Buy your own Sisi dress

Can't get enough of the gorgeous dresses that Sisi, Empress Elisabeth wore? Or the lovely gowns that Romy Schneider wore when she starred in the Sissi Trilogy? You can buy your very own Sissi dress, to wear at your wedding, a theme party or at home in front of your own mirror!
Here are my favourite Sisi dresses that are for sale.

DISCLOSURE: I get commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this article.

Hoop skirts and crinolines: The Crinoline Era (1850s-1860s)

Empress Elisabeth of Austria, painting by Winterhalter

Sisi lived in the so-called Victorian era, referring to the reign of Queen Victoria of England from 1837-1901. The Victorian dress was kind of outrageous, with corsets, gigantic hoop skirts and crinolines, and later the bustle dress, emphasizing the back of the skirt. These are the dresses as you know them from the SISSI trilogy, which played roughly from 1853 and 1860.

In this same period the American Civil Ear took place from 1861 to 1865. The dresses are also known as Civil war Dress, or Southern Bell dress (the Southern Belle representing a young unmarried women of the upper class of the American South). Examples of Civil war dresses can of course be seen in the movie "Gone with the Wind" from 1939.

Skirts were defined by a cage-like structure made of metal hoops or whalebone worn under the dress.

This created an enormous, bell-shaped skirt. They were considered impractical and even dangerous due to their width and flammability.

You can buy real or replica Voctorian Sisi dresses on Amazon, Ebay and AliExpress. Here are some beautifull examles:

Sisi dress on Amazon

To buy a Sisi dress on Amazon, you should use the search terms Victorian Dress, Southern belle dress or civil war dress
Looking for crinoline or hoop skirt will get you the undergarments to go with it.

Sisi dress on Ali Express

Blue Victorian Gown

Victorian Era Ball Gown

1859 American Historical Gown

Red Floral Satin Victorian Gown

19th Century Southern Belle Gown

Victorian Era Dress

Victorian Dress

Historical Victorian Dress

Victorian Era Ball Gown

Victorian Dress

Wondering how a lady got dressed in the fashion of 18th century? Watch this video and find out!

Fashion's Transformation During Sisi's Reign: From Crinolines to Bustles

Empress Elisabeth in 1879, by George Raab. She is wearing a bustle dress.

Empress Elisabeth wearing a bustle dress.

Fashion changed during Sisi's life. Here you see her wearing a bustle dress. From the 1860s the crinoline dress gradually changed into the Bustle dress. They were worn until the early 20th century.

The transformation meant:

A shift from the full circumference of the crinoline to a focus on the back of the skirt.

Achieved with pads, petticoats, or a bustle frame worn under the dress.

Created a dramatic drape or pouf in the back, often with a slimmer silhouette in the front.

Considered a more maneuverable alternative to the crinoline.