Historical information
During the reign of Queen Victoria, whose long and conspicuous grief over the death of her husband, Prince Albert, appropriate dress for men and women for the period of mourning was strictly prescribed and rigidly adhered to.
Widows were expected to wear special clothes to indicate that they were in mourning for up to four years after the death, although a widow could choose to wear such attire for the rest of her life. To change the costume earlier was considered disrespectful to the deceased and, if the widow was still young and attractive, suggestive of potential sexual promiscuity. Those subject to the rules were slowly allowed to re-introduce conventional clothing at specific time periods; such stages were known by such terms as "full mourning", "half mourning", and similar descriptions. For half mourning, muted colours such as lilac, grey and lavender could be introduced..
Special caps and bonnets, usually in black or other dark colours, went with these ensembles. There was special mourning jewellery, often made of jet.
By the late 20th century, this no longer applied, and black had been widely adopted by women in cities as a fashionable colour.
Physical description
A lady's full length black fine wool dress with pleated bodice and skirt. A beaded detachable collar sits over the dress forming a V shape back and front and is attached by hooks and eyes on right shoulder . Centre front from neck to point is a row of small black circular sequins.
