Artistic Dress was the Victorian sartorial practice through which individuals communicated their identification with artistic circles, life, and philosophies that challenged the boundaries of mainstream ideals. While it is a category that is acknowledged in current fashion histories, Artistic Dress has had limited and at times conflicting treatment, often conflated with other terms like Aesthetic Dress and Dress Reform without clarity or differentiation between them. The term Pre-Raphaelite Dress has also been used to describe this style, especially in relation to the idea that those associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Circle often went about publicly in unconventional clothing that expressed their Bohemian lifestyle. But it was those in the upper echelons of society who were in the position to set trends, and make Artistic Dress part of 'acceptable bohemia'. This keynote explores such figures as Rosalind Howard, the Countess of Carlisle; the Hon. Mrs Percey Wyndham, and other important women patrons of Victorian art and design who also set fashion through their unconventional styles of dress.

• http://radar.gsa.ac.uk/3221/