Belle Epoque is French for beautiful and it start at the end of the 1800s and ended at the start of WWI.
It was a period of optimism, peace at home and in Europe. The peace in Paris allowed the Arts and Fashion to flourish.
Belle Epoque styles were fashioned at the cabaret by all of the dancers. Toulouse Lautrec transformed Belle Epoque by taking some dancers and using them for his iconic poster art.
When Queen Victoria died in 1901, Edward VII became King. He was the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by art and fashions of Continental Europe. This is because he was very fond of travelling.
The Edwardian era ended when Edward died in 1910. But sometimes the period was extended when the Titantic sunk in 1912.
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau means ''New Art'' in the French language. It is an international philosophical and style of art, architecture and decorated arts. Art Nouveau was very popular in Europe. It was mainly influenced by the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha.
The sweated industries were created after the industrial revolution. Factory owners hired young children who couldn't afford to go to school. They were easy to manipulate and cheap to replace if something bad happened to the child. There wasn't any labour laws so owners could do anything to the employees. Here is a video to explain what it was like:
The Victorian Era Queen Victoria reigned from the 20th June 1837 - 22nd January 1901. However, the Victorian style of clothing ended in 1912.
Exposition Universelle
The Exposition Universelle was a world's fair which was held in Paris, France from April 15th to November 12th. It was open and created to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to encourage development into the next. The exhibition saw over 50 million people. This meant that inventions such as the ferris wheel, talking films and the telephone were universally known.
The Industrial Revolution (Pre 1900) The industrial revolution was a massive turning point in History. The industrial revolution was when the agriculture, mining and transportation industries were developed because technology got better. It influenced almost every aspect of daily life.
The introduction of Steam Power which was primarily fueled by coal, powered the machinery mainly for the textiles industry. This helped increase production capacity. During the Industrial Revolution, the electric sewing machine was invented and developed. In addition, the 'Spinning Mule' was invented. The 'Spinning Mule' was used to spin Cotton.
