Victoria in mourning
Following on from Step 4.13 where we glimpsed into Victoria’s style as a young woman, in this video Sally and Claudia Williams, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, look at one of the dresses that defined Victoria’s look.
After the death of her beloved husband Albert in 1861, Victoria went into a period of deep mourning in which she wore clothes like these. Claudia shows us the crepe fabric that was used to ensure no liveliness, not even shine, was visible in the clothes of a person in mourning.
We also see glimpses of Victoria’s personality through her clothing including pockets she had made for a watch and glasses so she could carry out her royal duties.
- Mourning clothing was used by the Victorians as a rite of passage, to show that someone close to you had died. How do we demonstrate rites of passage through our clothing today?
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