1830

FASHION DURING THE 1830s

The popular fashion sense in the 1830s decade was a rounded waist and en gigot sleeves, which gradually evolved to tighter sleeves and a pointier waist.The ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne, affected the silhouette of womenswear, which was no longer exuberant and loose, but more modest. Her taste for understated, simpler fashion quickly became the standard fashion choices for the ideal Romantic woman.

Throughout the decade, en gigot sleeves slowly evolved from a  huge puffed shape to one that was tighter and longer, decorated with lace, tool and ribbons. The waistline evolved from round to pointed downwards in order to emphasize the appearance of drooping.These were accentuated with belts, gilt buckles, tassels, etc. Off-the-shoulder necklines were popular throughout the decade.The skirts were long and full, and could be plain or with some faint pattern, and could be ornamented with trimmed decorations of lace and tool.

 Besides gowns, hair and headgear also evolved during the decade. Women braided their hair, arranged it into buns, curls and styled their hair at the front with two big curls on the side of their ears. The Apollo knot and hairstyle à la Chinoisewere two such arrangements. They complemented their hairstyles with hats and bonnets outdoors which featured a high crown and a huge, halo-like brim, and were loaded with trim.

In 1836, with the shift in clothing, hairstyles and headgear also changed. Hairstyles became simple with a middle part and a back chignon, and in the nighttime, hairstyles were decorated with feathers, ribbons or flowers. Headgear was reduced in width, in parallel with sleeves and became narrow and face-concealing.