The last thing you would think that someone would wear to a dinner party when they are thought of as being a great excuse to dress up and act with an air of grace is a t-shirt.

Wearing a t-shirt can be an invaluable way of expressing yourself and even at a dinner party this could be no exception. Whereas some people may think this inappropriate at one of these occasions others will simply see it as the fact that times are changing.

Dressing appropriately has always been deemed an integral part of society particularly in the case of the upper class Victorian society. In the 1800s women went through the agony of being squeezed literally into a corset. After adorning the corset the lady’s servants would then pull the corset as tight as possible before tying it off. On top of the corset, undergarments and then the classical Victorian dress would be stepped into.

Because of the corset the women would look to have a teeny waist and then a fuller figure from the hips downwards and the illusion of an emphasised rear as Victorian dresses were made to be puffy at the back.

People who were poor however, were left with having to wear more simplified clothing that was more or less worn until it was nothing but rags. Working in factories and being exposed to all the pollutants that were contained there many people became ill and unable to feed themselves and thus had to resort to stealing for which they would be hanged if caught even children were not exempt from being hanged for this crime.

The atrocious conditions in the factories left many in ill states and even children worked in these factories also. It was popular for children to be chimney sweeps also. They would climb into the flue of more privileged people’s homes and using a brush would have to sweep all the ash out of the flue. This was not only messy work but extremely dangerous as one wrong foot could mean that they fell to their deaths which sadly, many children did. The reason children were used for this job was because they were the only ones small enough to fit in the flues of the chimney. Often left with no choice other than to do jobs such as this or forced into it by others as a way to obtain some money.

The next time you think that someone has made a fashion disaster at either yours or someone else’s dinner party just remember that someone coming to dinner in a t-shirt – even a funny one is not the end of the world and will not ruin your dinner party. Society today allows for a lot more freedom from the clothes that we wear or the way we style our hair to the car that we drive. We are truly lucky to be living in times such as these as the Victorians were not as lucky.

Ensure your dinner party is fun no matter what your guests are wearing.