18th July 2016 · By the Conference Team · 6 min read

Tagged: Consumer Culture, Victorian History

As the British Association for Victorian Studies prepares for its 2016 annual conference at Cardiff University, the theme of "Consuming (the) Victorians" invites scholars to reconsider the profound changes that took place in British commercial life during the nineteenth century. The Victorian era witnessed a transformation in how goods were produced, marketed, and purchased, laying the groundwork for the consumer societies that dominate the modern world.

The rise of the department store stands as one of the most visible symbols of this commercial revolution. Establishments such as Whiteley's in London, which opened in 1863, and Selfridges, which followed in 1909, represented a fundamentally new way of thinking about retail space. These vast emporiums brought together a staggering variety of goods under a single roof, transforming the act of shopping from a purely functional errand into a leisure activity with its own rituals and pleasures.

The Architecture of Consumption

Victorian department stores were designed not merely to house merchandise but to create an experience. Grand facades, ornate interiors, and carefully staged window displays turned these buildings into spectacles in their own right. The use of plate glass, gas lighting, and later electric illumination allowed retailers to present their goods in ways that had been impossible in the smaller, darker shops of previous generations.

The social implications of this new retail landscape were considerable. Department stores offered women in particular a respectable space in which to spend time in the city centre, browse freely, and exercise a degree of economic agency. The stores also became important employers, creating new categories of work in sales, display, and management.

Advertising and the Mass Market

Alongside the physical transformation of retail spaces, the Victorian period saw the rapid expansion of advertising as a commercial practice. The growth of the popular press, the development of chromolithography, and the increasing sophistication of brand identity all contributed to a new visual culture of consumption. By the end of the century, advertisements appeared on omnibuses, hoardings, and in the pages of magazines and newspapers, reaching audiences on a scale previously unimaginable.

This proliferation of commercial messaging raised anxieties among contemporaries. Critics worried about the moral effects of encouraging desire for material goods, the honesty of advertising claims, and the intrusion of commerce into public and domestic spaces. These debates foreshadow many of the concerns that continue to surround advertising in the present day.

Consumption and Identity

For Victorian consumers, the goods they purchased were never simply utilitarian objects. Clothing, furniture, decorative arts, and even food choices served as markers of social status, moral character, and cultural belonging. The expanding middle classes, in particular, used consumption as a means of establishing and communicating their place in the social hierarchy.

The relationship between consumption and identity was also shaped by gender. Domestic consumption, particularly the furnishing and decoration of the home, was increasingly associated with feminine taste and responsibility, while male consumption was more often linked to professional life and public display. These gendered patterns of consumption had lasting consequences for how Victorian society understood the roles and capabilities of men and women.

Looking Ahead to the Conference

The BAVS 2016 conference at Cardiff University promises to explore these themes and many others across three days of panels, workshops, and keynote lectures. The full conference programme covers topics from literature and art to science and medicine, illuminating the many ways in which consumption shaped Victorian life and continues to shape scholarly understanding of the period.