FashionSpeak Fridays:Fashion of the Gilded Age
Speaker/Author: Raissa Bretaña
Book: Fashion of the Gilded Age (Abbeville Press)
September 25th 2026
It was standing room only at The National Arts Club; Raissa Bretaña regaled us with the strict rules and fashion etiquette of elite Victorian society.
If a woman or man wanted to achieve social prominence, they had to be appropriately attired for every occasion- from intimate breakfast to lavish evening balls. Including mourning attire!
The were many colorful slideshow examples from her latest book- Fashion of the Gilded Age—depicting some of the most sumptuous gowns and jewelry (many extant- currently in museums) worn by well-appointed Victorian ladies circa 1870’s-1910. Of course the famous (infamous) surnames are already familiar to many of us. Astor, Gould, Vanderbilt, Morgan, Fish., Belmont, Roosevelt.
Raissa Bretaña is New York-based fashion historian, writer, researcher and educator.
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