The early 1870s saw a marked change in Western fashion as it sought inspiration in the eighteenth
century for its next change of direction, and hairstyles increased in height and in
detail.
Undergarments, at least initially, remained much the same as the previous decade.
A cotton chemise was the garment worn closest to the body.
Silk, wool or cotton stockings were worn.
Silk stockings could be especially decorative, particularly about the ankle, and they were
often quite colourful.
The stockings pulled up over the knee and were supported with garter ribbons tied in
a bow.
Open-leg drawers were worn beneath the chemise and buttoned at the waist.
These had separate legs attached to the waistband, which enabled the wearer to visit the toilet
without the need to remove any clothing.
Corsets were still short in style but becoming increasingly bold and bright in colour and
finishing details – they were lightweight and had flexible spiral steel boning for ease
of wearing.
The front fastening corset could be put on and tightened without assistance.
The cage crinoline had now given way to the latest innovation - the bustle.
There was brief bustle/crinoline composite, the crinolette, but that was quickly abandoned
in favour of the simpler bustle which tied about the waist.
The bustle came in many forms – including padding, cork, horsehair, or wire mesh, but
the most popular style was comprised of series of curved steel bands which supported the
draperies and collapsed effortlessly out of the way when sitting.
Low-heeled, side-button boots were popular for day wear - and tiny watch pockets could
be used for more than just watches!
A button hook made fastening the boots a great deal easier and more efficient.
A bustle petticoat with a waterfall of frills cascading down the back, as well as some additional
padding, was worn over the bustle.
Depending on the occasion and the weather, more than one petticoat could be worn.
The cotton corset cover helped to smooth the lines of the corset and conceal its bright
colours.
Sewing machines were more readily available now, and many households had one.
Clothing became increasingly betrimmed with frills, fringes, braids, gathers, pleats,
inserts and tucks - all assisted by swift, accurate sewing machine stitches.
The trend for fussy details was to increase over the next decade.
Gowns comprised of a separate skirt and bodice.
The bustle supported the swathes of fabric scooped to the back of the skirt in a medley
of folds and frills.
The range of colours available from the new aniline dyes created a fashion for bright,
vivid and vibrant-coloured textiles.
The polonaised skirt and the bodice with its three-quarter length sleeves finishing in
a cascade of lace, and the low, square neckline, all echoed the styles of a century before.
Brightly-coloured jewellery was also fashionable.
But for day wear, the subtlety of pearls perfectly complimented the striking new colours.
The complicated etiquette of a middle-class Victorian woman's life necessitated clothing
suitable for a dizzying range of social occasions.
In just one day it could include outfits for morning, visiting, walking, travelling, shopping
and an evening event.
To meet this need, many of the gowns had a number of interchangeable bodices and accessories
to suit each occasion.
The fashionable train could be lifted by a skirt grip or hem holder and clipped out of
the way while active.
The evening gown was an off-the-shoulder style, trimmed with silk flowers, sometimes garlands
of them, and there was a brief vogue for long ribbon chokers which tied in a bow at the
back of the neck and fell in two long streamers over the bustle.
The Victorian vogue for innovation and novelty was perfectly expressed in women’s dress.