Victorian+3+daily+life

​​ Daily Life and Culture  Food The Victorian meals consisted of as many as nine courses, although many of the dishes were light. The noble classes ate large breakfasts, small lunches, and late suppers. One dinner meal could include soup, turkey or pork with potatoes, two vegetable sides, citrus ice, dinner rolls, jams, fancy cake and preserved fruit, and coffee. Afternoon tea was also established during the Victorian Era. Culinary schools were first established during this time period and detailed measurements and instructions as to how to prepare food and meals were now written down.

Clothing​ **Women: ** Women’s clothing was extremely elaborate in the Victorian Era. Women preferred to have the hourglass shape, so they emphasized their waists with tight corsets and voluminous skirts with long trains. The dresses and skirts had many layers and shades. Puffy sleeves for dresses were very much in fashion, but later on became fitted sleeves, and at the end of the Victorian Era bell sleeves were the fashion. Accessories to women’s outfits were usually hats and gloves. Around 1835, bonnets became more fashionable than large hats. These lavishly trimmed bonnets stayed in fashion until 1890. The exact cut, material, and color of clothing became a ranking of social class and status. Synthetic dies became available to create more intense colors for clothing. ​

** Men: ** Dress in the Victorian ages was just as important to men as it was to women. In general, gentlemen’s clothing became more comfortable, but was not nearly as comfortable as present day clothing. It was still quite restricted like the women’s clothing. The fit was a bit looser and the collars were a bit lower to allow for an easier fit for men. Gentlemen, however, were still restricted by stipulations for what was deemed as “correct dress” and a man could be required to change his clothes multiple times during the day depending on where he was going or what he was doing. Men wore shirts that were cut fuller than present day shirts because Victorians had technical limitations in sewing and tailoring. Some shirts had removable bib fronts because washing machines were not available, therefore shirts could not be washed as easily or as frequently. The removable bib front was reversible, allowing gentlemen to hide stains in order to look neat and proper without having to clean their shirts. Over the shirts, gentlemen would usually wear a frock coat or tailcoat. Frock coats consisted of a full skirt in the front and back that fell just above the knees while a tailcoat had the knee length skirt in back contrasting with a short front. Tailcoats were more popular for party events and were used on occasions to dress up. Gentlemen wore frock coats as everyday attire. Under their coats were vests and waistcoats. These were extremely popular. Men usually owned more than one vest or waistcoat to accessorize the same suit. They also wore their frock coats unbuttoned in order to show off their multiple vests and to make a fashion statements, whether bold or conservative. Popularity with the vests increased even more when silk became available and inexpensive as a result of China opening in 1880. The greatest significance between the pants of men in the Victorian era and the pants of men in modern day is the waistline. In the Victorian era, men wore their trousers much higher and without a pressed crease in the front, but rather a flat front. Trousers did not have belt loops because Victorian gentlemen did not use belts. Leather or canvas suspenders were worn, attached to the trousers. As far as accessories go, men carry only the necessities. Bowler hats—named after the creator, William Bowler—were extremely popular. They are short rimmed with rounded crowns. Bowlers were known in the U.S. as a derby hat, and were only manufactured in black. It was not until later that the hats were manufactured in shades of brown and tan, also. Fashionable gentlemen of the Victorian era were nearly always seen wearing bowler hats—or low top hats—carried a walking stick, and the chain of a pocket watch with a fob could be seen hanging from their waistcoat.

Social Statuses The Victorian Age was marked with change and reform. The Industrial Revolution provided many new jobs and opportunities for Victorian England. This caused the then-small middle class to grow immensely. Even though the middle class wasn't the numerical majority, it became the backbone of the community. They provided an attitude that worked towards giving them more power without the country. The middle class took advantage of the new machinery, booming trade, and the labor force that was emerging. Stuck in the shadow of the rich, the increasing size of the middle class worked with urgency and determination in hopes of having the same wealth and property as the rich. They set precedents in Victorian England and became trendsetters for the era.

Religion/Values <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Although Puritan ideals were supposedly revered in the Victorian Era, this time period brought numerous challenges to the foundations of Christianity, including the growing beliefs in materialism, rationalism, communism, and “higher criticism” of the Bible. Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution, which struck at the foundations of Christianity that man was created by God in His image, and responsible for sinful actions. Meanwhile, the Victorian Era also produced faithful ministers, missionaries, theologians, and authors who upheld Christian beliefs. For example, a lawyer by the name of Charles Finney became a prominent evangelist of worldwide revivals during 1824 to 1832, and created a number of sermons, theological treatises, and hymns during the Victorian time period. Likewise, many other evangelists and missionaries followed in his footsteps. Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody ministered in England, leaving a great deal of spiritual writings behind as well. The Salvation Army, an organization focused on reaching out to the neediest of English society while demonstrating the hope of Jesus Christ, was founded by William Booth and his wife Catherine. Several famous Victorian missionaries of the era included Amy Carmichael, David Livingstone, George Mueller, and Hudson Taylor, who left England to spread the word of the gospel to countries such as India, Africa, Germany, and China.

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