Doll:French Fashion Doll

The Victorian Era, associated with the reign of Britain's Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, represents a time of great changes in women's fashions. Wealthy women, of whom some expected little more than marriage and motherhood, donned lavish gowns made of yards and yards of fabric as a reflection of social status and femininity. Strict rules of etiquette required women to change clothes up to six times a day, depending on season, activity, and occasion. This doll wears an all black, two-piece dress, reminiscent of the mourning garb that Victorian women donned after the death of a loved one. Customs of the time required women to dress in all black for a period of up to a year or more, depending on who had passed away.