"Madame Fashion" --- The Victorian Era

The fashion belonging to the Victorian Era did make women look beautiful but --- was the dress really practical ?

For the rich young lady, who  never worked, this style of dress was perfect for just "sitting pretty." For the poorer woman who had to work in order to live everyday, this style of dress must have been very difficult to live and work in.
As in other Eras, the fashion became extreme. By the end of the decade, the crinoline-supported skirts were truly prodigious, until it was impossible for two women to enter the room together or sit on the same sofa, for the frills of one dress took up all available space.

In 1851, Mrs Bloom came to England (from America) to try to induce women to adopt her sensible and feminine costume. This was a bold attempt to dress in trousers but it would be many years before this style of women's clothing was accepted.

Style changed slowly from the circle crinoline to the bustle --- which was a dress that went straight down in the front and came out (the bustle) at the back. Evening dress became very low in the bosom. The fabrics (at least for the upper classes) were rich (silks and satins) and beautiful --- the dress was cut to fit the body. At this time, the corset became very extreme, travelling over the hips and down the legs, to get the 'hour-glass' figure. The bustle eventually disappeared and the train, of even the day dress, became extremely long. Again, movement became difficult but the effect was beautiful.
It was at this time that fashion divided into two =
1/ Madame Fashion --- those who followed the Parisian styles, wearing corset, bustle, etc.
2/ The Aesthetic costume --- those who wore no corset and much looser clothes.
The two looked so different and yet the second became more accepted and more practical, especially as women became more active.