ALL IN BLACK
Queen Victoria didn’t invent royal mourning clothes, but she sure raised them to an art form.
It’s true, as many writers have observed during the official mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, that Victoria spent much of her life draped in black in memory of Prince Albert. But she was far from the first – and even she didn’t follow all the rules.
Black wasn’t always the color of royal mourning. Royal account books suggest it was actually blue in the late 15th and early 16th century. Widowed French queens – like, say, Mary, Queen of Scots after her first marriage – wore white for their first few weeks. White, in fact, was almost always an acceptable mourning alternative for royal women; in the 20th century, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, wore all-white for a tour in France after her mother’s death.
Victoria’s real influence was in making mourning dress a big deal across society.
By the time Albert died in 1861, the Industrial Revolution was well underway, and the rising middle class in the West was very concerned with being “correct.” Victoria’s choice of unrelenting black was mostly about personal grief, but many of those who followed her had their eyes squarely on the etiquette books.
With more people able to afford a full mourning wardrobe, or at least some items of one, mourning exploded across society. And the etiquette authorities were happy to make a living explaining what was worn when.
Widows faced the strictest and longest mourning rules. They were expected to wear plain black with crape (dull black, usually silk, fabric) borders, veils and no ornaments other than their wedding rings and special mourning jewelry for the initial period – usually at least a year. In the second year, they were allowed to switch to “half-mourning,” white, gray, and purple or lavender, which was still a public announcement of loss.
And, if a widow wanted to wear black for the rest of her life, she was certainly allowed to do that.
For other losses, there was a whole chart of who you wore mourning for, and how long. Just like the widow’s black, it started with the royals and upper classes, and moved down the social strata.
Mourning was big business. Historians say the first department stores began when merchants wanted to offer all the black in one place. And don’t forget, in a time where people had far fewer clothes than we do now, being able to go into full black when needed was a definite sign of prosperity.
So was a half-mourning wardrobe – which, as we can still see in museums, often included absolutely gorgeous ballgowns in the appropriate shades.
Mourning jewelry is a whole category (and post!) of its own. Usually jet, often incorporating locks of the late lamented’s hair – eek! – it was the only appropriate accessory with full mourning. Some people, like Queen Victoria, continued to wear their mourning jewels forever.
Long, full, mourning for a constellation of relatives was one of the many social codes destroyed by World War I. You couldn’t keep going into black and easing into lilac every time a second cousin fell at the front. More, with wartime shortages, most people just couldn’t afford or manage the wardrobe shifts.
But some of the details survive in funeral attire today: black ties and armbands for men. Plain black dresses and pearls for women, topped with veiled hats.
But even the woman who raised it to an art form didn’t follow the rules all the time. Yes, Queen Victoria wore black dresses to the end of her life. In her later years, though, she happily accessorized them with a crown, diamond stars, and long necklaces of diamonds. When you’re the queen you make your own rules!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
It’s true, as many writers have observed during the official mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, that Victoria spent much of her life draped in black in memory of Prince Albert. But she was far from the first – and even she didn’t follow all the rules.
Black wasn’t always the color of royal mourning. Royal account books suggest it was actually blue in the late 15th and early 16th century. Widowed French queens – like, say, Mary, Queen of Scots after her first marriage – wore white for their first few weeks. White, in fact, was almost always an acceptable mourning alternative for royal women; in the 20th century, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, wore all-white for a tour in France after her mother’s death.
Victoria’s real influence was in making mourning dress a big deal across society.
By the time Albert died in 1861, the Industrial Revolution was well underway, and the rising middle class in the West was very concerned with being “correct.” Victoria’s choice of unrelenting black was mostly about personal grief, but many of those who followed her had their eyes squarely on the etiquette books.
With more people able to afford a full mourning wardrobe, or at least some items of one, mourning exploded across society. And the etiquette authorities were happy to make a living explaining what was worn when.
Widows faced the strictest and longest mourning rules. They were expected to wear plain black with crape (dull black, usually silk, fabric) borders, veils and no ornaments other than their wedding rings and special mourning jewelry for the initial period – usually at least a year. In the second year, they were allowed to switch to “half-mourning,” white, gray, and purple or lavender, which was still a public announcement of loss.
And, if a widow wanted to wear black for the rest of her life, she was certainly allowed to do that.
For other losses, there was a whole chart of who you wore mourning for, and how long. Just like the widow’s black, it started with the royals and upper classes, and moved down the social strata.
Mourning was big business. Historians say the first department stores began when merchants wanted to offer all the black in one place. And don’t forget, in a time where people had far fewer clothes than we do now, being able to go into full black when needed was a definite sign of prosperity.
So was a half-mourning wardrobe – which, as we can still see in museums, often included absolutely gorgeous ballgowns in the appropriate shades.
Mourning jewelry is a whole category (and post!) of its own. Usually jet, often incorporating locks of the late lamented’s hair – eek! – it was the only appropriate accessory with full mourning. Some people, like Queen Victoria, continued to wear their mourning jewels forever.
Long, full, mourning for a constellation of relatives was one of the many social codes destroyed by World War I. You couldn’t keep going into black and easing into lilac every time a second cousin fell at the front. More, with wartime shortages, most people just couldn’t afford or manage the wardrobe shifts.
But some of the details survive in funeral attire today: black ties and armbands for men. Plain black dresses and pearls for women, topped with veiled hats.
But even the woman who raised it to an art form didn’t follow the rules all the time. Yes, Queen Victoria wore black dresses to the end of her life. In her later years, though, she happily accessorized them with a crown, diamond stars, and long necklaces of diamonds. When you’re the queen you make your own rules!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
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