don't show you ankles !
Perhaps you have heard of this one already; it’s not a myth ! It was simply improper and scandalous to show your ankles publicly as a respectable woman in the Victorian era (named after the one and only Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, reigning from 1837 to 1901).
don't show your bare hands !
You don’t want a man to get the wrong idea do you? Never forget your gloves! Short gloves were generally worn during the day, whereas black filet gloves were reserved for the evening. Gloves were a huge fashion statement, often decorated with satin ribbons, flower trimmings, feathers, cord, and embroidery.
don't wear the same thing all day !
What a woman wore over the course of 24 hours said a lot about her wealth, which was a decisive factor in whether or not you wanted to marry her. Because a lot of fabric was required to make Victorian dresses, most women owned few outfits. Thus, an upper-class woman was expected to change at least is times a day to suit the activity she engaged in. There was the morning dress, the walking dress, the town dress, the visiting dress, the receiving visitors dress, the traveling dress, the shooting dress, the golf dress, the seaside dress, the races dress, the concert dress, the opera dress, the dinner dress, the mourning dress, and of course, the ball gown.
don't wear makeup !
Makeup was seriously looked down upon. Like only-for-actresses-and-prostitutes-looked down upon.
don't outwit your man !
We don’t like intellectually forward women. No one wants to be a blue stocking (that’s what they called those bizarre women who devoted themselves to their studies). Your intellect should be limited to social events and casual conversation. Although it is a bonus if you speak another language, particularly French or Italian, please don’t think about pursuing a university education. The first women who were accepted to Oxford and Cambridge faced the dilemma of doing despite nobody wanting to marry them: "Some doctors reported that too much study actually had a damaging effect on the ovaries, turning attractive young women into dried-up prunes."
don't be an individual !
Obviously, the woman is an extension of either the father or the husband. Women didn’t get rights to their own property until the Married Women’s Property Act of 1887. But that’s in the future! For now, a woman’s place is in the home; her career is marriage. Once married, her primary job is bear a large family and teach her kids good moral values. Don’t get any silly ideas, ladies! Uphold the feminine ideal. Do you want some key words? Prim! Proper! Meek! Mild! Biddable! Dutiful! Delicate! Weak! Helpless! Innocent! Virtuous!
don't voice your sexual needs !
You want to get married so you fulfil your duty as a loving mother, right? You don’t care about any sexual or emotional satisfaction? Of course. Women were believed to not have any sexual needs. Apparently a doctor famously reported that "the majority of women (happily for them) are not very much troubled with sexual feeling of any kind."
don't forget to stand out !
Exaggeration is key. You want attention. The most sought after look was the hour glass silhouette, made possible by tight corsets and crinoline cages. Haven’t you heard that the French singer Émilie Marie Bouchaud had a 16 inch waist? With the Industrial Revolution, synthetic dyes were introduction to the fashion industry and resulted in an array of bright, wild colors of dress. Dresses with the most meticulous attention to detail such as in their ruffles, lace, and draping were seen as the most attraction. In fact, evening gowns would often have long trains up to 65 inches in length!