 The luxurious corset, a symbol of Victorian fashion The term "Victorian fashion" can be used to refer to frilly, lacy, flowing clothing from the British Victorian era (1837–1901).
Styles favored in the Victorian era emphasized the notion of being at the height of all possible civilization and refinement, and the elimination of any outward hint of savage or animal nature in humans in the interests of modesty.
"Proper" clothing required covering the entire body apart from the hands and head, although these too were often covered with gloves and a hat.
Men's clothing: pants, coat, jacket; a cap for the lower class, derby hat for the middle class, and top-hat for the upper class (top hats sometimes worn by middle class men for formal occasions).
Women's clothing: dresses with skirts long enough to reach the feet on a Corset. Showing an ankle covered with nothing but stocking was considered rather risque, and frowned on in polite society.
Young children of both sexes wore dresses with boys beginning to wear trousers
and frilly cuffed and collared shirts at about age 5 or 6. The sailor suit
was a popular choice with wealthier families.
Mass production of artificial dyes allowed for clothing to be in a greater variety of colors than was common any time earlier. The industrial revolution also allowed lace to be produced by machines, dramatically lowering the price.
Home furnishing and decor favored a busy (some would say "cluttered") abundance of detail; mass production enabled the middle class to decorate their homes with bric-a-brac.
See also: Bloomers
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