The Victorian Gentlemen's Dress

The Victorian Gentlemen's Dress 

For Victorian men dressing correctly for the right occasion was extremely important, Victorian men had a fear of committing a faux pas by being incorrectly or incompletely dressed because this could effect there status or reputation within the community.

The frock coat and the tail coat of the nineteenth century gradually became shorter and more jacket like. The coat had traditionally been darker than the trousers, but with the arrival of the lounge suit this changed. The lounge suit was first worn by a member of the royal family early as 1857 and would have been worn in the country, often with a bowler hat. 

By the 1890s this combination was taken up by city bankers and because respectable people were wearing it, it came accepted into society. Many older men still thought the shortened frock coat essential for town wear, and wearing a tail coat for dinner continued at smart restaurants until the first world war.

Slightly less formal dinner jacket was worn by a gentleman dining at his club, although full evening dress was necessary for the theatre. 

The aesthetic movement of the 1870s made fashionable large hats and tam-o-shanters, flowing cloaks, knee breeches, velvet jackets and full flowing ties.

Another fashionable piece of clothing in those days was the use of the cravat was tied into many scarf-like ways. In 1810 to 1820 the majority of hats were tall, slightly narrowing towards the crown. Plain shoes or ankle boots were also worn.