When Queen Victoria began her long reign, in the year of 1837, she started to have influence upon the sartorial choices of her female subjects. As this dress demonstrates, the exaggerated gigot sleeves (very puffy sleeves) which had been fashionable that decade became outdated, gradually losing their fullness over the next years and turning tighter on the upper arm.
I say thanks to Queen Victoria and her fashion-sense which rid women from the ridiculous (at least in my opinion) 1830s style and paved the way to the fabulous Victorian style (you know, the crinolines and the bustles and the long long trains… yes!).
