What is Victorian fashion?
[[File:The royal children in mourning Mar 1862.jpg|thumb|[[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]'s five daughters (Alice, Helena, Beatrice, Victoria and Louise), photographed wearing [[mourning]] black beneath a bust of their late father, Prince Albert (1862)]] '''Victorian fashion''' refers to the various [[fashion]]s and trends of [[Europe]] during the Victorian Era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901, and is named after the reigning queen of England at the time, [[Queen Victoria]]. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in clothing, architecture, literature, and [[visual arts]]. During this period, fashion changed a lot. In the 1800s, you had small silhouettes and pastel colors. In the 1830s, there was very exaggerated fashion. The 1860s are also famous for this along with the 1870s, the 1880s, and the 1890s. But during the early part of the 20th century, fashion was toned down in the sense of exaggeration and playfulness. The main woman who inspired was the Queen of England and Empress of [[India]], Victoria. She was at the peak of royalty and ruled for many years, therefore influencing many trends during the century. By 1907, clothing was increasingly factory-made and often sold in large, fixed price [[department store]]s. Custom sewing and home sewing were still significant, but on the decline. New machinery and materials developed clothing in many ways. The introduction of the lock-stitch [[sewing machine]] in mid-century simplified home and [[boutique]] dressmaking. It made it easy to add trimmings which would be costly if done by hand. [[Lace]] machinery made lace at a fraction of the cost of the old hand-made lace. Inventors developed new, cheap, bright [[dye]]s like [[mauveine]] which replaced the old animal or vegetable dyes. [[Category:Fashion]]