England
Some traditional garments are so charming and beloved by the locals that they’re still in use today, in the 21st century, even though their design has seen little change throughout the decades or centuries even. A British guernsey is one such piece of folk clothing. A hand-knitted fishermen's sweater became a heritage piece and a symbol of the British knitting industry that developed since the late 1400s. Today, you can often see a guernsey at folk festivals, local celebrations, and other similar occasions in the UK.
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British textile industry in the 18th and 19th centuries was brutal compared to our modern computerized textile manufacturing. At the time, the fabrics were handmade, starting from growing plants and breeding animals to get the fibers, processing these fibers, spinning the yarn, weaving it into cloth, and sewing clothes from it. It was hard work, manufacturers used child labor and women’s labor because these were low-paid workers, they worked 12-14 hours, often in bad or even dangerous conditions. But Great Britain desperately needed their input in the industry to develop and thrive.
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European monarchs often were trendsetters in fashion. The clothing designs and even little details of kings and queens’ apparel were meaningful. And so their courtiers often imitated their appearance and outfits, thus, kings and queens influenced fashion, sort of like modern celebrities sometimes do. One of the most famous trendsetters of the European Renaissance was Queen Elizabeth I. There were a few well-recognizable features of her dress, and today, we’ll find out about some of them.
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Vintage royal jewelry worn by kings and queens – what can be more fascinating and exciting! Many of those jewels are worth millions and are passed down the generations for hundreds of years. But it’s not only their financial value that attracts our attention but also the real-life romantic or horrific stories of these pieces. Let’s look at one of the British royal jewelry items from a museum collection – Queen Victoria's magnificent sapphire and diamond coronet. What is its story? How did it survive to this day? And how many generations did it see?
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Mourning is a usual thing for humans because people die all the time. But these days, it goes easy on us – we don’t usually have such strict rules for mourning as were established in Victorian England, for example. From 2,5 years to eternity of mourning. Wearing only black dresses – sometimes made from coarse and scratchy fabrics, avoiding any social events, forsaking jewelry for years, etc. Though, all of this concerns mostly women, while men and children had more comfortable mourning rituals. But still, some kids, even little girls, could have black mourning clothing. One of such gowns we’ll show you in this article.
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The Elizabethan era occurred in England in 1558-1603, when Queen Elizabeth I reigned in the country. This period is interesting because, for some time, England became the center of fashion in Europe. You might know that in the Middle Ages it was France, in the Quattrocento it was Italy, and now it was the British turn. And people were absolutely devoted to the idea of imitating Queen Elizabeth in their looks. Even men did it, wearing clothing of a very feminized silhouette. Oh, and the ever-present heart shape everywhere!
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The Tudor era in England is a period between 1485 and 1603 when the dynasty of the House of Tudor reigned in the country. It was a time of elegant female dresses of triangular shape and odd male cube-shaped silhouette. The 1530s and 1540s are also characterized by a great influence of a French fashion on the English court attire. That’s when a so-called French gown and French hood appeared in England. And today, we’d like to show you a modern reconstruction of a French gown in all its beautiful detail.
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Have you ever wondered looking at an old black&white portrait how those people looked in real life, how their outfits looked like, what was the color of their hair and eyes? We have, and often. That’s why we’ve prepared for you a collection of vintage photos colorized in modern time. These are portraits from the Victorian era (1837-1901). And these men, women, and kids look so natural after the colorization, so alive, just like on modern photos. Also, you can distinguish their clothing (cuts, patterns, colors, textures, etc.), jewelry pieces, accessories, hairstyles, and so much more.
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In this article, we will talk about corsets and, particularly, about how very tight corsetry harmed women’s health and even killed them in the Victorian era. The mid-19th century was a period when the most tight corsets were worn. And while looser bodices and stays aren’t dangerous and could be even useful, very tight corsets really can be the killers. But still, for almost 100 years, whalebone and steel corsets were a symbol of aristocracy, civilization, and affiliation to the culture of the British Empire.
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The Victorian era in England lasted from 1837 to 1901. It was the period of political and social reforms and the Industrial Revolution. By the way, due to the Industrial Revolution, there was a tendency of people moving to big cities where workers were always needed. And in rural areas, life was poor and hard. These photos will help you see the real life in rural Victorian England in the mid-19th century. Ordinary people often wore worn clothing, patched and full of holes. But, of course, there were wealthier landlords, with their toppers, nice suits, and white shirts.
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The Edwardian era is a period in British history from the 1890s to World War I (1914-18). The kids’ fashion during this historic period is marked by natural flowing hairstyles, elegant and delicate outfits, and flowers as a decoration. By the way, for grown-up women, this era was the last time they wore corsets in everyday life. Step by step, the clothing of females, including little girls, transferred from artificial and pompous to natural and flowing. We’ve prepared 21 old photos (though, colorized in modern times) so that you could see for yourself how an Edwardian-era little girl looked like.
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There are lots of conspiracy theories and myths in all areas of life, including fashion, hygiene, relationships, etc. It can be hard to tell what the reality was for earlier periods, but the 19th century is open to our eyes due to the invention of photography. On the photos below, you’ll see the fashion trends and typical appearance of the mid-19th-century men and women in Britain. We think that the most interesting thing about these photos is pretty and elegant female hairstyles. But it’s up to you what details of their appearance to notice and appreciate.
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Vintage jewels are always fascinating. But the older a piece, the more remarkable it seems. The medieval period for Europe was a wonderful time, with all those rituals and customs, traditions and beliefs, clothing and jewelry crafts, etc. By the way, medieval jewels are among the most beautiful and unique in the world. We’d like to offer you proof in the form of a small demonstration. Here are several precious medieval and post-medieval finger rings and earrings with gems from the British Museum in London. Let’s find out more about these items.
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The Tudor fashion in Europe is represented by England of 1485-1603. In this period, the fashionable silhouette consisted of geometric shapes: triangles, disks, rectangles, squares, and so on. However, Tudor clothing was rather charming, especially female outfits. In this article, we’ll look at Tudor men’s and women’s costumes a little closer. What did they wear and why? What trends were fashionable at the time? How certain pieces of clothing were called? And much more.
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In Great Britain, a stunning piece of vintage royal clothing was found. It is the one and only dress of Elizabeth I (ruled England in 1558-1603) that survived until today. At least, no other garment of this Tudor Queen is known to still exist. As we can find out from history, Elizabeth I wore pompous dresses made from the best fabrics available, but all of her articles of clothes were sold out or reused. And now, there is one item that was saved, and it is now being restored and studied.
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What hairstyles did women wear in the Victorian era, in the 1870s? Did they use wigs and why? Was hair dyeing popular and acceptable or not? What did Victorian men think of their women’s hair tricks? And, by the way, did males use wigs along with females? Let’s try to answer all of these questions and some more. You should know that Victorian era wasn’t as starchy and ceremonious as we tend to think.
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The Downton Abbey, popular British historical series, shows some great and very accurate examples of Edwardian and post-Edwardian clothing, hairdos, and accessories. The stylists of the series did a good job of creating the characters’ outfits. And one of them is Lady Mary Crawley. Let’s look at a pretty cute reproduction of one of her daytime costumes. Also, we’ll talk a little about the makeup and hairstyles of the Edwardian period.
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The clothes used in Dark Age Europe was pretty simple. Nothing extraordinary, really. But we can’t say the same about the jewelry pieces. And the Anglo-Saxon jewels in particular. The Anglo-Saxon jewellery makers were skilled and had a bright imagination – that’s for sure. Their products truly were works of art. In this article, we’d like to show you some of them. Because the traditional Anglo-Saxon jewelry could turn ordinary tunics and cloaks of the period into gorgeous and unique costumes.
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How did wedding gowns of English queens and princesses look like in the 19th and 20th centuries? What did they show to the public? And what about modern royal wedding dresses? Dr. Joanna Marschner, Senior Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, will tell us many curious things about these bridal outfits. Also, let’s enjoy the beauty of English royal wedding gowns.
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Vintage baby’s and kid’s clothing can be adoring. In the 17th, 18th, 19th, and even the beginning of the 20th century, such garments were handmade, which adds more charm to it. Here is a collection of children’s dresses, suits, caps, shoes, and even bibs from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. We guarantee you’d be moved by these garments.
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Most people know a lot (or at the very least something) about the traditional clothing and outfits from a certain century made for adults. Like Tudor era attire, Elizabethan gown, Baroque style costume, Medieval dress, etc. But how much do you know about the vintage kids’ clothes? And it is even more exciting to find out what the royal children wore. Let’s do just that – let’s look at the tiny outfits used by Queen Victoria's children in the 19th century.
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She puts on her clothes, with help in a particular order, including, a shift, stays, petticoats, pockets, roll, stockings and garters, gown and stomacher, apron and shoes.
The shift was the undergarment worn next to the skin.
Made from linen, it was washable and protected the clothes from bodily moisture and the body from the possibly harsh textiles being worn.
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