During the Victorian period , Britain was a powerful nation with a rich culture. It had a stable government, a growing state, and an expanding franchise. It also controlled a large empire, and it was wealthy, in part because of its degree of industrialization and its imperial holdings and in spite of the fact that three-fourths or more of its population was working-class. Late in the period, Britain began to decline as a global political and economic power relative to other major powers, particularly the United States, but this decline was not acutely noticeable until after World War II. There is some truth to both sides of this stereotype. Some few educated Victorians did write a lot about sex, including pornography , medical treatises , and psychological studies.
Styles come and go in design, just as they do in fashion, life and just about everything else. The Marie Kondo method of tidying up became something everyone tried and potentially failed at , California Casual was all anyone could talk about, and whites, washed linens, and neutrals dominated the design world. We just know how we are gravitating towards it and seeing SO much of it in fashion, so its coming … First up…. In Victorian design, more is more and this is one of the key anchor points of this style.
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. However, steampunk and neo-Victorian are different in that the neo-Victorian movement does not extrapolate on technology while technology is a key aspect of steampunk. Steampunk most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.
Over the years I have received several requests for how to easily make a ladies Victorian costume. Usually, the need is for a school play or one-time event such as Halloween so the budget is very small. Will it be historically accurate? No, but it will certainly look and feel Victorian. With some creativity and ability to see clothing for what it can be, a Victorian outfit is a donable DIY project.