Edwardian Fashion

Perhaps it's because he had to wait for a long time before becoming the King, or perhaps he had an authoritative mother, Queen Victoria who held him under strict control, King Edward VII brought a lot of change to Britain during his reign. Undoubtedly fashion is one of them.

Edwardian period is an important milestone in fashion history, especially when analysed in parallel with Paris. Just remember that in 1857, an English man Charles Frederick Worth was opening his couture house in Paris and dressing the richest women and royalty of the time.  Edwardian period started in 1901 and brought drastic change to cultural and social life as well as the way people dressed, making their clothes more light and practical. 

One interesting discovery for me from this book was that a London based couturier Lucy Duff-Gordon, known as Lucille, is credited with developing the modern catwalk show, by dressing her models not only for individual clients but for an audience. Lucille was also famous with the seductive names she gave to her clothes, like "The red mouth of a Venomous flower". She might have been quite a scandal in those days, but guess what, she has got a lot of orders. Seduction and fashion, always a winning formula. 

I would recommend to read this 60-pages book, quite a quick but interesting read for those who do not want to go deeper with the era. I particularly liked the last pages where the author suggests further readings and places to visit to admire some Edwardian fashion pieces. Always nice to see an author who puts some more effort than expected.

Edwardian fashion by Daniel Milford-Cottam published by Shire books.