Victorian fashion
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"Wealthy and fashionable ladies deemed it necessary to have a different outfit for mornings at home, visiting, taking tea, dinner or garden parties, the opera or balls -- not to mention special gowns for weddings, presentation at court, and sporting costumes. The amount of time spent in changing their clothes during weekend parties at grand country houses must have been prodigious." Men were just the same. In the Victorian era, clothing was very complicated. Layers upon layers were worn, fabric was itchy and uncomfortable, yet an appearance of elegance was placed. New trends stayed and went, colors became more vivid, dresses became more complex, and suits became more uptight.
In the 1800's, brightly colored suits and coats were worn, mainly by working and lower class men, while more toned down colors such as blue or gray were worn by the upper class. A great diversity of styles was worn by women; some styles of which were terribly ugly. With the invention of the sewing machine, many dresses were over-designed and elaborated and with the introduction of bright dyes, some garish and tawdry colors were presented. (Nunn victorian/art/costume)
Men's clothing consisted of two layers: the undergarments and the suit...