Victorian times ....... ?

Question

I recently stated that people in Victorian times used to cover up shapely table legs in case they were reminiscent of the female form. Others said that they have never heard of that but I am sure it is correct. Any comments on this please .....?

Answer 1

It's a fairly common myth, although it is an exaggeration of the kind of prudery that did exist in the Victorian period. Piano and table legs were not actually covered with small pantalettes, although it does reflect the actual obsession in the Victorian period with things such as the correct skirt lengths for girls at different ages. (The hems, of course, becoming lower as they reach puberty.)

The irony, of course, is that much Victorian dress exmphasised female sexuality - low shoulders on evening gowns, revealing shoulders and bust, the ideal 18" waist emphasising the sexual appearance of a woman and fashions like the crinoline and, later, the bustle, emphasising their hips or buttocks. These aspects of Victorian fashion do suggest a rather more robust attitude to sexuality than is popularly considered.

There is no actual evidence that piano legs were considered scandalous. Pianos and tables were often draped with shawls or cloths -- but if the shawls hid anything, it was the cheapness of the furniture. There are references to lower-middle-class families covering up their pine tables rather than show that they couldn't afford mahogany. The piano leg story seems to have originated in Captain Frederick Marryat's 1839 book, Diary in America, as a satirical comment on American prissiness.

Answer 2

It seemed to be a passing phase of contrasts. The pre Victorian peasant does not seem to have suffered from any sexual hang-ups or restrictions, in fact one get the opinion that the country hedgerows were positively throbbing with passion, but with the coming of the Victorians there was a positive clamp down on the accepted attitude to 'nooky' in general, but was this just a professed image for outward appearances ?
There are plenty of accounts by members of the Victorian society that state that the society was anything but repressed. Gentlemen seemed to have a roaming commission, and the possession of a mistress was considered to be quite normal and acceptable. The fact that ones own partner could be someone else's mistress also seemed to be acceptable . The product of children from any of these relationships were never questioned as that sort of family back up, due to the high mortality rate, was quite normal, and even Royalty was not above such practices to ensure a continuation of the blood line.
Of course, all these practises were kept strictly with 'the society', and such licentious
activities were never encouraged to be adopted by the common man in the street, who were considered to be far too ignorant to be able to deal with such a situation, and were too busy starving to death anyway.
It is difficult to reason why this image of strict prudery was a desired image when you considered that Victoria's son Edward went on a european tour where he sported himself to screw every available female in Europe. This activity was well known to Queen Victoria who grumbled, but did nothing at all about it. What a strange two faced society.

Answer 3

My grandmother was born in 1865, so that made her a Victorian, wouldn't you say? She used to laugh about a well off woman she knew who was so house proud that she kept the legs of her best table wrapped up so that they wouldn't get scratched. That is the truth. The trouble today is that it is so saturated with sex, wink, wink, nudge nudge, that everything has to have a dirty connotation. Sad really.

Answer 4

it was a time of extreme repression and i've never heard of it but it would not suprise me. anything overtly or mildly suggestive of women sexually was covered up, i mean have you seen the clothes they wore? ihad to wear some victorian clothes once and there wasn't so much as a wrist showing.

Answer 5

Yes they did. They also had a chemise which was a straight garment made of cotton which they wore while having a bath.

Answer 6

Yes you are quite right - they did

Answer 7

yes they did it was common practice

Answer 8

I will not be surprised if they did!