The Victorian community of people was divided into 3 major groups. First is the Upper Class. This class was the most powerful and respected of all. In addition to this, they were consisted of dukes, nobles, aristocrats, and affluent families working in Victorian courts. Many did not work because generations of their families have gathered and inherited money for them to have a luxurious life.
The Middle Class was also prosperous in this era and in addition to this, this class’ members needed servants. Unlimited supply of novelties are compulsory for the newly rich. Due to the Industrial Revolution, drastic changes were made and doors for job opportunities opened for them to have a decent living. The increasing number of middle class members is also the effect of this and it increased the demand for goods and services.
Last is the Working Class. This one was the worst affected among the social hierarchy. They were also hostile to the other upper classes. Since this era depended on agriculture, a lot of members from this class worked as farmers. Their lives were determined and depended by the seasons. Workers were also expected to work most of their days.
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Over these are waistcoats or vests and these are must-haves for a Victorian man during this time period. These are often the most colorful or decorative clothing item. Wool, tweed, velvet or plain cloth is used for day wear while for evening wear, satin and brocade is used. There are four kinds of coats worn in this time- the frock coat, the morning coat, the sack coat, and the tailcoat. Day wear pants or trousers often have subtle stripes or plaid patterns with light grey or fawn color, while for formal or evening wear, they used plain black. Pants were high waisted and fitted tightly down to the ankle, giving the wearer a slim silhouette. Men’s accessories were gloves, pocket watches, handkerchiefs, and a walking cane, also used as a
Common people also wear a loincloth that is made from a long strip of cloth tied in front. If a man has a higher social standing, the fabric may have embroidery on it or fringes on the ends. In addition, a tilmatli or tilm is a cloak made from a triangular shaped cloth, a common attire worn by men.
the people who weren 't born into a wealthy families were treated completely different than the upper class. what really surprised me was that no matter how hard you worked you could not raise your class unlike America today where you naturally get praised for hard work. There were many things that made this time hard on a majority of the population. As shown in the quote, “... steam boilers discharged into their seething contents and drains and sewers their fetid impurities…” (Miller 294) once the steamboats were created water sources were becoming very polluted which made accessing clean water very hard.
They may also wear dress pants, dress shirts and a tie. Dress pants were known as knickers in England at the time. They wore those items to make them look proper. Men and women looked fantastic together. They wore fancy clothes, did fancy thing together, and it made them look proper.
The doublet, a brief, stiff, form-fitting jacket made of wool, leather, or thick fabric, was the most popular upper garment for men. The majority of colors used by the aristocracy were red, blue, yellow, green, grey, and brown. Men’s shoes were typically square-toed and had no discernible heel. Since the Middle Ages, long dresses worn by aristocratic women have hardly changed. An alternative to the kirtle was to wear a series of light skirts (petticoats), usually paired with a woolen bodice that was stiff and highlighted a narrow waist.
A vast majority of the upper class in the British Empire had no need to trouble themselves with working as their families had spent generations and generations amassing a fortune for their heirs to live off of. They spent their time living lavishly, serving on the royal court, and busying themselves with political matters. Counting themselves lucky to at least not living the lives of the less fortunate souls that they employed was the middle class. Middle class families typically were business owners and led moderately comfortable lives. Although, this class was very sparse at the beginning of Victoria’s time.
For men, they wore a shirt, stockings, codpiece, doublet, breeches, and a cloak. However, the clothing allowed for each gender depended on the social class. Those who were members of the upper class had clothing that differed in material from those in the lower class. Fashion varied in many different ways such as the clothing men, women, and children wore centuries ago. "
It consists of the peasants, lords, nobles, and kings. The peasants were the main working force in the feudal system. Because they were the lowest of the social class they had a hard life. They worked everyday and "others were more like slaves. They owned nothing and
Men often wore a sweater with a cardigan over it, being more of a casual outfit. Also, plaid shirts became a very popular style that everyone admired. When men weren’t dressed in their casual outfits, they were dressed in their usual suits. The suits varied in many different colors, black, navy blue, dark gray, and light gray. Also, the style and color of the ties the men wore, changed the look of the whole outfit.
Men of the working class wore breeches that were knee-length and baggy along with a simple doublet. Upper class males wore complex doublets with puffed sleeves as well as tight breeches called hose. Wealthy men had large wardrobes that were filled with complex garments, “But whether a man was wealthy or poor he was not allowed to wear whatever he liked... He could be richer than a Duke but if he did not have an equivalent title he was not allowed to wear clothes made of the same fabric or even of the same color” (Alchin 1). Social class heavily dictated what a man could wear because even the most wealthy males could only wear certain materials and clothing items due to their social standing.
In terms of the social hierarchy, both the 15th and 21st centuries contain such classifications of the social hierarchy. These social classes are usually expressions and representations of conditions established in the society. During the Elizabethan Period, the society was divided. The society once consisted of the Monarchs, Nobility, Gentry, Merchants, Yeomanry and Laborers. During this period, a Monarch is the main ruler of a nation.
Finally, the middle classes were not primarily affected by the industrial revolution, but they were affected by the higher class, the aristocrats. The overall issue that all of the classes faced with the industrial revolution and how it affected the beliefs on family and marriage was change. Because of a change in economy, work, and machinery the society of Britain began to change the original ideas of family and marriage to fit the newly formed industrial society, allowing Britain’s industry and hierarchy to put strain and change for the people in the mid-nineteenth
Class distinction is a theme that is present during all time periods; it was a fundamental part of the structure of English society during the eighteenth century; "The key feature of eighteenth-century English society was that it was arranged as a status hierarchy" (Lehmberg, Meigs and Heyck). During this time, it was not the level of income that was seen as the deciding factor of a person 's position in society, but rather their social ranking; the upper ranks, which were known as the gentry, were families whose status was secured by their land ownership, the second rank were the middle-class (tradesmen) and the bottom of the social structure were the working class. These divides in the societal structure of the eighteenth century are clearly evident in the works of John Gay and Samuel Richardson. According to Wallech, in eighteenth century England, a person 's social position was "associated [...] with a calculus of property, privilege, dress, education, honor, obligation, residence, occupation, friendship, beauty, strength, and wisdom.
The upper class that contains most of the wealth and have many luxuries, the middle, or working, class that works hard, usually at one job, for a living and can afford some extra comforts, and the lower class that will work multiple jobs and still struggle to get by. Just like the social classes today the ones in the 18th century had definite differences along with some similarities. There were three main social classes during 18th century Britain. The first, and wealthiest, class were the Gentry. Included in the Gentry
Gowns of the 1920 's carried out the drastic figure themes of daytime dresses, however it was separated from the formal dress by the sleeve. Evening gowns feature the sleevless with bare arms that were wrapped in silk shawls, furs, caplets. They were made of luxurious fabric such as silks, velvets, taffetas and chiffon. Dresses were designed to move while dancing, they were inserted with beadings.
This new society was divided into three main groups: an upper class of aristocrats, industrialists and merchants and, finally, the poor and working class. Such an unfair class division was hardly criticised by the writes of the age, as it may be seen in Thackeray's work Vanity Fair. Since the power was in industrialists' hands, laws mainly favoured them and the conditions of the workers, as it has already been stated, deteriorated. Craftsmen disappeared as a result of industry competition and the increase of production lead to a decrease of salaries.