Printable Antique Fashion Illustration: Victorian Lady in Head Dress of Gros Grain Ribbon, 1873

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears,
for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.
I was better after I had cried, than before
― more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

The point of life isn't to avoid pain. The point of life is to be alive!
To feel things. That means the good and the bad. There'll be pain.
But also joy, and friendship and love. And it's worth it, believe me.
― John Stephens, The Fire Chronicle

A fashion history illustration of a Victorian lady wearing a head dress of gros grain ribbon; scanned from my collection of antique Harper's Bazar magazines. Originally published in 1873.

To download the free, high-res 6" x 7.5" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark, please click here. Can be used in mixed-media collage art, junk journaling, papercrafts, and scrapbooking projects or simply print and use as a gift tag or greeting card.


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Free Printable Fashion History Card for Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Hats for Young Ladies, 1872 (Set 1)

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#Fashionhistory: Hats for Young Ladies, 1872 (Set 1) || #19thcenturyfashion #fashionillustration #belleépoque #gildedage #victorianfashion #vintageart

♬ original sound - The Real Victorian

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience
in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself,
"I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along."
You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life
Three fashion history illustrations of young Victorian ladies in fancy hats for winter; scanned from my copy of the January 6, 1872 issue of Harper's Bazar.

To download the free, high-res JPEGs without a watermark, please click here, here, and here. Can be used in mixed-media collage art, junk journaling, papercrafts, and scrapbooking projects or simply print and use as gift tags or tabletop art.


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 Card for Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: The Josephine Evening Dress, 1872

It is easy to decide on what is wrong to wear to a party, such as deep-sea diving equipment or a pair of large pillows, but deciding what is right is much trickier.
― Lemony Snicket
A fashion history illustration of the Josephine evening dress; scanned from my copy of the December 28, 1872 issue of Harper's Bazar. The description of the costume reads:

"This tasteful dress for balls and receptions is of white Chambery gauze. The demi-trained skirt is of white silk, trimmed about the knee with puffs of white gauze furnished by a ruffle. The long plain over-skirt is not looped; its trimmings is a flounce arranged in fluted box-pleats, each pleat being gathered an inch below the top. The Josephine corsage, without points or basque, has a square bertha of gauze puffs. Grape clusters with embrowned leaves on the left shoulder and in front of the corsage; a garland of grapes and foliage is on each side of the upper skirt. A scarf-sash of rose-colored China crape is knotted loosely on the side. The hair is arranged in a Josephine coiffure. Coral and gold jewelry."
To download the free, high-res 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark, please click here. Can be used in mixed-media collage art, junk journaling, papercrafts, and scrapbooking projects or simply print and use as a gift tag or greeting card.


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 Mixed-Media Collage, Journaling, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Gilded Age Hairdressing Styles by W.J. Barker, 1875

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities!
Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers
you cannot be successful or happy.
― Norman Vincent Peale
Two different Gilded Age hairstyles from Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine from 1875. These styles were designed by W.J. Barker located at 36, Twenty-Ninth Street (four doors west of Broadway) in New York City.

To download the free, high-res 8" x 6" @ 300 ppi JPEGs without a watermark, please click here and here. Can be used in mixed-media collage art, junk journaling, papercrafts or scrapbooking projects.


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Free Printable Fashion History Illustration for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Victorian Ladies at the Art Gallery, 1875

Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness.
It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind.
As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.
― John Lubbock, The Pleasures of Life
A fashion history illustration from an 1875 issue of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine. The colour plate show two Victorian ladies looking at paintings hung on the wall of what appears to be a very busy museum or art gallery.

You can download this vintage engraving for use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, and scrapbooking projects or simply print and frame for wall art. You can find the free high-res 8" x 10" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


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 or Scrapbooking: Victorian Ladies at the Booksellers or Library, 1875

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
A fashion history illustration from an 1875 issue of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine. The colour plate show two Victorian ladies browsing for books in a well-stocked bookshop or a lending library.

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


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 Illustrations for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Victorian Lady in a Knitted Hood, 1872

Every style is a means of insisting on something.
― Susan Sontag
Two antique fashion history illustrations from an 1872 issue of Harper's Bazar. The two drawings show a Victorian lady with a knitted hood worn two ways; on the left, the hood is worn as a fichu (shawl), and on the right, the hood is worn as a head covering.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 11" x 8" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


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 Illustrations for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Victorian Ladies in Fall Walking Costumes (Part 2), 1875

I love walking because it clears your mind, enriches the soul, takes away stress and opens up your eyes to a whole new world.
― Claudette Dudley
Vintage fashion history illustrations featuring two Victorian ladies in walking dresses for fall. From an 1875 issue of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 13" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


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 Illustrations for Altered Art, Graphic Design, Papercrafts or Scrapbooking: Victorian Ladies in Fall Walking Costumes (Part 1), 1875

Take a walk outside ― it will serve you far more than pacing around in your mind.
― Rasheed Ogunlaru
Vintage fashion history illustrations featuring two Victorian ladies in walking dresses for fall. From an 1875 issue of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine.

Download and use in various altered art, graphic design, papercrafts, scrapbooking or wall art projects. You can find the free high-res 13" x 12" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here.


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: Victorian Lady Feeling Like a Queen, 1875

You don't need a King to feel like a Queen!
― Victorian Trends
An antique black and white illustration from 1875 that shows an elegant Victorian lady sitting on a tufted chair, wearing a very expensive looking day gown with various layers of bands, pleats, and flounces. Here is an example of a card I mde with this image:

You can download the free 6" x 9" @ 300 ppi JPEGs without any words or watermark here. Great for cardmaking, collage or image transfers, as well as graphic design or junk journaling 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 Visiting Costume 1 (1875)

A black and white fashion engraving from my collection of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine, December 1875 issue. Here is the description from the magazine:

Nos. 1 and 2 are illustrations showing the front and back of a visiting costume. The demi-train skirt is of olive-green faille, with the lower portion of the triple-plaited back-breadths trimmed with a deep half-plaited flounce, with a heading of small puffs and a stand-up ruffle, the sides and front-breadths being crossed with three gathered flounces -- the two first ones surmounted with rouleaux, and the third one with a succession of narrow folds. The long paletôt is of basket-woven plaid cloth of the same shade; the pointed fronts, trimmed with silk revers with velvet-faced corners, are confined by mold-covered buttons. The short back terminates under a bow and ends of wide sash ribbon, and the neck is decorated with a heart-shaped collar of silk, having a stand-up collar of velvet and velvet corners, from which depend two tassels. The sleeves are coat-shaped, with a deep flaring revers cuff of faille and velvet, and on each hip is a square-trimmed pocket. Three and a half yards of cloth, one yard of silk, a half a yard of velvet, and three yards of fringe will make this garment. Hat of olive-green velvet, trimmed with a silk scarf, a wing and flowers.

You can download a free 5" x 7" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark here for cardmaking, collage, crafts or simply print and frame for 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 Ladies Setting the Table, 1875

A black and white fashion engraving from a fall 1875 edition of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine. The following is a description from the publication:

"Nos. 1 and 2 are illustrations of the front and back of a dinner dress of rose-colored poult de soie. It consists of a train-skirt, trimmed with one deep scantily gathered flounce, edged with a knife-plaiting four and a half inches in depth, set on to form a heading. The overskirt is composed of clusters of upstanding folds, two in number, each cluster being strapped on either side with a fine shirred band, and are each connected behind on the train-breadths of the skirt by tied sashes of pink silk with fringed-out ends. These two clusters of folds are each edged with a fine knife-plaiting, giving the appearance of a double tablier. The corset is of the cuirass shape, trimmed with piped folds, and the neck is decorated with a fichu of plaited crêpe de Chine, edged with a fluting of the same. For the making of this dress thirty yards of poult de soie will be required."

You can download a free ready-to-print 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without any words for cardmaking, collage or DIY wall art projects by clicking 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: Victorian Hairdressing Styles by W.J. Barker, 1875

A page from Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine from 1875 showing the newest hairdressing styles (mostly consisting of elaborate braids) by W.J. Barker located at 36, Twenty-Ninth Street (four doors west of Broadway) in New York City.

To download a free, high-res 8.5" x 11" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark, please click here.


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Free Printable Fashion History Illustration: Victorian Lady in Steampunk Style Hussar Jacket, 1897

Antique black and white fashion illustration from an October 1897 issue of The Delineator. The dressy top-garment here shown elegantly made of velvet and miroir moiré is an Eton jacket or coat fashionably known as the Hussar jacket. It is closely fitted by a center seam, underarm gores and single bust darts and is closed invisibly at the center of the front, where the lower edge is becomingly pointed. The fronts are elaborately trimmed with jet passementerie and the wrists of the coat sleeves are decorated to match. Over the coat sleeves, circular bell sleeves, box-plaited at the top, hang in large flutes and are trimmed with two knife-plaited ruffles of chiffon. Chiffon is also formed in a stylish ruche that is arranged about the flaring Medici collar and secured at the throat with ribbon ties. The felt braid hat is low-crowned and is trimmed with tips, a bird of Paradise aigrette and a silk rosette.

To download a free, high-res 5" x 6.25" @ 300 ppi JPEG without a watermark, please click here.


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Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Promenade Costume for Spring, 1875

A black and white fashion illustration from the May 1875 edition of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine. The following is a description of the two costumes:

(Left)
Costume of light-brown silk alpace, trimmed with black Lyons silk. The front of the skirt is trimmed step-ladder fashion with bias silk bands, about one and a half inches wide, while the back breadths are encircled with four narrow overlapping flounces, headed with a similar silk band. These are framed with a ruche of the alpace, laid on in waves from waist to foot. The overskirt has the short pointed fronts, draped onto the long bouffant back-breadths by a bow of black ribbon, the points being edged with a narrow flounce and silk band. Close-fitting cuirass corsage, pointed front and back, and trimmed the same as the front of overskirt. The sleeves are coat-shaped, ornamented with a black silk cuff, on which is placed a black ribbon bow, encircled with lace. A band of the silk, edged with a down-falling flounce of the alpace and an upstanding frill of cambric decorates the neck, closed on the bust by a black ribbon bow. Black chip hat, trimmed with light brown and blue ribbons, and a blue feather.

(Right)
Promenade costume of black silk and French gray Summer cashmere. The silk skirt is trimmed with a gathered flounce, measuring in depth eight inches in front and twelve behind, surmounted with two wide and closely laid bands, piped on the edges. The overskirt and postilion basque are of the cashmere, edged with camels' hair fringe. The former is draped below the tournure, designing it as an apron, the looped sashes falling onto the silk flounce. Surmounting the fringe, on both the overskirt and basque, is a wide cashmere fold with a heavy rouleau of black silk, laid on through the centre; and a flaring black silk collar, deeper behind than in front, completes the neck. Muslin ruff and undersleeves. Hat of French gray chip, trimmed with black ribbon, and two ostrich tips - rose pink and gray.


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Victorian Fashion History Illustration: Gilded Age Promenade Costume, 1875

A black and white fashion engraving from the January 1875 edition of Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine. The following is a description from the publication:

Nos. 1 and 2 gives a front and back view of a promenade costume. The skirt is of black gros-grain silk, and is trimmed with a deep box-plaited flounce, each plait ornamented with a band of ribbon velvet. The overskirt is of gray cashmere, very long at the back, and undraped and arranged in a triple box-plait, which is sewed into the waistband, and the plaits laid evenly the full length of the skirt, and tacked in several places on the side, to keep them in position. The front is pointed, and is closed by buttons and buttonholes after being trimmed with a band of velvet, the trimming extending around the lower edges, and also up the centre of the back-breadths. Close-fitting basque-corsage, also of cashmere, belted at the waist, and trimmed with velvet to correspond with the overskirt, both the front and back of the corsage having a band of velvet laid evenly with those on the skirt, and ornamented with buttons. A sleeveless close-fitting jacket is added, made of black velvet, closed at the neck only, immediately under the standing collar. The amount of material required is twelve yards of black gros-grain silk, six yards of double-fold cashmere, and three yards of velvet. Black velvet hat, decorated with feathers and gros-grain ribbons, intermixed with velvet.


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Victorian Fashion History Illustration: New Style of Hair Dressing, 1879

A set of illustrations from February 1879 showing the four stage of a pretty hairdressing style for February 1879 with hair set in many loops. If you are feeling adventurous, below are the instructions for trying out the style as written by Mrs. Jane Weaver:

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Fashion History Illustration: Edwardian Ladies in Dinner and Reception Gowns, 1901

Antique fashion illustration from the December 1901 issue of The Delineator. The magazine says: "On the left, charming simplicity marks this gown, for which black crêpe de Chine was chosen in combination with jetted lace, rowa of ribbons of graduated widths and narrow ruffles of the crêpe de Chine. The waist is in low, rounding outline at the top, a short distance from which a ruffle of the material is arranged so that with the jetted lace it suggests a bertha. A closing is made at the back with small buttons, and the front blouses with becoming fulness [sic]. The cap sleeves are circularly shaped, and a ribbon belt describes the dip.

An inverted box-plait takes up the fulness at the back of the five-gored skirt, and a graduated, circular flounce is added. Several narrow ruffles arranged on the flounce near the bottom give a fluffy effect. White embroidered mousseline de soie will evolve a handsome evening gown, with medallion of black lace on white-edged black chiffon. A sash of black chiffon would be a pretty adjunct. Nile-green Louisine with appliqués of point Venise lace, or black dotted net over white taffeta will make a smart gown, and bows of black velvet and Liberty silk ruffles will be dainty as graniture.

On the right, tucks are employed in the decoration of this waist, which is low and square at the neck where it is outlined by a shallow bertha. The fronts puff out prettily and are tucked at the top and bottom, while the back is tucked to suggest a girdle. A closing is arranged to the left side. Tucked sleeves are also introduced, terminating in a puff at the elbow. A crush belt of panne velvet is worn, and the material employed in the development was Nile-green Lansdowne with self-colored dots. Cream lace appliqué was applied on the bertha.

The skirt is also of the Lansdowne, trimmed to match the bodice. It is circular and has a graduated flounce of similar shaping, while the back is in habit style. Pale-yellow taffeta will make up well in this gown, and the indispensable touch of black may be introduced in a chou of chiffon at the left of the corsage. Crêpe de Chine, mousseline both plain and dotted, and the various new silks are appropriate, and a ribbon belt may be used.


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