Study on the Femininity and the Ideal Beauty of Body Implied in the fashion and the Anti-fashion Movement in the Victorian Period (I)

빅토리아시대 유행복식과 반(反)유행복식 운동에 나타난 여성성자 인체미에 관한 연구 (I)

This paper is intended to explore femininity, the ideal beauty of body and the features in fashion pursued in the fashion system and the Anti-Fashion Movement in the Victorian period, on which the modern fashion is based. For the informative facts needed in this paper, books on history, fashion history, feminism, art history of aestheticism and tole ideal beauty of body are referred to. On the part I of this paper, the femininity and the ideal beauty of body implied in the fashion system in the Victorian period will be reviewed. following are the conclusion : First, in the Victorian period, the value of femininity is put on the body of female by the discrimination of sex divided in two. Consequently, the characteristics of femininity mainly include dependence, passiveness, emotion, beauty, maternity, innocence, and purity. To emphasize the function of reproduction as primary duty and nature of female, the ideal beauty of body is represented in the form of Venus Naturalis, which symbolizes the fertility. And the external form of this body is expressed in slum waist line, ample busom and hip in fashion. Second, the features of this fashion are classified into three categories by their internal value : images of subordinate female, sensual female and maternal female 1) The image of subordinate female is expressed by concealment of legs, tightening the upper part of the body in corset and restriction on action by the crinoline 2) The image of sensual female is revealed in brazing colors and decoration, excessive exposure of the upper part of the body and hip by means of bustle. 3) The image of maternity is expressed in swollen skirt of crinoline, oval bustle silhouette metaphoring the extended womb resulted from pregnancy.