Overhead priests and other novelties in wedding fashion introduced by the Queen of England, who created the Victorian style

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 1837, eighteen-year-old Victoria became Queen of England. At the beginning of her reign, a new style was born in fashion, which was named so - Victorian. And this style has not yet lost its popularity, especially for wedding fashion. What did the English queen bring so special to fashion?

In terms of fashion, the more than 60-year period of Queen Victoria's reign is usually divided into three periods:

Early Victorian period (1837-1860)

The 40s of the 19th century are called the romantic decade of the Victorian era. It coincided with the happiest years in the life of Victoria herself, a trendsetter who managed to become an idol for many ladies of that time. In 1840, the young queen, passionately in love with Prince Albert, married him.

In the same years, six of their nine children were born.

At the peak of women's fashion of this time - the hourglass silhouette with its aspen waist and a fluffy dome-shaped skirt with numerous petticoats. The outfits, replete with ruffles, lace, flounces so beloved by women, were full of all the colors of the rainbow. The waist was tightly pulled by corsets, sometimes bringing the volume up to 30 cm. Skirts became wider due to the lush folds. One outfit took up to 40 meters of fabric.

In the 50s, skirts became so wide that petticoats could no longer hold them. To maintain the domed shape, special hoops were inserted into the skirts. At first, they were made on the basis of a whalebone or horsehair. Horsehair in French is crin, hence the name of the rigid structure - crinoline. Later, crinolines made of metal appeared.

Middle Victorian period (1860-1870)

In 1861, tragic changes took place in Victoria's life, which radically changed her life - her beloved husband, Prince Albert, passed away. Victoria plunged into deep mourning for a long time. Black became her favorite color. The style of her clothes was reflected in the fashion of that time - restrained dull tones became relevant. And the silhouette became more strict - with rigid corsets, heavy skirts, high, under the throat, collars.

At the end of the 60s, skirts lost their splendor, bustle gradually came into fashion - a cotton pad, which was fixed at the back, slightly lower than the waist.

The silhouette in this dress looked very graceful curved.

Late Victorian period (1870-1901)

Bustle dresses became very popular in the 70s and 80s. In the later period, bright colors of clothing also returned to fashion.

For a short time, since 1875, a narrow silhouette becomes fashionable, while the bustles become unobtrusive. However, walking in such clothes turned out to be very uncomfortable, and the bustles returned, becoming even more voluminous. In dresses with such huge bustles, the skirt fell almost at right angles, which made women of fashion look like centaurs.

The evolution of the wedding dress in the Victorian era

At the wedding ceremony, brides did not always dress in white dresses, before they chose other colors for a wedding dress - blue, green, sometimes even fabric with a pattern.

However, that all changed in 1840, after Queen Victoria of England got married. This wedding was different from many other royal weddings in that the bride and groom really loved each other very much. And the organization of the wedding ceremony was approached not formally, but with soul, wishing to make it unforgettable. And I must say, they succeeded. Choosing a wedding dress, the young queen abandoned the traditional, richly decorated and heavy brocade dress with a cape trimmed with ermine fur. Instead, I ordered for myself a delightful white satin dress, decorated with orange blossom (orange blossom) and lace.

Since then, white has become the most popular and traditional color for wedding dresses, surpassing all other colors. The silhouette of a royal wedding dress has also become very fashionable (and remains so to this day) - with a narrow embroidered bodice, a fluffy skirt, a long and light lace veil.

Another interesting innovation is a wreath on the bride's head and a bouquet based on orange tree flowers (orange blossom).

Soon it became a tradition, and all the brides walked down the aisle, holding such a bouquet in their hands.

And this is not all that is new and unusual that was at this "main wedding of the 19th century". A myrtle twig in a bride's bouquet, a groom's boutonniere, a wedding cake, bonbonnieres for guests … All this, to one degree or another, is still used at weddings. Thus, Victoria also became a trendsetter in wedding fashion.

In the early period, brides' wedding dresses had a silhouette similar to that of a queen. They were sewn from light fabrics - satin, silk, tulle, decorated with ribbons and lace …

The wedding look was completed with a long and light lace veil.

In the era of crinoline, wedding dresses were also with crinoline.

Mid-19th century wedding fashion (prints taken from ladies' magazines, hand-painted)

The fashion for bustles went - and wedding dresses instantly obeyed this trend.

The most elegant outfits of the Victorian era are considered to be models from the 80s.

And in continuation of the topic more 8 weird accessories that were considered fashionable in Europe centuries ago.