It was quite an interesting read. Learned a ton about the ins-and-outs of Victorian fashion in extensive detail. I really liked the simple language being used because it was easy for people like me, who do not have much knowledge on the topic, a chance at actually getting what was going on.

The biggest lesson I've learned? Be thankful for the current fashion trends. I could not imagine wearing so many layers in this hot summer!!!!

I liked this book quite a lot, it was very interesting. I appreciated the introduction that set the scene and I enjoyed the direct quotes from newspapers or advertisements throughout. Some of the photos were nicely illustrative as well.
I did think that the photos could have been better placed at times. For example, a picture of Victoria's wedding dress is shown at the start of the book, but the section discussing it was bereft of images. This made it a bit hard to visualize.
My largest issue was the section of each chapter (decade) devoted to a list of fabrics and colors used. I didn't find this particularly useful as a reader and it was quite tedious. Perhaps explanations of the key fabrics and colors would be a better use of this area instead of a giant list which seems almost meaningless when reading.
Overall, I found this book quite informative and engaging to read.

4 out of 5 stars

This was a really enjoyable book, and very easy to follow. I love reading about clothing/textiles from the 19th century and early twentieth century, and this book divides all of that into decades. So, for example, if you want to learn more about 1850s British dress, there's an entire chapter dedicated to just that! It begins with 1830s and finishes off with 1890s, and then Chapters 7 and 8 are dedicated to working and mourning style dress. I really liked how we see the ways in which women across Britain used fashion to the best of their ability -- even if their socioeconomic status was low, they tried to "look the trend", and that's fascinating. I could go on and on about how interesting I found each of the chapters, particularly with regard to the little details on petticoats and stockings and all that good stuff, but I will say that what would have made this book a 5-star read are more images. The pictures chosen are beautiful, but if there had been a bit more variety, even some small pictures on every other page, I feel like I would have remembered the key elements of fashion from that particular decade of the British 19th century.

This book is perfect for anyone interested in fashion history, especially if you're looking for something that is packed full of information but done through a very concise format! Highly recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for sending me this ARC! All thoughts/opinions are my own.

As someone who reads historical fiction--mostly romance--I was absolutely in love with this book. This was a very detailed book of Victorian fiction, from sleeve length to mourning clothes rituals. This is definitely the book for someone who wants to learns the ins-and-outs of this type of fashion. I do want to say this: This book is extremely detailed. It would be an excellent read for historians and historical romance authors due to its research-type style. I have a Master's degree in British Literature, and this is something I would definitely use as a source when I do research. It's an insightful read, and I highly recommend it.

Victorian Fashions for Women, by Fiona Kay and Neil R Storey, is a fascinating book about fashion for women during the Victorian Age.
I found this book pretty good. It was dry at times, but it was very in depth and informative. It covers every aspect of clothes, from head to toe, and also through the decades. It also expands on why these styles came into fashion, such as the lowering of prices because of industrialization. The book had a great deal of pictures, which helped emphasize what it was talking about.
All in all, I think this was well written. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in fashion history.

I like books about fashion and the history of fashion as it's also social history. This one is very good and I learned a lot about the fashion of that age.
It's well explained and researched and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

We look back upon Victorian fashions with some bemusement: corsets, bustles and crinolines? Why would anyone want to make life so uncomfortable and difficult for themselves? However, it’s really not that long ago. In 1898, Lady Harberton wasn’t allowed to go into a pub’s coffee room because she was wearing a knickerbocker cycling costume with knee-length breeches – that’s the era of my grandparents. Kew’s first women gardeners were appointed in 1896 – and that was seen as newsworthy across the UK.

The nineteenth century saw the huge expansion of the middle-class. The Industrial revolution created wealth (and yes, a huge amount of poverty and hardship) and a lot of that trickled down through society. The wealthy could afford servants; the railways expanded markets for fresh food and so the increased urban population ate better. Some of that circulating money found its way into the hands of women who spent it upon themselves. Increasing mechanisation also assisted the mass production of items, thus reducing the cost of clothing and accessories and encouraging more purchases rather than mending and re-use of old apparel.

Victorian Fashions for Women by Fiona Kay and Neil R Storey offers precisely what the title states. Each decade from the 1840s to the 1890s is allocated a chapter and we also get two short chapters devoted to Working Women and Mourning. It’s a fairly short book (approx. 175 pages plus index) and is highly readable, although it packs a lot of information into each page.

Each chapter sets the context for the decade before telling us about the ‘look’ of that decade, e.g. changes in the shape of the bodice and sleeves and the changes in hairstyles. We then get sections on foundation garments, accessories, jewellery before the chapter ends with a comprehensive list of fabrics and colours of the decade.

I really enjoyed the book – and I learned a lot. I loved the approach of a chapter per decade. That means that before I read a book by Dickens or Trollope, I can turn to the appropriate chapter in Kay & Storey and get a feel for the ‘look’ for that decade. You might laugh, but someone as incredibly sensitive to female thought and behaviour as Trollope could, in just a sentence or two about Signora Neroni, for example, tell us exactly how she views society – and how it will view her.

This book is definitely a keeper!

#VictorianFashionsforWomen #NetGalley

Beautiful photographs and reproductions of advertisements across much of the century help to enhance the descriptions of changing fashions in this book. The book is broken down by decade with a general synopsis of how women's fashions in general changed (and sometimes what influenced that change, like sewing machines or bicycles) before breaking down to specifics like undergarments, jewelry, hair, etc. The last chapter covered a little bit of what women not in the upper classes would have worn as well as changing rules for mourning etiquette. Interesting for those who are interested in reading about the subject.

I love the Victorian era and when I saw this book on fashions from that era I was so excited to read it! It’s divided into three different times the beginning the middle and the end and from big Bussels to no bussels, to big sleeves to collars that reached their chin it’s all in here and they cover every fashion statement there was from head to toe flappy hats dainty boots ET see I love this book and will probably go back and read it again and imagine what it would be like wearing those clothes with the exception of the corset of course. Anyone who loves reading about or dreaming of the Victorian era will love this book. They cover everyone and every accessory it is so so good. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own I was given this book by net galley and I’m leaving this review voluntarily but all opinions are definitely my own. #VictorianFashion, #NetGalley

I love this delightful book of Victorian fashions through history. Perfect book for anyone that’s interested in history and fashion. The pictures are great as well!

With fashion by decades (1840s to 1890s), working class fashions and mourning attire, this is a well-structured book on Victorian fashion, split for each decade into overgarments, foundation wear and accessories.
Major bugbear is its wordiness and detachment of text and images. Where I was looking for pictures to illustrate the points made in the text, I only found seemingly unrelated, random adverts and magazine cuttings. And why are the delightful, coloured fashion plates right at the back?
Camail, Crispin or Cardinal, Polverino, Casaweck - all these forms of outer garments come without an illustration. Indeed, the whole of the 1840s fashion features six (!) images. It would have been splendid if some of those b&w photos would have been digitally enhanced to give a crisper image and possibly even colourised to give a better impression of the fabrics’ hues, rather than lengthy lists of colour names. Also, some illustrated pattern books/swatch books would have been helpful.
That aside, a book brimful of information on Victorian fashion, its influences and its historical development.

An interesting journey through the fashions of the Victorian era. Fun to read if you have an interest in fashion history. The illustrations are helpful in giving a visual of how women dressed during those times. Thank goodness times have changed...I don't think I could wear soooo many layers. The only downside to this book was the punctuation. Realizing it's an arc, the hope is that issue will be addressed.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for this ARC, which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.