Victorian Era Men’s Costumes: Corsets, Pants, Vests, Dresses, Clothes, Dinner jackets, Coats

As compared to the women’s clothing, male dressing style did not undergo any radical change. Men wore Stovepipe pants during the initial years of the century. Men’s costumes were expected to be formal, sober and elegant during the work hours and otherwise.

The basic feature of the Victorian male clothing was clean and basic lines, use of dark color and a detailed work of the costume. Men also wore corsets and with time, cinching of waist was replaced by easy breathing loose jackets.

victorian mens costumes

During the Victorian era, male clothing included coats, vests and hats except when they were doing hard labour jobs. Any costume less then this was considered unsuitable. It was essential for a man to have a waistcoat or vest. These vests could be bright colours or dark shades and were used as an accessory to change the tone of the suit.

Hats were considered as an integral part of the men’s clothes. There were a variety of hats to suit different occasions. Even men wore an accessory that suited their clothes. Men wore ties, pocket watches and a walking stick and adding to the outfit were gloves.

It can be observed that during the Victorian reign, men found having facial hair of all sizes as a style statement. Grooming of facial hair was a trait of Victorian men. The period prior to the Victorian era is called the Regency period where it was a fashion among men to have a clean-shaven face. However, the Victorian men believed in the exact opposite of it.

Men’s trousers initially had legs covering in tight-fitting cloth but, the fashion gradually changed to a loose tubular style. Straight slacks, with a crease in front & back, were commonly seen by the end of the century.

There was also a variation in the Day coats worn by men. These coats had changed into long frock coats, mostly in black colour. Waistcoats or vests made from wool were commonly used for day wear or as office wear.

The 16th century witnessed the invention of lace which was used for men’s costume. The male clothing in the early years of the Victorian era was a bit subtle but kind of colourful. For evening occasions they generally chose to wear colours like brown, dark green, blue, violet and black. The use of Braid trimming with customary lace began in 1850s. The major change brought about in the clothing style was by Games and Cycling.

More information on Victorian clothing: Victorian Children’s Costumes, Victorian Era Men’s Fashion, Victorian Era Wedding Dresses,  Victorian Era Women’s and Men’s Jackets, Victorian Era Women’s Fashion and know more about bathing costumes.