Edwardian Era’s Style and Representation
Edwardian era is considered to be an era of an extreme luxury, bohemian society, and high fashion. Started with crowning of Edward VII, after whom the period was named, and followed throughout his reign from 1901 to around 1910, Edwardian era was quite a short, however, a very bright time for the British society spanning between the classic Victorian era and the hard time of World War I. Widely known as the golden age in British Empire, Edwardian era’s common image is also argued by some researchers to be created by the people after the WWI as a nostalgic image of the past time and was, in fact, quite a mediocre period as for British history (Battiscombe, 1969). Still, Great Britain has witnessed a great positive change in culture during Edwardian era, and the empire’s trends and overall image were highly influenced by this short time span.
Portrait of King Edward VII, around 1901 (The Famous People, n.d.).
Edwardian era is highly noted for its high fashion, including bright and pompous clothing, and its overall image of wealth and luxury highly influenced by King Edward VII, who was considered to be the leader of fashion elite since the Victorian times. The typical look of the Edwardian era person is related to a fashionable bohemian attending high-class summer garden parties.
Men would occasionally wear elegant clothes with a jacket, tuxedo, or a frock coat with classic shirt, trousers, and would often wear various accessories along with such suit, including different types of ties, hats, and spectacles. These elements emphasized the era’s ruling elite attending the noble parties and created the common image of the period known today.
Women’s clothes were very rich for accessories during the period of Edwardian era and underlined the romantic tendencies of the time. Following the overall trend of women’s civil rights and suffragist movements the women from high class have also attempted to emphasize their independency and strong character by the bright classy choice of clothes, accessories, and interests.
Children during the Edwardian era also looked bright and classy as their adult contemporaries. Boys would often wear similarly to men with the common choice of classic or official military-like jackets, frocks, shirts, and trousers remarking them as future officers and defenders of the crown. Girls were less pompous and brought less resemblance to their women contemporaries, having wearing light-colored bright dresses, quite simple shoes, and some minor accessories, commonly in their hair.
The mealtime during the Edwardian period was a special occasion. Often having the noble lunch or dinner parties, the typical Edwardian family would hire a high-class chef, often from France, preparing some of the finest meals in Great Britain for around 20 people, considering the tastes and diets for every specific guests. The typical dinner party during the era could include up to 8 courses and often such luxurious foods as meat, oysters, truffles, fine chocolates, and patisseries were served over an extended period of time. All the foods were usually served in clean …
