Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901, bringing to a close the era named in her memory.
She was very interested in clothes, as her personal diaries show, and her fashion choices were extremely influential. Her influence still carries on today, as brides usually wear white, and black is frequently worn by those in mourning.
During Victoria's reign the dress rules of mourning were strictly followed by the upper classes, with black being worn immediately after the death, then this gradually giving way to greys, purples and violet over the subsequent months.
The rules applied almost entirely to women, men wore mourning for only three or four months, but a woman might expect to wear mourning for anything up to four years, depending upon the closeness of the lost relative and how strictly the rules were followed. Victoria of course remained in full mourning for Albert for the rest of her life.
Victoria was an enthusiastic diplomatic dresser, wearing tartan in Scotland, and shamrock decorations in Ireland among other examples. She also realised that she could support British manufacturers and craftsmen such as the London silk weavers, with her influence.
When Victoria appointed Charles Frederick Worth, an English fashion designer working in Paris, as her dressmaker, it placed his designs on the world stage. Victoria was impressed by outfits that he had created for Eugenie for her state visit to England with Emperor Napoleon III, and quickly offered him a position as court dressmaker.
I like to think that Victoria would have enjoyed these threads, as we discuss Royal hemlines, collars and hats.