What Do Kids Wear in Victorian Costume?

There are several ways to choose costumes in victoiran style for kids. No matter you buy the costumes or do it yourself, the kids will definitely love it. You may be not sure about what kind of costumes could kids wear. So read on to be informed with two most popular costume ideas both for girls and boys.

Maid Costume for Girls
During the victorian period, the maids are necessary in a wealthy family. There are lots of things to do for them as daily duties. They often wear a dress in some plain colors. Usually it is a black, full-length dress with sleeves and a white collar. Over this was worn a large white apron. The overall appearance was should be very plain and simple.

Naughty Boy Costume
Boys in victorian period are kind of naughty to some extend. The boy characters in well known stories such like “Oliver Twist” are the best examples. And when applying this into the costumes, it may include a cap, vest, and woolen trousers. And a pair of lace-up boots will complete the naughty look.

Costume Inspiration from Gothic Victorian Dresses

With growing love of the costumes, the gothic victorian dresses become more and more popular for women who are fond of vintage clothing.

Classic Black Long Trumpet Sleeves Gothic Victorian Dress

Red Lace and Bow Gothic Victorian Dress

Gothic victorian dresses take design from both vintage victorian and alternative gothic elements. The victorian element is mainly lies in the silhouette of the dress. The clothing style in the victorian age is characterized by its splendid silhouette. The ball gown patten with luxuriant space on the sleeves is special. It shows the noble and prosper of the wearer. And gothic elements are revealed through its application of the colors. As the gothic is a dark style, the dresses are both dark and have a scared feel.
There are more and more theme parties or informal occasions for people to attend. And most of them require the attendants to dress up in its certain theme. The above gothic victorian dresses could be a good inspiration for you if you are looking for some vintage and dark costumes.

Accessorize Your Vintage Victorian Look

As the popularity grows in the vintage clothing, the victorian style dresses are favored by a lot of women. As we know the accessories play an equally important role in getting the perfect look. So in the following part, I would like to introduce you some basic accessories that women may use to match their dresses or complete their look.

During the victorian period, women were very aware of what kind of accessories they wear. Hand fans, gloves and parasols were the most favorite accessories.Gloves added a graceful touch to an outfit. Hats and bonnets were widely used to complete the look. Feathers, flowers, embellishments and pins were used in the decoration.
These accessories are popular in old times and also in nowadays for their vintage feel. If you have victorian dresses, it will be great to add some of these tones to fulfill your whole look.

Victorian Walking Suits for Men

Walking suits were very prevailing for men during the victorian period. Men had a favor to walk in leisure. And in nowadays, men do not wear this kind of clothes but more for costume use. The best walking costume for man is a suit of tweed, ordinary boots, gloves not too dark for the coat, a scarf with a pin in winter, or a small tie of one color in summer, a respectable black hat and a cane.

The inside shirt is good to be quite plain. The shirt collar should never have a color on it, but it may be turned down. The scarf, if simple and of modest colors, is perhaps the best thing worn round the neck; but if a necktie is preferred it should not be too long, nor tied in too stiff a manner.
The coat should be in a full and loose design and has a long tail in back. Coats, especially in the victorian period, had center front closure with button other than with zippers. Besides, the black was mostly applicable color.
When it comes to the pants, men usually wear a pair in brown or dark colors with plaided or stripped design. Though the black pants are formal, most men in victorian period did not like this kind of pants.

Gorgeous and Elegant Bustle Dresses in Victorian Style

The vintage clothes look fascinating. Unlike the clothes in nowadays, they placed much emphasis on workmanship and exquisiteness. The fabrics are high quality and the look they send is beautiful. The styles and the details embellishing the garments will make you look back to the fashion in the old age.

Vintage Green and Brown Steampunk Bustle Dress

The dresses above show a full image. The bustle in the back of the dress gives a typical shape of the dressing fashion in that period. The bustle design makes the dress fuller, but the additional decoration on the dress also brings the attention to the fullness it reveals.

Dark Blue Flower Printed Victorian Dress

The skirt design with bustle is one of the most prominent features in the victorian dresses. It is always made of heavy fabric intended to pull the back of a skirt down and flatten it. Fullness of some sort was still considered necessary to make the waist look smaller and the bustle eventually replaced the crinoline completely.
You may have doubts about how the bustled dress could stay in setted place and draped so well. There is a cage made of the metal material inside of the dresses. There are other kind of bustle applied into the victorian dresses. Except the added cage inside, the luxuriant ruffled design also could achieve the fullness of the dresses.

Victorian Women and Women's Clothing

Women were different from those today. Women’s social status at that time was very low. And it was a striking illustration of the discrepancy for that the Britain at that time was powerful and wealthy and the social conditions were appalling. Women did not have the suffrage rights, the right to sue, or the right to own property. There was a concept called “pater familias” which meant that the husband as head of the household and moral leader of his family. Women was to love, honour and obey her husband, as her marriage vows stated.

Spaghetti Straps Bow and Ruffle Gothic Victorian Dress

Off-the-Shoulder Aristocratic Gothic Victorian Dress

Though the status was not high, the victorian clothing had been a prevailing and significant milestone. The clothing trend in the victorian period were focus on the elaborate dresses, skirts with wide volume created by the use of layered materials and heavy fabrics. Through such clothing designs, women could show their wealth and elegance to the other people. Besides, the fitted waist design at that time was one of the most prominent characteristics in women’s clothing. And this narrow waist was achieved by constricting the abdomen with a laced corset. While the silhouette was striking, and the dresses themselves were often exquisitely detailed , the women really had to suffer a lot. This is one aspect that they are different from women in today’s world. Because the dresses in modern fashion keep the good designs of the victorian clothing and discard the bad ones. The dresses still look great but women do no have to suffer when wearing the dress any more.

Ways to Preserve Victorian Clothing?

There are three things that matter when it comes to the clothes: how to match, how to wash and how to preserve. Preserving is critical to avoid damage to the fabrics, trims and seams. While the specifics of care may depend upon the garment and fabric, some general guidelines can help you care for victorian clothing properly, preserving it to be enjoyed for years to come.

Vintage Ivory Embroidered Victorian Dress

Elegant Champagne Sleeveless Victorian Evening Dress

Firstly you’d better decide how you wish to store your vintage and antique clothing. You will need flat, folded storage in a dry, acid free environment. The best option to preserve antique clothing is a custom made textile box; however, these are quite costly. Plastic boxes are more affordable and an acceptable choice in a dry environment.
Then decide wrap the antique garment carefully in acid free tissue paper or unbleached muslin that has been washed and dried. Be sure to carefully place layers of tissue or fabric in between the folds of the garment and lightly pad any fold lines to avoid creating wrinkles in the fabric.
It is better to add cedar blocks to prevent moths and insect damage. Be sure that the antique garments are fully wrapped and not touching the cedar block.
Store your antique clothing in boxes in a dry and dark space. This will prevent light damage. Label boxes thoroughly to make it easier to access a single antique garment.