The 19th century was regarded as the Golden Age of Steam. In 1836, the first railway was built from London Bridge to Greenwich. In 1863, the first underground railway in London was completed and this changed the 19th century London for good.

The traveling became a lot more easy and middle class and the wealthy class used this mode of transportation. The railways also helped in the expansion of the London city. The wealthy classes migrated to the suburbs leaving the poor in the inner city areas. In London, the first railway to be built was the London and Greenwich Railway.

The fashion capital of Britain was the city of London. The womens fashion underwent rapid changes. In the mid 1800s, women basically wore corsets, balloonish sleeves and crinolines. These crinolines flourished during the 1850s and 1860s. The bustle became popular in the 1870s. The women used to wear dresses with big padded shoulders to show off their class and poise.

These dresses had a long or a short sleeve depending upon the season. During the Victorian period, women would completely cover their legs by wearing black stockings. In the later years, pants replaced the items that were used earlier. The skirts which had a straight fitting were now spread over large hoops.

However, during the last few years of the era, hoop lost its hold and was immediately replaced by skimmer skirts. There was also a change in the sleeves of the dresses. The sleeves changed from slim to leg o mutton sleeves at the end of Victorian times. The corset was also an essential element in the womens outfit and the purpose of this corset never changed.

For a woman to be able to wear a Victorian outfit, she had to have a cinched- in waist. The Victorian women belonging to the upper and middle class had some liberty in respect of the evening. For evening apparel, women could bear the shoulders and upper part of the chest. The invention of Sewing Machine in 1851 led to the increase in the production of clothes.

Mens fashion did not undergo any radical change. Men wore Stove-pipe pants during the initial years of the century. The mens costumes were to be formal, sober and elegant during the work hours and otherwise. The basic feature of the Victorian mens clothings were clean and basic lines, use of dark color and a detailed work of the costume.

Men also wore corsets and with time, cinching of waist was replaced by easy breathing loose jackets. During the Victorian era, men wore coats, vests and hats except when they were doing hard labor jobs. Any costume less then this was considered unsuitable. It was essential for a man to have a waist coat or vest. These vests could be bright colors or dark shades and were used as an accessory to change the tone of the suit.

Hats were considered as an integral part of the mens clothes. There were a variety of hats to suit different occasions. Even men wore accessory that suited their clothes. Men wore ties, pocket watches and a walking stick and adding to the outfit were gloves.

Mens trousers initially had legs covering in tight fitting cloth but, the fashion gradually changed to a loose tubular style. Straight slacks, with a crease in front and back were commonly seen by the end of the century. There was also a variation in the Day coats worn by men. These coats had changed into long frock coats, mostly in black color.

Waist coats or vests made from wool were commonly used for day wear or as an office wear. The 16th century witnessed the invention of lace which was used for mens costume. The mens clothes in the early years of the Victorian era were a bit subtler but were kind of colorful.

For evening occasions, men generally chose to wear colors like brown, dark green, blue, violet and black. The use of Braid trimming with customary laces began in 1850s. The major change brought about in the clothing style was by Games and Cycling.

With the continuous expansion of London, a need was felt to have a proper system of local government. Prime Minister, Robert Peel in 1829 established the Metropolitan Police which were given the nickname of bobbies or peelers.

In 1855 Metropolitan Board of Works was formed in order to regulate the working of the local government. The city of London was famous for its fashion, industrial growth and some of the landmarks which complete London like Trafalgar Square, The Royal Albert Hall, The Victorian and Albert Museum and the Tower Bridge.