The 19th century was a period of rapid and extensive technological change, which had a significant impact on the production and use of fashionable dress. The beginning of the century had seen the acceleration of the Industrial Revolution where the production of cotton cloth, particularly in the north west of England and the west of Scotland, increased as never before. Cotton was popular because it was washable and could be decorated to look like more expensive fabrics, such as damask silk. Developments in gas lighting (and later electricity) also meant that factories could work longer hours and produce more goods.
Many of the technological developments were used in women’s clothes in particular, as a fashionable female silhouette relied on increasingly complex and structured undergarments. The corset, for example, was an essential garment in a woman’s wardrobe. It had moral implications, as only a ‘loose’ woman went without a corset, and on a practical level it acted as a foundation and support, taking the weight of the multiple heavy petticoats and increasingly expansive skirts.
Various developments influenced the design and use of the corset, for example, metal eyelets to reinforce the holes for the lacing were introduced in 1828, which enabled women to lace their corsets tighter, and metal busks (which went down the front of the corset and gave it its shape) replaced the traditional wooden or bone busks.
Steel production also influenced other aspects of women’s wear. In 1855 Henry Bessemer patented a method of converting pig iron into steel. Steel was key to the Victorian age for architecture, industry and transport such as ship building and steam trains. It was also used in the making of the cage crinoline, a hooped petticoat made from steel and cotton tabs, which gave women’s skirts a distinctive bell shape and reduced the necessity for multiple layers of petticoats. The cage crinoline was in fashion from 1856 to the mid-1860s and you can read more about the ‘crinoline craze’
Even the process of dress-making was influenced by technology. Versions of sewing machines had been in existence since at least the early 19th century, but they were expensive and not very practical to use. By the middle of the century, however, the Singer sewing machine dominated the British and American markets and helped revolutionise the production of certain garments such as shirts and cloaks. Singer even produced a special machine to commemorate Queen Victoria’s (1837-1901) diamond jubilee in 1897.
Our perception of the Victorian age is one that is quite dark and drab – a result perhaps of the black and white photography, another invention of the era, and Queen Victoria’s prolonged use of black mourning dress. In reality, clothes could be bright and almost garish in colour, often thanks to the discovery of aniline or synthetic dyes. The first artificial dye was known as Perkin’s mauveine or mauve and was discovered by William Henry Perkin in 1856. He had been trying to synthesise quinine (a substance that alleviates symptoms of malaria) but instead ended up with a solution that dyed silk a bright purple. Traditionally purple was a colour that was associated with royalty because it was very expensive to make as a natural dye and was a sign of status. Perkin’s mauve helped to popularise the colour, and it was worn by Queen Victoria and Empress Eugénie of France. Soon other synthetic dyes followed, such as aldehyde green, fuchsine and magenta.
The relationship between fashion and technology was not always straightforward and positive; sometimes these developments became the subject of mockery and some were physically damaging to the wearer. Doctors often debated the potentially debilitating impacts of corsetry, which they thought could constrict a woman’s internal organs, and some of the synthetic dyes were detrimental to the health of the people that made them and the people that wore them. Health and safety were often a secondary concern after fashion and profit.
The crinoline craze
In the first half of the 19th century the fashion was for women’s skirts to be bell or dome shaped and as the decades progressed these skirts increased in size. At first women would use several layers of petticoats to achieve this shape, some made from stiffened cotton, others from horsehair. Wearing many layers like this may have achieved the fashionable silhouette, but was hot and cumbersome for the wearer.
developments in the manufacturing of steel helped alleviate this discomfort with the introduction of a hooped petticoat made from tempered spring steel in 1856. Called the ‘crinoline’ or the ‘cage crinoline’ (the term originally referred to the horsehair petticoats, ‘crin’ was French for ‘hair’), it was the direct descendent of the farthingales and hooped petticoats of the earlier periods. The lightweight steel hoops were held together with cotton tabs and enabled women’s skirts to reach their widest point in the early 1860s (survivals in museum collections typically measure around 2.5 to 3 metres in circumference) and were popular with women across society, from Empress Eugénie of France to working class women in London.
Just like the elaborate hairstyles of the 1700s or the face-patches of the 1600s, however, the cage crinoline craze was a gift for satirists and commentators. Some felt that the wide skirts encouraged extravagant spending, thanks to the yards of extra fabric that were required. Some highlighted the potential physical dangers of wearing the crinoline, from the skirts catching fire to getting caught in the wheels of carriages or trams. Others felt that they weren’t suitable for young ladies and thought that their light and flexible construction could easily expose the wearer.
At the height of the crinoline’s popularity in the late 1850s and early 1860s, cartoonists happily exposed what they saw as the pitfalls and ridiculous nature of these garments.
the female form was altered and moulded into different shapes by farthingales in the Tudor period, by stays or bodies in the 17th century, and hooped petticoats under mantuas in the 18th century.
In the 19th century the female silhouette went through many changes with different parts of the body accentuated or emphasised at different times. The neo-classical silhouette of the Regency era gave way to fuller skirts and sleeves in the 1830s and 1840s, with skirts reaching their peak circumference in the 1850s and 1860s thanks to the cage crinoline.
By the end of the 19th century, any extra material in the skirt was gathered at the back, creating a large bustle effect.
While the silhouette may have changed dramatically, a key garment of women’s wardrobe at all points in the 19th century was the corset. The corset was similar to the stays of the earlier period except rather than producing an upside-down triangular shape, as seen in the portraits of Elizabeth I, the 19th century corset pulled in at the waist and produced more of an hour-glass silhouette.
Women of all social statuses wore corsets; wealthier women would have corsets made with whalebone or metal that was sewn between layers of linen or cotton. A cheaper alternative was cane.
Corsets were worn for a variety of reasons. From a practical perspective they supported the outer-garments – they were worn over the chemise or shift and under the gown and so helped create a fashionable silhouette. There was also a cultural perception that a corset indicated respectability and, conversely, it could also have erotic or sexual connotations.
Not everyone approved of corsets, however, and in the last quarter of the 19th century there were a number of publications that warned against the potentially damaging physical effects of wearing them. These ranged from causing sleepiness, pains in the chest, pains in the eyes and even ear ache! Corsets weren’t necessarily responsible for these ailments but some people still encouraged women to put the garment aside. Corsets persisted in various forms, however, until the early 20th century.
