Darjeeling, Nov. 13: For a second you think you are on the sets of a 19th century movie replete with beautiful women in colourful hats and fashionable gowns, promenading with their men in black waist coats.

The mood is so essentially Victorian that you almost forget the couples walking down the Mall in Darjeeling are participants of a 19th-century-and-early-20th-century-theme fashion show. The young people are girls of Loreto College, the brains behind the show.

Rinchen Narbula, a teacher of Loreto College, said: “Our intention was to present the fashion of those times on which the students have done an exhaustive survey. The students have also tried to capture the old-world charm of Darjeeling during the British Raj.”

The show, which started in the morning, was captivating and had the crowd cheering and clapping for more.

The first couple that strolled down the Mall seemed to belong to a bygone age.

The lady walked demurely in a hopped black and red day dress complete with loops and bows, her arms firmly tucked into her partner’s who appeared in a black tail coat, a top hat, a printed cravat and knee length black boots. There was also a polished black walking stick to complete the picture.

The girls following them — girls were also doubling as the men folk — were a bright and elegant pair.

The woman looked gorgeous in dress with winged neckline and sleeves with deep cuffs. She wore a light yellow brimmed hat with roses of a shade deeper stitched on them. Her companion was dressed in a single-breasted maroon waistcoat and a long black coat.

The scene changed to the early 20th century fashion.

“By the early 20th century, the lines of the skirts became straighter and even the apparel of the gentlemen saw a sea of change with men preferring the double breasted tailcoats,” said Rinchen.

By then an already inquisitive crowd had swelled and the girls did not fail these onlookers. With some blowing kisses and others throwing roses, the crowd was at its feet. “I had only seen these dresses in old English movies and in stage performances, but it truly is an amazing site and gels well with the festive atmosphere of the carnival,” said Urgen Tshering Bhutia, who seemed mesmerised by the show.

Soon the dresses of the Geogrian period took centrestage, with the lady decked up in a formal evening gown with exquisite hairdo and pearl embellishment.