered an evolution: it becomes more elongated, exaggerating the size of the hips and the bust with respect to how fine the waist should be. And now it consisted of "cotton structures or thicker fabrics with iron rods that were adjusted by ties", [Footnoteref: 7] thus limiting the movement of women. In spite. 

Of course, it was undeniable that this garment, not only symbolized wealth, also symbolized a woman’s sexuality for the proportions of her figure, although she brought serious consequences its continuous use. It was guilty, in the first instance, for producing countless diseases because of its extreme adjustment, in addition, that displaced the organs and disfigured the ribs for life, then other measures were chosen to no longer use it: its abolition. But, it is true that they were the innovations and the change of conception of corset, over time, which produced "a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuity", so you can leave a great stepFor female liberation. 

End of Victorian era

English fashion, from the controversies it had, allowed a more adaptable figure for the woman’s body, since the spectacular and uncomfortable ornaments were completely abandoned in their clothing to leave a suit with the form of “an inverted triangle, withA wide -winged hat at the top, a upper part of the body with boiled sleeves, without bustle, and a skirt that narrowed in the ankles ”, which gave a reflection of early female liberation. Anyway, fashion continued to evolve, but this transcendental era for history concludes with the death of Queen Victoria I, in January 1901.

By way of conclusion, it can be said that fashion in Victorian era had an important impact at the sociocultural level, since it was a factor to differentiate the social classes that arose from the industrial revolution and define the role they had to exercise according to thegender. This is how the middle social class takes prominence, which imposes customs, labels and manners that should be followed strictly, but that mainly affected women, since they had to submit to the extreme use of devices such as crinoline and corset, forget a slender figure, which even took them to death. However, with the evolution of clothing, women could take the first step to be part of society and that culture does not impose on them. Therefore, fashion marked a before and after regarding English society and culture.

Reflection

To carry out my research, I was able to realize very important points for the development of the same, such as the sources, for which I could find vast information in documents related to the selected topic, due to this, the task of selecting the informationappropriate became difficult, in addition, considering that the Victorian era is of the utmost importance for historians, it was difficult to assume a global appreciation. However, I could find secondary sources that lacked author and date, also biased, which reflects their lack of integrity and context, therefore, they were discarded. It is important to mention that, being a very discussed issue by historians, varied dimensions can be generated in relation to the implications that fashion had in social and cultural contexts, mainly because it made an important leap thanks to the industrial revolution, which originatedThe growth of certain social groups.

With the selected sources, I had the opportunity to measure the impact that fashion produced at a social and cultural level during the Victorian era and understand the reasons why it is very important, since it was not only an aesthetic reason, but it was a mediumto differentiate social classes and define the role of genres. Finally, I consider fashion, despite how raw it could be with the norms and labels, an important step to modernity could be taken thanks to the proper development that its impact meant on the lives of people and in the worldwhole.

Bibliography

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