The Victorians were utterly prudes in one major way, and it is an important one: Their clothing! 'Victoria's Secret' comes from the fact that women in Europe and the Americas wore a ridiculous amount of underwear, year around. The female form had to be covered and covered again. The style of women's clothing immediately before Victoria were simple frocks without foundation garments, and then they went nuts with crinolines and petticoats and corsets which continued until the 20th Century. Men's costume was two or three layers head to toe year around, but at least it was form fitting.

Keep in mind that during this period that any kind of privacy was unheard of for all but the very richest, and that when someone had to take a dump they went to corner and did it in a chamber pot. There was no such thing as bathrooms until there was indoor plumbing, again that was in the 20th Century, and most people must have smelled pretty bad.