The Romantic aesthetic of the 1810 -1860 period embraced the imagination - combining history, nature, religion, and terror into a fascinating mélange expressed in the clothing of the era and influencing fashion design to the present day. The Romantic Movement rejected Enlightenment reason, and embraced instead the imagination and the unknown. Costume of the early 19th century integrates the elements of history, imagination, religion, and even landscape central to the Romantic sensibility. Lynne Z. Bassett examines these influences on women’s clothing from 1810 – 1860, alongside fine and decorative arts of the period and how Romanticism forms the roots of today’s Goth and Steampunk fashion movements.