Victorian Dresses Dressing Up The Ladies Perhaps the most obvious features of the period were the sleeves. The Placement of the Puff would be a good title for this section. At various times, from 1825-1840 the sleeves were puffed at the top with a tapering lower sleeve, puffed in a huge billow from shoulder to elbow, puffed only at the elbow, puffed from shoulder to wrist in a tapering billow, and puffed in suspension from a dropped shoulder. This dropped shoulder turned into a full epaulette collar or jockeis around 1839 and this fullness took the place of the puffed sleeve which was not seen again in such proportions until the 1890s.   As may be guessed, new terms were coined for each sleeve innovation. (Yes, period detractors really did use the term imbecile sleeves and gentlemens' magazines showed drawings of women turned sideways to go through doors.) The sleeves which were very wide at the shoulder and tapered gradually to the wrist were called the gigot sleeves and required their own set of underpinnings. A strip of gathered glazed cotton with whalebone at the edge usually held out the sleeves although stuffed pads and even hoops on the arms were occasionally used. Costume historian Nancy Bradfield dates the gigot sleeve being in use from about 1824 to about 1836.   The Victoria sleeve was actually not much favored by Queen Victoria who knew her build was not enhanced by tight shoulder and wrist fittings with volume in the mid sleeve section. No matter where the puff was placed armholes were small and high, so despite the volumes of material used arm movement was restricted.   As a balance to the large puffed sleeves, collars were also enormous at various times from 1825 to 1840. The pelerine en ailes d'oiseau collar covered the sleeves like a bird's outstretched wing. Sometimes the collars were split at the top of each sleeve and often there were two layers of a collar. The bertha whose name and look are still familiar became popular near the end of the period. Lace and embroidered collars were widely made and worn.