In the nineteenth century, royals began to have a budget for their fashion choices, which was paid through the taxes of citizens. As a result, most people insisted that the royals would wear “fine” clothing so that their money would not be going to waste (Staniland 12). Queen Victoria struggled to obtain all of her fashionable wear with her annual wardrobe budget of approximately 600 pounds (Staniland 13). Due to the tight fashion budget put in place by the royal court, “the Queen attached great importance to clothes,” (Stanley and Worsley 262) and clothing was often gifted onto others after its use as a gift or promotion to castle workers (Staniland 11). Portrait painters made sure to highlight the major staples of royalty in their pieces, such as elaborate hairstyles, fine jewellry, and silk or finely-created garments (Staniland 13). There was much public fixation about the garments Queen Victoria wore to public and special occasions, such as her coronation, wedding, funerals, and many diplomatic public appearances. Her clothing through her life evolved due to her changing figure from childbearing years, which led to the expansion of her dresses’ waistines in later years of her life (Staniland 18). During this time, the public and royal court took issue with Queen Victoria’s decision to dress in black to mourn the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. Her lengthy mourning reflected in her dismal dressing, which lasted until her death in 1901 (Staniland 25).
In her childhood, Victoria dressed rather plainly, due to financial constraints and hardships brought upon her family from her later father, the Duke of Kent’s, debt left behind (Staniland 84). Despite aiming towards financial feasibility, Princess Victoria wore clothing that reflected adult fashionwear of the time. As a young child, it was common for the heir to the throne to be seen wearing a full dress, complete with undergarments, silk socks, a large hat, petticoats, and gloves.
During her teenage and young adult years from the 1820s-1830s, Princess Victoria’s dress reflected changing womens’ fashion of dress with more natural waistlines and puffed sleeves.The Queen was against tight-lacing because she believed it was unhealthy for a woman’s figure to be forced to comform to an unnatural state while she performed her daily activities (Stanley and Worsley 264). As a young queen, the public became infatuated with all aspects of Victoria’s dress. Attention was given to the flowers or hats she wore on her hair, the trimming of her petticoats, glimpses of her undershirt ruffles, embroideries on her shoes, and the detail given to the designs on her dresses. Queen Victoria understood how her status as a young, single monarch caused her sexuality to become a political concern worthy of media attention (Rohrs 3). To maintain the trust and respect of her country, Queen Victoria often aimed to make fashion choices that were pleasing to all generations of her citizens. She was careful not to show too much skin, wear heels too high, or wear colors too flamboyant, while maintaining a level of regal decorum of all the outfits she wore. “Queen Victoria almost certainly saw herself as a follower of fashion...than as one of fashion’s leaders. Conversely, her subjects were inclined expectantly to view her as a fashion leader, and thereby in time became disappointed” (Staniland 107).
In order to counter the daily pressures placed upon her fashion choices, Queen Victoria often rode on horseback in proper riding attire, which consisted of a simple dress, riding boots, an outdoor coat, and occasionally a comfortable hat. Her riding attire was made feminine by having curvature in the red riding coat, which enhanced the female silhouette. Queen Victoria’s riding attire would be largely adopted into British culture as the proper outdoor dress for women (Staniland 130).
Her majesty’s wedding day proved to be the first occassion when the Queen was a fashion innovator (Rohrs 20). The Queen’s dress featured Honiton lace, which was revolutionary at the time. It included designs of leaves and flowers with decorative fillings that matched the lace of the veil and part of her major skirt. This French style lace had never been seen before this occasion, this first of a long string of times in which the Queen would wear this particular lace throughout her life. Her subjects revelled over the delicate, intricate, and sophisticated nature of the lace that would become a popular staple in Britain (Staniland 120).
As a married woman, Queen Victoria continued to use the Honiton lace in the clothes she had made for herself and her children. Throughout her marriage to PrinceAlbert, Queen Victoria remained fashionable while constantly pregnant. Many of her dresses would have more natural waistlines because they were expanded to accomodate her growing belly. Despite remaining up to date with fashionable women’s dresses at the time, Queen Victoria wore slippers that she had made to be comfortable with fine linen and leather soles that woud not hurt her feet (Staniland 132).
After Prince Albert’s death in 1861, Queen Victoria no longer made an attempt to wear the fashionable looks of the day (Storey and Worsley 258). Her favorite color to wear was black and dresses were accompanied with minimal jewelry. Queen Victoria was seen as having a poor dress sense at the time that was often accompanied by jewelry that did not match the sad disposition she emulated through her clothes (Storey and Worsley 259). Her mourning look in her later life was often completed with white widow’s cap, which would become infamously associated with her image in the public eye.
The Queen was mostly a recluse during this time with the exception of the marriages of her children and grandchildren, which was upsetting to her subjects that “expected to have the 'privilege' of seeing her occasionally” (Rohrs 6). Only on these occasions, would one see a glimpse of Queen Victoria’s old fashion sense as she would wear her wedding lace during these particular events (Staniland 166). Although Queen Victoria made fewer fashionable statements during the time, her “unfashionable wear” was seen as a reflection of her increased self-confidence later in life (Stanley and Worsley 269). The Queen no longer worried herself with the fashionable trends of the day, and instead, placed increasing emphasis on her own comfortability in her clothes as she aged. This included expanding the waistlines of her dresses and removing excess petticoats and crinoline (Stanley and Worsley 270).
Works Cited
“Queen Victoria: An Anatomy in Dress.” Costume 53.2 (2019): 256–279. Web.
Rohrs, E. M. (2007). Queen Victoria: The Mother of Modem Celebrity (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). [CJ1] Ball State University.
Staniland, Kay. In Royal Fashion : the Clothes of Princess Charlotte of Wales & Queen Victoria, 1796-1901 . London: Museum of London, 1997. Print.