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A review by thegeekybibliophile
A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty by Mimi Matthews
4.0
Women's fashions, hairstyles, and cosmetics changed a great deal during the Victorian era (between 1840-1900). If you're interested in learning about the various fashion dos and don'ts of a stylish Victorian lady, this is sure to be a book you'll enjoy.
Beautifully illustrated and well researched, Mimi Matthews book, A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty, will tell you everything you wanted to know about fashions of this time period. Sorted by decade, the complete ensemble—dresses, underwear, outerwear, footwear, hats, accessories, and jewelry—is described in minute detail in the first part of the book. I was fascinated with the description of each garment, but I would often stop reading for a moment in order to gaze at the illustrations.
The second part deals with fashion etiquette (what to where, and when). Fashionable ladies wore a morning/at home dress, walking dress, afternoon/visiting dress, dinner dress, and (presumably only for special occasions) an evening dress or ball gown. That's a minimum of four dresses worn per day! It wears me out just thinking about it. The rest of this section is sorted in sub-sections for riding habits, holiday fashions, and sportswear, as well as proper clothing for marriage, maternity, and mourning.
The final portion of the book, part three, is devoted to beauty. Victorian hair care, hairstyles and hairdressing, skin care, and cosmetics. The hairstyles of the period were every bit as elaborate as the clothing, requiring a skillful set of hands and eventually false hair to result in a trendy 'do. Common ingredients used for skin care included arsenic, mercury, and lime. (Yikes! I think I'll stick with Noxema.)
It was a lot of fun reading about the trends of that long ago time. As much as I love the fashions, I have to say I'm glad to be alive now rather than then!
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Pen & Sword History via Netgalley.
Beautifully illustrated and well researched, Mimi Matthews book, A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty, will tell you everything you wanted to know about fashions of this time period. Sorted by decade, the complete ensemble—dresses, underwear, outerwear, footwear, hats, accessories, and jewelry—is described in minute detail in the first part of the book. I was fascinated with the description of each garment, but I would often stop reading for a moment in order to gaze at the illustrations.
The second part deals with fashion etiquette (what to where, and when). Fashionable ladies wore a morning/at home dress, walking dress, afternoon/visiting dress, dinner dress, and (presumably only for special occasions) an evening dress or ball gown. That's a minimum of four dresses worn per day! It wears me out just thinking about it. The rest of this section is sorted in sub-sections for riding habits, holiday fashions, and sportswear, as well as proper clothing for marriage, maternity, and mourning.
The final portion of the book, part three, is devoted to beauty. Victorian hair care, hairstyles and hairdressing, skin care, and cosmetics. The hairstyles of the period were every bit as elaborate as the clothing, requiring a skillful set of hands and eventually false hair to result in a trendy 'do. Common ingredients used for skin care included arsenic, mercury, and lime. (Yikes! I think I'll stick with Noxema.)
It was a lot of fun reading about the trends of that long ago time. As much as I love the fashions, I have to say I'm glad to be alive now rather than then!
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Pen & Sword History via Netgalley.