History Section -Teachers' Support Notes

VICTORIAN FASHION

Visiting Leighton Hall brings lots of opportunities to compare Victorian dress with our own. We have various typical small items of clothing and hats which the children enjoy trying on.

The photographs here show some typical Victorian outfits. There is plenty of opportunity to discuss how dramatically fashions have changed since, not to mention how much easier getting dressed and undressed is these days.

Required reading for ladies of fashion was "The World of Fashion" - A journal for Ladies (l869), which as well as fashion news, included information on current literature, music, opera and the theatre. The journal contained the latest fashion for morning, afternoon and evening wear and also included illustrations for Hats and other accessories. Outfits would be copied by dressmakers in fabrics such as Satin, Silk and Velvet and the hats trimmed with ribbons and feathers.

The advertisements from the Illustrated London News show how, even in mourning, the right sort of clothes were essential!

Ask the children to look at the pictures.

--- Do the clothes look comfortable?
--- Did all Victorian women wear clothes like this?
--- How long would it have taken a Victorian lady to get dressed?
--- Find out what sort of clothes would have been worn by children

Click here to download larger versions of the photographs on this page (227k) which you can print off.

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