I’m At 2maid2ward Now

I wanted the clothing to resemble the costuming of the show while also reflecting the style of women's clothing in that time period. It was a challenge because clothing of the early Victorian era was notoriously impractical and difficult to move in! Most of the outfits at the time would have been terrible to wear while working on a ship, so I had to take some liberties and get creative with how they would dress.

I imagine an alternate timeline Victorian Britain with women in the navy would be slightly more liberal that its real historical counterpart, and thus more forgiving with how the women (and especially those working on ships) dress. Though, I imagine it would still be scandalous for a woman to wear something like this outside of the context of working on a ship.

I took more inspiration from the 1830s, because the navy would likely be behind on fashion trends

Long johns

Long johns/thermal underwear were not widely mass-produced until later in the 19th century, but they were introduced in the 17th century and widely worn as sleepwear by the 18th century.

Trousers

Şalvar are a type of traditional bottoms found in Turkey and other parts of South-Eastern Europe. They are worn by women and men, and are the inspiration for what the Western world would later call bloomers.

Bloomers became popular during the "Bloomer Craze" in 1851 and were highly controversial because they went against traditional gender roles in the West and were associated with the suffrage movement and other early feminist movements. The women who wore them would call them "Turkish dress", "reform dress", or "American dress" (they were popularised by American Amelia Bloomer). They were not called bloomers by these women, since the term was derogatory at the time.

They eventually became less polarising in the 1890s when they were more normalised for sports and cycling.

A lot of early bloomers would be skirted, but I went with the un-skirted athletic bloomers. I think a skirt could get caught in rigging and cause a lot of issues.

The Franklin Expedition would be at least a decade early for these types of trousers to be worn by British women, but I have taken some liberty with this because the usual 1840s skirts would be detrimental for the sort of work a sailor must do.

Sleeve supports

Sleeve supports were used to get that iconic early Victorian shoulder shape. Padding was very important!

Coat and Blouse

The 1830s and 1840s had plenty of interesting blouses, tops, and coats which women would wear in the winter. I took inspiration some of these and adapted them for more practical uses.