Victorian ladies

A friend gave me this amazing book as a late birthday present - Victorian Fashions & Costumes From Harpers Bazar: 1867-1898. This has to be my absolute favourite era for historic fashion - the bustles, the corsets, the parasols, the trains - and towards the end of the century, giant leg o'mutton sleeves, and the slightest suggest of dawning emancipation in shoe-skimming skirts and the most delicately masculine jackets and collars.

I love how solemn these fashion plates are, the women as stiff as mannequins, draped into immobility. There is no joy here, apart from in the gorgeous descriptions: "this graceful evening dress with a small train is made of sea-foam green silk, trimmed with white lace and large clusters of roses of variegated colors-pink, cream and deep red"... "the visite [cloak] of heliotrope plush has bead and chenille ornaments"... "this graceful house dress is of supple wool of chamois ground with cherry-coloured silk stripes, trimmed with bright green velvet ribbon."

Heck, you may not be able to do more than pose in your finery, or perhaps lift a tea cup, but at least you could wear such delights as a "torsade of passmenterie" [braiding] or "sapphire blue velvet opening over pale pink faille" [ribbed silk]. Oh to wear heliotrope plush...