# What If We Had Kept The Victorian Look/Worldview Today? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590 "2010-09-30T12:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/1 "2010-09-30T12:04:37Z")
I personally would like it if we kept Victorian dress and mannerisms, and combined with modern technology-it would be cool! Our machines would look so neat-think Captain Nemo’s submarine-flowing curves, exposed rivet heads, and ornate decor (velvet curains in a sub!). Van you imagine a Victorian styled modern motorcar? Lots of levers, big knobs, gilt trim, etc. Are there any steam punk novels that carry this theme? Think of the British army, in pith helmets and red tunics, fighting in Afghanistan (instead of those camoflage outfits). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/2 "2010-09-30T12:14:32Z")
Victorian dress? No thanks. I’m for less clothes, not more. Mannerisms? Heh, maybe. Depends on the mannerism. As for the machines, sometimes the steam punk look is an improvement, but not for everything, especially not for motor vehicles. The less a person has to handle while driving, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/3 "2010-09-30T12:31:59Z")
As for machinery and consumer products go, though, I think that capitalism pretty much guarantees that it’s impossible to keep that look, except for a small niche of customers that specifically pay for it not in spite of, but because of the look. Kind of like what steam punk fans do now when building steam punk stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/4 "2010-09-30T14:12:46Z")
Under the Victorian worldview, the British Empire would still be fighting rebellions in it’s many colonies since it would NOT have granted any of them any freedom, damn the cost. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/5 "2010-09-30T16:09:02Z")
As a woman, I’m very glad to not be living in a time and place where Victorian looks and worldviews are the norm. Yeah, some of the old style decor is neat looking. I don’t want to clean it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/6 "2010-09-30T16:14:55Z")
Actually, I look really bitch’n in a corset ~ I own three of them but never get to wear them enough! I was researching and writing a book on the eating habits of the Victorian gentry. Yet another thing I lost in the Northridge earthquake was all my research and data… But I have a huge appreciation for the era. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/7 "2010-09-30T16:17:55Z")
Sounds like you would enjoy the awesome steampunk event held once a year here in town. I corseted up and went to check it out again this past weekend, scorching heat and all. It’s a fabulous event. [The Great West End & Railroad Square Handcar Regatta & Exposition of Mechanical & Artistic Wonders!](http://handcar-regatta.com/) Definitely check out the Electro-Luminescent Graphical & Moving Picture Renderings. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/8 "2010-09-30T16:32:39Z")
The porn would suck, and made even worse by the two sweaty guys there shovelling coal into your great iron interweb machine. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/9 "2010-09-30T17:51:25Z")
Here’s a book for you: [The Difference Engine](http://www.amazon.com/Difference-Engine-Charles-Babbage-Computer/dp/0142001449/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285868859&sr=1-1) about Charles Babbage building the first computing machine. I haven’t read them myself but I think Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle books fit the time frame too. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/10 "2010-09-30T17:54:38Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Actually, I look really bitch’n in a corset ~ I own three of them but never get to wear them enough! > > I was researching and writing a book on the eating habits of the Victorian gentry. Yet another thing I lost in the Northridge earthquake was all my research and data… But I have a huge appreciation for the era. Sorry you lost the data. ☹ Umm … what’d they eat? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/11 "2010-09-30T17:58:09Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Think of the British army, in pith helmets and red tunics, fighting in Afghanistan (instead of those camoflage outfits). Think of Darwin laughing as those soldiers in bright red tunics are picked off by snipers with enough sense to use camoflage. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/12 "2010-09-30T18:58:25Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > I haven’t read them myself but I think Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle books fit the time frame too. They’re set a fair bit earlier, from the Restoration period through to the early 18th century. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/13 "2010-09-30T21:29:36Z")
You guys are psychos. Think of how hard it would have been for me last June to explain that I had a paralyzed limb rather than a paralyzed leg. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/14 "2010-09-30T21:50:36Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > Actually, I look really bitch’n in a corset ~ I own three of them but never get to wear them enough! > > > > I was researching and writing a book on the eating habits of the Victorian gentry. Yet another thing I lost in the Northridge earthquake was all my research and data… But I have a huge appreciation for the era. > > Sorry you lost the data. ☹ Umm … what’d they eat? It is where the classic multi-course meal was perfected. A full service would be the following: **Oysters** (with Chablis or Muscadet) **Soup** (with Sherry) **Side Dishes** - cold or hot hors d’oeuvres (Sherry or Xeres) \*\*Fish \*\*- if two kinds, one is boiled or braised with potatoes; if broiled or sautéed then served with thinly sliced cucumbers and if fried, served with buttered brown bread (with Rhine or white Bordeaux) **Removes or Solid Joints** - saddle of venison with currant jelly or saddle of mutton served with two vegetables (with Champagne) _Interval - Second Service_ **Iced Punch or Sherbet** - If no ladies are present, cigarettes are presented **Roasts** - poultry; duck or pheasant (with Burgundy) **Cold Entremets** - goose liver or cold salad (Johannisberg or Vin de Paille) **Hot Entremets** - stewed fruits **Cheese** - (with Lafitte Bordeaux) **Dessert** - (Madeira or Port) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/15 "2010-09-30T22:21:28Z")
Great goshamighty, that’s, like, a week’s worth of food! Even if I took _one bite_ I’d still be totally, completely, groaningly stuffed by the end. And that’s without being strapped into a corset! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/16 "2010-09-30T22:58:18Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > Here’s a book for you: [The Difference Engine](http://www.amazon.com/Difference-Engine-Charles-Babbage-Computer/dp/0142001449/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285868859&sr=1-1) about Charles Babbage building the first computing machine. I haven’t read them myself but I think Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle books fit the time frame too. I read the “Difference Engine” years ago-great book! I even recall the NPR review of it-at that (pre-Internet) time, the two authors (who lived on opposite coasts) mailed floppy discs back and fourth, of the manuscript as they wrote it! Victorian era clothing was elaborate-laundering and pressing cloths must have employed a lot of people in that era. And those multi-course meals-its hard to imagine eating like that all the time. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/17 "2010-09-30T23:01:02Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Actually, I look really bitch’n in a corset ~ I own three of them but never get to wear them enough! Cool! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/18 "2010-10-01T00:23:04Z")
You might want to check out “The Diamond Age” by Neal Stephenson. It deals with a future society in which nanotechnology has been developed to it’s full potential. The upper class imitate many aspects of Victorian society, including a group of Luddites who eschew modern technology in favor of that of the Victorian era. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/19 "2010-10-02T04:35:31Z")
Meh, not a fan. Purple prose, gilded everything, and forty pounds of clothing? No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590/20 "2010-10-02T05:40:37Z")
Then I could find my dresses from sites like [this one](http://antiquedress.com/) or [this one](http://www.vintagetextile.com). I could wear designs from the Houses of Worth, Pingat, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-had-kept-the-victorian-look-worldview-today/555590.md?page=2)