Black has long been associated with grief, but dress codes have shifted over the eras, including elaborate rules for Victorian-era mourners that lasted for years at a time.

An all-black evening mourning dress from 1861. Today A black silk crepe, black mousseline dress and veil from 1870-1872. Today.

An 1890s evening dress worn by history’s most famous mourner, Queen Victoria, made of black taffeta and mousseline de soie trimmed with lace and mourning crepe, is conservatively cut. But it’s ...

Ever since the Queen's death was announced last Thursday, TV broadcasters and contributors have been appearing on screen dressed in all-black attire to show their respect to the late monarch.. And ...

As the fashion historian Lou Taylor wrote in her 1983 book, Mourning Dress, the people in charge of overseeing aristocratic funerals were also tasked with ensuring “that no social-climbing ...

Mourning Dress (Detail), 1902-1904 Black silk crape, black chiffon, black taffeta Karin L. Willis—The Metropolitan Museum of Art. By Sarah Begley. October 21, 2014 9:13 AM EDT ...

The length of mourning, and strict dress codes, wore off. These days, it is still commonplace to opt for a black outfit when mourning someone, but the rules are far less strict.

The concept of “white mourning” followed the example of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was painted in a white mourning dress after she lost multiple family members in the 16th century.

Black has long been associated with grief, but dress codes have shifted over the eras, including elaborate rules for Victorian-era mourners that lasted for years at a time.