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Cambrick Cravats, and Weepers, broad hemm’d, Shammy Shoes and
Gloves, Crape Hatbands, Black Swords, Buckles, and Buttons.” The
instructions go on, to say that “Coaches and Chairs” should be covered
in black cloth, servants should wear “Shoulder-Knots of Black Silk
Ribbon …” and that deep mourning should last six months, followed
by another six months of second mourning.
When Martha Washington’s daughter, Martha (“Patsy”) Parke
Custis, died in 1773, both George and Martha Washington observed
15 months of deep, half, and second mourning as was prescribed for the
death of a child. Washington ordered from London a “genteel Suit of
Second Mourning, such as is worn by Gentlemen of taste, not those
who are running into the extreme of every fashion,” as well as a “genteel
mourning sword, with belt, swivel, etc.” Martha required a “Black Silk
Sacque & Coat” with “1 handsome Fan proper for Second Mourning.”
Martha also placed an order with their mourning attire for “mourning
rings,” most probably containing Patsy’s hair, to give to her girlfriends
and relatives as a remembrance.
The growing demand across Europe and from the Colonies for
appropriate mourning attire was met through the extensive manufacture
of dull black mourning wools, black and white silk mourning crapes,
and jewelry. Court and private dressmakers and tailors would then
make up mourning garments to suit the specific styles required by these Mourning Dress, 1850 – 1855, Half mourning dress in silk and cotton,
widening consumer groups and new royal decrees. The world’s chief wool mousseline c. 1872-74. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at
manufacturer of mourning crape was a British company called Amsterdam Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art. photo: met.org
Courtaulds, which mechanized the production process for massive
output and established a veritable monopoly on its creation. The expected to observe a prescribed period of mourning and dress
company exported the material internationally, with particular success appropriately in black during that time. That period was extended
in the United States and France. during the Victorian Era to no less than two years for a spouse. To
change one’s clothing earlier than that was considered disrespectful
Mourning in the Victorian Era to the deceased, and, if the widow was still young and attractive,
suggestive of potential sexual promiscuity.
The wearing of black as mourning dress reached its peak during the
reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) during the second half of the
19th century. The Stages of Mourning Dress
Queen Victoria, whose love for her husband Prince Albert was To outwardly display their bereavement, widows were to spend
legendary, took mourning to a whole new level with his death in 1861. roughly two and a half years in total proceeding through three stages
In addition to wearing her widow’s weeds for the remaining forty years of mourning—deep mourning, full or second mourning, and half or
of her life, she requested that the Prince’s rooms in their residences “light” mourning—each with its own fashion requirements and
remain and be maintained exactly as he had them when he was alive restrictions on behavior.
(her servants were instructed to bring hot water into his dressing room Deep mourning took place immediately after the death and,
every day as they had formerly done for his morning shave), had according to social protocol, lasted a year and a day. This period
statues made of him, and displayed his personal mementos around the required a widow to wear simple black dresses and don a full-length
royal palaces. black veil anytime she left the house. Called a “weeping veil,” this
As in other aspects of her reign, Queen Victoria’s mourning for her shroud was made of a crimped silk fabric called crape (spelled with an
husband influenced mourning etiquette among almost all classes, high “a” when referring to mourning clothing), allowing one to “weep with
and low, and decreed a new complex set of rules governing bereavement propriety,” as the women’s magazine M’me Demorest’s Quarterly Mirror
rituals, including appropriate periods of mourning by family members of Fashions put it in 1862. Unfortunately, due to the dyes and chemicals
and the wearing of black. used to process the fabric, these veils could also cause skin irritation,
Unsurprisingly, women bore the brunt of the emotional labor that respiratory illness, blindness, and even death.
this culture of mourning demanded, and no woman was more In addition to heavy veils of black crape, custom also required
constrained by cultural expectations than a widow. Widows were women to wear heavy, concealing black clothing. The entire ensemble

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
6. 1870s American afternoon dresses for late mourning
7. 1870s Mourning veils Title image: Girl in a mourning dress
8. Vivid purple half-mourning dress from New York store James McCreery & Co circa 1890s holding a framed photograph of her
9. Mourning evening dress worn by Queen Victoria circa 1894-95 father who died during the Civil War
10. Evening gowns worn by Queen Alexandra in the year following Queen Victoria’s death in 1901
20 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles