Victorian vs Edwardian | which is which?

Hello everyone and welcome to a new video!

I've been meaning to do this for a little while. We had to do some decade based research for one of my modules at university and I thought it was cool to use to it for a video! Often on the internet, it seems Victorian and Edwardian are used almost interchangeably, but they are two different periods with different fashions. It was a lot of fun to find all of these images so I hope you enjoy the video!

I was thinking about doing one with questions regarding these periods - I asked on my Instagram if anyone had any questions and some of those I think could be a video by themselves. I've also collected all of the images I could accurately reference!

1830s fashion:

1840s fashion:
4. February 1843, Godey's Lady's Book.

1850s fashion:

1860s fashion:
14. “Fabrique de crinolines. - La pose des cerceaux, d'après un croquis de M. Bach”, L’Univers illustré, 1865
15. Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Courtly Gala Dress with Diamond Stars by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1865

1870s fashion:
19. Wedding dress, 1874. Victoria and Albert Museum.

1880s fashion:

If you are interested in seeing some more of my work, here are some links:

Instagram: @catscostumery

[sharonwerner]

"consult a native English Speaker" Your English is perfect and spoken beautifully.

[katherinemorelle]

I’ll often say “late Victorian and Edwardian”, because that’s where my personal style lies. From 1890-1910. But I do try to differentiate between the two.

[samijoallen]

It’s nice seeing someone do a breakdown of the differences

[ajackson]

Thank you for including pictures of black women. Im black and i love period pieces. I understand the history of those times but naturally i cant help but to imagine what i wouldve worn. So thanks for educating me and inspiring me.

[katerrinah]

Hell yes to all of the dress history videos, they make my nerdy heart very happy.

Also 10/10 for your English, I wouldn't have realised you weren't a native English speaker were it not for this video!

[gloriac.]

"health *aggressive quotation marks INTENSIFIES* corset" LOLL

And YES please make a video on the aesthetic/artistic dress movement!

[e.urbach]

"The Age of Innocence" with Winona Ryder, Michelle Pfieffer, and Daniel Day-Lewis, and "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" with Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, are set in the 1880s and the costuming is superb.

[kellymckenzie]

This was genuinely one of the most helpful historical costuming videos I've ever watched. Thank you for laying out the decades so clearly! Sometimes I feel really dumb for not immediately knowing things, and this was clear and lovely and just... awesome!

[leahraji]

I'm glad you found so many photos of dark-skinned women. I've rarely seen any at all.

[sekaihatsu]

1890's--Murdoch Mysteries! Thank you for a more comprehensive guide of these decades.

[Feelicitasy]

ohh, reform dress would be so interesting!!

[HarpsiFizz]

Did not know at all that English was not your first language. Had to pause the video to search the comments, hoping to find out what your first language is, because I'm still convinced that English is your first language.

[CottageTales]

Loved this! I always get the impression Edwardian often gets conflated with Victorian...
Personally I prefer Edwardian - spiced up with some details from the late Victorian age (I loved the costumes from Crimson Peak, though - not 100% historically accurate, I know).

[strawycape]

This is a great breakdown, the Victorian era covers so much change I know I get confused when jumping from one post/video to another that both claim to be Victorian but show dramatically different silhouettes

[gigglepantsiii]

I really appreciate how you covered the differences between the decades of the Victorian period and many of the other non-date terms like natural form era. Having them laid out in context and compared to each other made it much easier to see how one flowed into the next!

[Themsbeatlesrock]

A good edwardian example is the show self made - madam cj walker on netflix. I love looking at their clothes and houses <3 this is my favorite time period.

[lornadavis]

Yes! More videos deep diving into the more obscure types of dresses would be very welcome.

[ClayCraftCoffee]

I love the white button down with a colored blouse aesthetic that costumers do for educational videos. You look gorgeous in yellow Kat!


Wait am I first?

[NancouC]

Ooohh please make a video on the 1890’s fashion i love that era too 😍

[lindabloom]

I would love a video about the aesthetic dresses. I just got a pattern, and some of them didn't have waistlines, which I love!