Victorian Dresses for Women Style and Pattern

Victoria era is known as the era of elegance. Everything is elegant including the clothing. As the name implies, Victorian dresses are inspired from the way people dressed up in the life of Queen Victoria, during the mid of 1800s to the early 1900s. The dresses were originally feminine with intricate designs and patterns. Victorian dresses for women are also found in modern era. The most popular pattern at that time was elaborate floral pattern. Typically the dresses in early Victorian era come in corsets with fluttering petticoats and hoopskirts under the dress to form an hourglass silhouette. Women even wore wire-framed dome or crinoline. This style was replaced with a bustle profile after the Civil War. Some of them still featured original characteristics while some others come with a little modification. If you want to see original style of Victorian dresses, perhaps you will find at some movies with Victorian period setting.

The early Victorian dresses for women were the bell-shaped hoop skirt which billows out. This style is not practical to be worn in modern era. Even so, many people still love to wear this style for wedding or party. Originally, most dresses have long sleeves, high necks, and long hems. For younger women, it was allowed to wear knee or tea length gowns. As they become older, the hem must be longer, reaching the ankles. But nowadays, they are modified with some modern flair. The skirt still billow out but the top is more varied. Some of the dresses are even strapless. Generally, luxurious silk taffeta and high quality velvets were used to male Victorian dresses. Many of them also incorporate lace. It portrays the crucial Victorian theme of femininity, extravagance, and fancy frills.

Victorian dresses for women are often used as a wedding dress. It the early 1800s, women wore an hourglass shaped bridal gown with a strong corset. This corset helps to define the body. They wore hoop petticoat under the dress to form a wide skirt. Victorian wedding dresses often have puffy sleeves with tight tips. The fabrics were heavy. This early Victorian bridal gowns inspired wedding dress style for winter because of the heavy fabrics. Meanwhile, in the late Victorian era, the materials were softer. Bride started to wear veils and capes. The sleeves were more varied. Still, the dresses came with fitted corset and hourglass shape. The color was also more varied. In the early Victorian, women often wore dark color. In the late Victorian time, they started wearing more colorful dresses.