The chemise is the first thing you put on, so it's the first garment I'll be discussing. As in other eras, the chemise was used as an underlayer to soak up the wearer's oils and sweat and protect the rest of the clothing. Throughout history, they have tended to be pretty shapeless, but there are … Continue reading Hyde Hall Planning: 1830s Chemises
Category: 1840s
Before Victoria: Royal Weddings (Part III)
(Part I of this series and part II, if you're not coming to this from one or the other.) Royal weddings need to be dealt with on their own, because their dress traditions differed from those of ordinary and even aristocratic women. These differences are key to understanding the context of the gown that Queen … Continue reading Before Victoria: Royal Weddings (Part III)
HSM 2016 Challenge #4: Gender Bender
The Challenge: #4, Gender Bender. I know what you're thinking, but if we go back a few decades drawers were really controversial for women - they simply didn't wear bifurcated garments. So even though I'm not aware of the attitude that drawers were inherently gender-bending still existing in the middle of the nineteenth century, I'm counting … Continue reading HSM 2016 Challenge #4: Gender Bender
Re-evaluating C. Frederick Worth
While there are some (many) times that I suspect my gut reactions of being contrary simply for the same of being contrary, at other times my contrariness seems to lead me in the right direction. I've been writing about lesser-known contemporaries of Charles Frederick Worth since 2014 (see my first post on the subject, regarding … Continue reading Re-evaluating C. Frederick Worth
Waistcoats: 19th and 20th Century
Apart from certain stylistic keys, I've always had a harder time dating men's clothing. It's just not as interesting to me, so I haven't taken the time to really study dated extant pieces and images and improve my skills. But lately I've come across more undated waistcoats while cataloguing - it's become something that I … Continue reading Waistcoats: 19th and 20th Century
Mimic of Modes 