Constance and Oscar Wilde’s Contributions to Fashion

The Rational Dress Society had an influence on Victorian style shifts

C.S. Voll
Writers’ Blokke
Published in
6 min readJul 30, 2021

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Left: A photograph of Constance Wilde in 1887. From Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain). Right: A photograph of Oscar Wilde in 1882. By Napoleon Sarony from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain). Background: Sewing text page. By ArtsyBee from Pixabay.

Layers of clothing, corsets, and long skirts were features of Victorian fashion. Various design elements aided the pursuit of the era’s much-desired hourglass silhouette. The style came with its costs, though: clothing could impede movement, be stifling in hot…

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C.S. Voll
Writers’ Blokke

A scholar and writer wearing many ill-fitting hats, trying to do the best he can with what he has.