Fashion based moodboards

 

1820s Fashion

Beginning to gather inspiration for my character designs, i looked into the fashion from the 1800's with the board above specifically featuring designs from the 1820's. I wanted to look into typical women's attire to get a feel for the silhouettes and colours that were relevant at the time as these will massively influence my choices as i progress with my character design. I created a little swatch of colours that re occured throughout the era in order for me to incorporate these into more finalised pieces down the line. Although Florence was very young during this period, i wanted to look at how the style changed throughout her lifetime and how this eventually filtered in to becoming part of her nursing uniform.

1830's fashion 

A little more flamboyant than the 1820's, the 1830's showcased feminine off the shoulder cuts with pastel palettes and lots of adornments. I really want to take inspiration from this type of palette as there are some really delicate pastels mixed with darker earth tones which i feel is very unique, but also contrasts the dark subject matter that i will be illustrating. Again, Florence was only young during this period but it gives a good insight into the types of things that she would be wearing throughout her youth which i feel is a very important section of her time line to highlight.

1850s

Moving into the 1850s, where Florence had begun nursing, we see a big change in the styles. Darker, more gothic tones were introduced in comparison to the airy palettes we had seen before, and the silhouettes of the pieces became a lot more modest and bulky. Heavier pattern was also introduced, and women also often wore headpieces which is definitely something that Florence herself wore. At her prime during this era, this attire gives us the most accurate representation of what we could expect to see Florence in. 

Nursing attire 

Above, shows a variety of nursing outfits throughout the 1800's. Although difficult to get a completely accurate idea of what Florence's uniform looked like, by piecing together elements from each of these nurses outfits, we can get a gist of the type of things that she would be seen in. It has been stated that she would often wear a black full length dress, a white apron and a white bonnet/headpiece. The silhouette of her dress often followed that of a typical 1850's gown, with a cinched waist and full skirt, however the plain and dark nature of her garments severely contrasted what she would typically be expected to wear given her wealth and social status. It is also said that the head piece was heavily influenced by the nuns habit, which then filtered down into the nursing community too.