Printable Vintage Fashion Illustration: Victorian Ladies After Dinner, 1866

Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart;
My silent heart, lie still and break:
Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed
For a dream's sake.
― Christina Rossetti

And, at such a time, for a few of us there will always be a tugging
at the heart — knowing a precious moment had gone and we not there.
We can ask and ask but we can’t have again what once seemed ours for ever
— the way things looked, that church alone in the fields,
a bed on belfry floor, a remembered voice, a loved face.
They’ve gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass.
― J.L. Carr, A Month in the Country
Printable vintage fashion illustration from an 1866 issue of Peterson's showing a gathering of five Victorian ladies in the drawing room after dinner. One of the ladies is sitting by the window looking melancholy, causing another lady (possibly a relative or close friend) to look at her with some concern.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 12" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Printable Vintage Fashion Illustration: A Tender Correspondence, 1860

Whatever you choose for your stationery is your favorite color
because it's where you pour your heart out.
― Mary E. Pearson, The Miles Between

It is late now, I am a bit tired; the sky is irritated by stars.
And I love you, I love you, I love you ―
and perhaps this is how the whole enormous world, shining all over,
can be created – out of five vowels and three consonants.
― Vladimir Nabokov, Letters to Vera
Vintage fashion illustration of two Victorian ladies dressed in walking dresses, one in purple, the other is a soft dove gray. The lady in purple is intently reading a letter. Originally published c1860.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects. You can download the high-res 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Printable Vintage Fashion Illustration: Winter Fashions, 1866

Winter teetered on the verge of succumbing to the returning sun,
but today the breeze still preferred the touch of snowflakes.
― Rue, An Average Curse

One can follow the sun, of course,
but I have always thought that it is best to know some winter, too,
so that the summer, when it arrives, is the more gratefully received.
― Beatriz Williams, Along the Infinite Sea

Printable vintage fashion illustration from an 1866 issue of Peterson's showing a gathering of four ladies in a variety of winter fashions. Two of the ladies on the far left are looking outside the window at a group of boys rowdily playing on the ice in the front yard. A young girl in an embroidered black and white outfit is cuddling a puppy in her arms as the puppy's mama looks up at them in concern.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 12" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or Wall Art:

She was struck by the simple truth that sometimes the most ordinary things
could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people...
― Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One
An antique fashion history illustration from an 1866 issue of Peterson's showing a group of four ladies, wearing shades of brown, blue and gray, standing in a beautifully landscaped front garden leading to a plantation house in the background.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 12" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


For personal use only. Not for resale. All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please cite RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or DIY Wall Art: Dressed for a Cold-Weather Outing, 1861

There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
― Ranulph Fiennes
Antique fashion illustration from a November 1861 issue of Journal des Demoiselles. This vintage engraving shows a mother and two children; the mother and younger child seem to be dressed for a cold weather outing to the park.

You can download the free high-res 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for use in a collage, junk journal projects, as a scrapbook cover or simply print for tabletop and wall art.


All digitized work by Victorian Prints is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to VictorianPrints.ca as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or Wall Art: Preparing for a Summer Party, 1867

It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer.
― Anna Godbersen, Bright Young Things
An antique fashion history illustration from an 1867 issue of Peterson's showing a group of ladies, and a young boy, making preparations for a summer ball.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 10" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by The Real Victorian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Please link back to RealVictorian.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or Wall Art: Victorian Ladies in a Bridal Party, 1867

Marriage is like watching the color of leaves in the fall;
ever changing and more stunningly beautiful with each passing day.
― Fawn Weaver
An antique fashion history illustration from an 1867 issue of Peterson's showing a young bride previewing an ivory wedding dress for her bridal party before the wedding.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 12" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Mixed-Media Collage, Papercrafts, Scrapbooking or DIY Wall Art: Victorian Ladies on an Early Spring Walk, 1867

Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.
― Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
A vintage fashion illustration from the March 1867 issue of Peterson's showing four young women going for an early spring walk.

You can download the free high-res 8" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for use in a collage, junk journal projects, embellishing scrapbook pages or simply print for tabletop and wall art.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Victorian Lady in Carriage Dress, 1860

A page from Godey's Lady's Book in 1860 (I think it is from June or July? I am not sure as the cover is missing). The description for the dress reads:

The Agatha. ― Dress of pale Pomona green taffetas; the under skirt having a horizontal trimming of black silk set on with a slight fulness (sic); the upper skirt has a diagonal trimming to correspond; corsage square, pagoda sleeves, rather long and flowing.

At the top of the page is an embroidery pattern for a child's skirt.

You can download a free 4" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for cardmaking, collage, crafts or junk journal projects.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Victorian Lady in a Gored Robe, 1860

A page from Godey's Lady's Book in 1860 (I think it is from July or August; I am not sure as the cover is missing). The description for the dress reads:

La Princesse. ― This carriage or home-dress is another variation of the gored robe, the skirt coming in at the waist in broad, square plaits; the stuff or material for this season of the year is a light reps cloth, of silk or worsted in naroow, horizontal stripes; flat bows of silk, the prevailing color of the dress. Bonnet of Cobourg straw, with a Clotilde veil.

At the top of the page is an embroidery pattern for a shirt bosom.

You can download a free 4" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for cardmaking, collage, crafts or junk journal projects.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: A Victorian Bridal Party, 1867

What greater thing is there for two human souls,
than to feel that they are joined for life –
to strength each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow,
to minister to each other in silent unspeakable memories
at the moment of the last parting?
– George Eliot
A Victorian wedding illustration from January 1867. The image shows a bride and her three attendants as they wait for her to walk through the church doors and down the aisle. The bride has donned a luxurious cape with ice-blue trimming and lined with richly embroidered lace over her simply cut gown while her mother looks very much the grand matron in elaborately ruffled flounces and bright scarlet.

You can download the free high-res 13" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Gossip, 1860

Original, first-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate (in full color) from the March 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. This image shows four Victorian ladies, two in evening dresses and two in walking dresses. Illustration has only been lightly retouched to retain authentic antique details. Colours remain bright and vibrant. Suitable as a framed print (perhaps for a sewing or crafts room), a cover for a card or a journal, or even as a background in a design project.

The description for the costumes (from left to right):

Fig. 1. -- Costume for full dress reception, wedding, or opera. Dress of peach blossom taffeta, the skirt covered by groups of pinked flounces; corsage round, and ornamented by macaroons of the silk; bell-shaped sleeves, cut open on the forearm, and confined by a lacing of ribbon, displaying a lace undersleeve terminating in ruffles at the wrist. Bonnet of rose-colored crape and blonde.

Fig. 2. -- Carriage dress, also suitable for dinner. Emerald green taffeta, covered by narrow flounces of black silk; the sleeve and corsage having narrow ruffles to correspond, set on in hollow box plaits; drooping bows on the front of the corsageof black taffeta ribbon and lace. Leghorn bonnet, lined with emerald green silk, with strings and plume of the same shade; a single line of blonde borders the face, instead of the inevitable bonnet cap.

Fig. 3. -- Walking-dress for a young lady. Dress and mantle of gray poplin, a lighter material than that was worn the past winter, and very well suited for travelling dresses; it is crossed by a silk bar or cord of black. Mantle trimmed by a broad ruche of the same, goffered on. Drawn hat of blue silk and ribbon ruches, the brim rolled slightly from the face. The whole costume is simple, new, and stylish.

Fig. 4. -- Walking-dress of dark stone-colored silk, chinée with black. The skirt is arranged with one deep flounce, headed by five narrow ones, all both bound and headed with crimson silk. The sleeves correspond in style. Shawl-shaped mantelet of the same. Chic bonnet, with rose-colored ribbon and flat black velvet loops.

You can download the high-res 9.5" x 6" @ 300 ppi (2850 x 1800 pixels) illustration without a watermark here. Lovely as a framed print but can also be used as a cover for a journal or in other graphic design projects.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Taking an Airing (Dressed for the Outdoors), 1860

An antique fashion illustration that shows a group of four women and one child in a park, elegantly dressed in styles from the year 1860. The description of the outfits, from left to right, are as follows:

Fig. 1. -- Dress of apple green taffeta, shaded with black, a spray of leaves broché in black, at regular intervals; corsage plain and high; sleeves demi long, and of a narrow pagoda shape, trimmed with flat bows of apple green ribbon, as are the skirt and corsage, in a continuous line. Bonnet of peach blossom crape, with a fall of blonde. Rich lace shawl, lined with black marceline.

Fig. 2. -- Dress of summer poplin, with bars of mauve, or down stripes of black, crossing the white ground; each breadth is separated by a ruche of mauve-colored ribbon, and bows of the same extend down the side breadths. Ceinture or waist ribbon of the same, with flowing ends, also shoulder knots. Black lace bonnet, with field flowers.

Fig. 3. -- Dress of blue challais, solid color, trimmed with ruches of the same material. Leghorn garden hat.

Fig. 4. -- Walking-dress of plain taffeta, in ten flounces; each flounce bordered and headed by a plain row of black velvet. Drawn hat of white silk.

Child's dress of pink challais, with tablier front. Net for the hair, tied to the right with a knot of black velvet ribbon.

You can download the high-res 9" x 14" @ 300 ppi (1800 x 2850 pixels) JPEG without a watermark here. Lovely as a framed print but can also be used as a cover for a journal or in other graphic design projects.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: How Do I Look? (1860)

Original, first-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate from the February 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. The description for the costumes (from left to right):

Fig. 1. -- Evening-dress of white silk, with two skirts; the lower one has a flounce of lace, headed by a puffing of silk, caught at intervals with sprays of crimson salvia; the upper skirt is in longitudinal puffs, finished in the same manner; puffed and pointed corsage trimmed with salvia; round wreath of the same for the hair.

Fig. 2. -- Evening-dress of rose-colored silk; the lower skirt trimmed with four straight flounces, or single folds of the silk, edged by a shell ruche of the same; the upper skirt has corresponding volantes arranged as a tunic to the right; low, pointed corsage, with Grecian folds, trimmed by a flounce and heading of lace, the fall is crossed at the bouquet de corsage, and is continued in graceful lapels. Round wreath of blush roses without foliage, as in bouquet de corsage.

Fig. 3. -- Dress for the opera. Material, gray moire, with ribbons of deep bright crimson sewn on flat. Opera cloak of white cashmere, trimmed by several rows of swan's-down; Olga sleeve, and graceful hood with tassel.

Fig. 4. -- Evening-dress of white silk, with triple flounces, very deep; under each flounce of white appears an alternating flounce of blue; the drapery of the corsage and the sleeves has the same feature. Wreath of blue convolvulus, with foliage and tendrils.


All digitized work by Victorian Trends.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Free for personal use only. Please link back to VictorianTrends.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

Victorian Fashion History Illustration: The Bride, 1860

First-generation digital scan of an engraved fashion plate (in full color) from the January 1860 issue of Godey's Lady's Book in my personal collection. The description from the book reads as follows:

The Bride's Toilet. -- Gored dress of thick white silk, sloped to the hips, the only ornament being flat bows of white satin ribbon, fastened by pearl buckles in the centre; these extend from the throat to the hem of the skirt. Veil of thulle. Wreath, mounted in the coronet form, of fine flowers, jessamine, and rose-buds.

From left to right:

Fig. 1. -- Dress of queen's purple moire; the skirt full and plain, ornamented by a tablier trimmed of black Chantilly lace, placed spirally on each side of the front breadth, and following the opening of the corsage around the throat. From the waist line to the hem of the skirt is placed a row of rosettes of silk and lace. Sleeves, quite tight at the shoulder, and widening a little to the parement or turned back cuff. Undersleeves and chemisette of point lace. Bonnet of white therry velvet with white plumes.

Fig. 2. -- Dress of steel blue and black Bayadere stripes on a white ground, suited, at this season, only at dinner, evening, or dress receptions. The sleeve is new, and extremely pretty; corsage plain, and in double points at the waist. Bonnet of white crape, with wreaths of bluish roses outside and in; strings of rose-colored ribbon.

Fig. 3. -- Dress of Azof green moire, made en surplis, or tending decidedly to one side, in the arrangement of the trimming, which consists of lappet ornaments in black lace; corsage open after the style of a vest, or en gilet.

Fig. 4. -- Robe or pattern dress, of steel blue silk, with a border and tablier front of velvet, a light shade of groseille, with a raised figure in black, and tassels of groseille at the end of each bar. The sleeves are quite tight, with caps and cuffs of the velvet. Bonnet of white crape. Clotilde veil of blonde.


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20 volumes of La Mode Illustrée to digitize!

Okay, I've bought huge lots of antique books from eBay before but this is the...biggest one ever! 20, yes, TWENTY bound volumes of full-year La Mode Illustrée magazines ranging from 1873 to 1903 - the originals, not reproductions. These books are huge, measuring approximately 15" x 11" bound - over 120 pounds of books that were shipped to me all the way from a dealer in Ireland! Swoon. With gorgeous illustrations of Victorian and Edwardian fashion on almost every single page, my rough calculation is that I have at least 25,000 images on my hands! What am I going to do with these? I haven't quite decided yet. I'm not even sure where to begin digitizing! As problems go, this is a very nice one to have, don't you think? :)