"This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge came in then." -- Holmes (BLUE).

As everyone knows, Victorian clothing was much more formal than today's attire. Attire (as in modern day society) changed a great deal during the nineteenth century and we shall take a brief look at both Men and Women's fashion during the later part of the century for a few insights into how it's style and change.

By the mid-1800s, new technology was starting to slowly replace the age-old tailor who hand-crafted every garment. The sewing machine had been patented in 1846. Soon, it could stitch at a rate of several hundred stitches per minute. The invention of the sewing machine created a new type of garment - that of the mass produced "ready to wear" (prêt a porter) clothes. These clothes were less expensive than hand-tailored clothes, and, increasingly, individuals from the middle class could afford to wear the same styles the wealthy were making popular. Beginning with men's fashion, the "ready to wear" garments were available from the 1840's onward. Women's fashion took slightly longer to incorporate these styles because of the differences in male and female body types.

Men's fashion turned from the elegant (in the 1700's) to simplicity (in the 1800s). As the century wore, men's colors turned from bright to dark and their suits from silk to wool. The suit took shape as a distinctive wardrobe staple varying not in its form but only in its details. Attention to suit details such as fine tailoring took the focus off of changing fashion styles and squarely on the intricate details of the piece itself.

Frock Coat

Over the course of the 19th century, the frock coat (a knee-length jacket) replaced the tailcoat (a short jacket with longer tails in the back), relegating the tailcoat to formal occasions.

Tailcoat

Class stratification could still be told from types of dress such as hats. Whereas gentlemen wore top hats, workers preferred soft caps.

An Ascot

Ascots (an extremely wide-ended necktie) was popular in the middle of the century. As the 80's and 90's rolled around the bow tie and four-in-hand were introduced. The four-in-hand derives its name from the knot carriage drivers used to tie the reins of two teams (each team comprised of two horses, being a total of four).

Four-in-Hand Bow Tie

Trends in women's fashion, on the other hand, did not tend to more simple styles until the next century. Although reformers sought to make women's clothing more comfortable and practical, these fashions did not catch on. Men did not like them because they thought they made women too "manly," and women did not like them because they were not attractive or the women did not agree with the agenda of these social reformers.

The graphic at the left shows an evolution in women's clothing from 1794 to 1796. During the 1800's, synthetic dies were developed. And unlike men's fashion, which tended toward more sober colors as the years went on, women's fashion changed from pale pastels to vibrant, synthetic colors. Women's skirts increased in size until the 1860's, when steel-hooped petticoats (crinolines) were created to help hold the shape and size of the dress, replacing several layers of petticoat fabric. In 1867, the hoop skirt was flattened in front and its fullness was pushed to the back, leading to the development of the bustle (a pad worn beneath the back of the skirt). This style remained popular until the 1890's when bell-shaped skirts became popular.

Information for this article was adapted from MSN's Encarta's article, "Fashion." More in-depth information on Victorian Men's fashion can be found at History in the Making.