Victorian dress

During the mid nineteenth century, a group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhod used medieval and Renaissance style dress in their paintings. They also designed theatrical costumes which were meant to be historically accurate and graceful. This style of dress became known as aesthetic dress. The Members of Societies such as the Dress Reform Movement and the Healthy and Artistic Dress Union were very critical of heavy restrictive clothing and tight corsets which they believed to be unhealthy and lacking in grace. They believed that garments should be made using washable fabrics ( V & A, 2015:3).



http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/v/victorian-dress-at-v-and-a/