Since this era spanned such a long period in history, it saw quite a lot of changes in women's dress. At the beginning, in the 1820's, women were actually working at being seductive. As time went on, the fashions became almost prudish and very constricting. Some of the attire was downright hilarious!! Here is a brief history of Women's Clothing in the Victorian Era.

In the 1820's, women's dresses were quite sheer and gauzy. Most of the dresses were made of a thin muslin, buttoned up the back and were cinched just below the breasts to give the illusion of a high waist. Oftentimes, all that was underneath was a light chemise. As the dresses had no pockets, most ladies carried their personal items in a small bag called a "reticule."

Sometimes a sleeveless top called a pelisse that went down to the thigh was worn over the dress. Others wore a shorter jacket called a spencer. Ladies always wore something on their heads - inside it was a cap, and outside they wore bonnets. The shoes resembled slippers. When it was raining, something called a patten was attached to the shoes to raise the ladies an inch or two. This contraption was basically metal rings on small stilts.

In the 1830's and 1840's, styles leaned more toward the women having a bell shape. The waistline dropped to the more normal location and the skirts were much fuller due to the mass of horsehair petticoats the women began wearing.

The materials used for clothing changed as well - more luscious and heavier fabrics such as velvets and silks became available. The gauzy look was not "in vogue" anymore and dresses became tighter and tighter. Many tops had stays made of bone that often restricted breathing.The attire became more ornamented. Feathers and jewels were seen in abundance. This often made the dresses and hats very heavy and awkward to wear. But - oh the beauty!

In the 1850's and 1860's, the petticoats gave way to something called the "cage crinoline." This new invention resembled an upside down, cone-shaped trellis. While it enabled the ladies to dispense with all the layers of petticoats, it brought along even more problems!

The cage crinoline was very hard to fit through doorways, difficult to sit down in and very embarassing if you were caught in the wind! Due to the lack of petticoats, it could also cause the wearer to be very cold during the winter! Many ladies took to wearing red flannel petticoats and eventually what was called back then "drawers"!

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Toward the end of the 1860's, the cage crinoline disappeared to be replaced by the bustle. This newfangled piece of apparel was worn on the ladies' derrieries underneath their skirts. It was often thought the bigger the bulge in the back the more beautiful!

The bustle disappeared for a while in the 1870's, but gained popularity once again in the 1880's. During this time, the tea dress was invented - giving ladies something pretty and elaborate to enjoy. As more and more women became interested in sports such as tennis and bicycle riding, the first sporting apparel began to make an appearance.

All of this attire could be very time consuming to put on, as well as confusing as to what to wear when! The more well-to-do ladies needed at least 6 different outfits - a walking dress, a country dress, a visiting dress, an evening dress, a dinner dress and a ball gown. All had to be worn for the proper occasion and coincide with the fashion of the day.