There's an attitude that I've come across more than a couple of times in discussions centered on whether or not a certain costume in a certain film is accurate, or when someone asks about improving their own kit. It's not quite inevitable, but a good amount of the time someone else will come in and … Continue reading "There are so few pieces left, how can we really know?"
Category: mythbusters
War & Peace; or, What Happened During the Napoleonic Wars? (HSM #4)
The idea that English and French dress diverged because communications were disturbed due to the conflict between the two countries is very common. In actual fact, the fashion of this period did see lines drawn along national lines, but not out of necessity. Let's start at the beginning. Was there a distinct difference between English … Continue reading War & Peace; or, What Happened During the Napoleonic Wars? (HSM #4)
Fashion History Mythbusters: The Cage Crinoline or Hoop Skirt
As Julia Thomas points out in Pictorial Victorians, the satirical cartoons and anecdotes in Punch heavily colored contemporary (and modern) impressions of the fashions of the 1850s and 1860s. As a result, the wide skirts seem like fantastical costumes that played havoc with ordinary life and were impossible to move around in. And so the myths … Continue reading Fashion History Mythbusters: The Cage Crinoline or Hoop Skirt
Fact and Fiction: Corsetry and Feminism, Part Two
Suffrage vs. Dress Reform Given that the members of the women's rights movement lived at a time when there was no scientific evidence against the intensely negative health claims, it is no wonder that they might regard the corset as a death-trap. However, early feminist opposition to the corset is vastly overstated today. To illustrate, … Continue reading Fact and Fiction: Corsetry and Feminism, Part Two
A Difficult History: Corsetry and Feminism, Part One
Recently, I began following a couple of Tumblr blogs focusing on waist training and daily corset wear. Daily wear is not for me, waist training even less so, but I find it an interesting practice. It is also a controversial one. For example, a recent Huffington Post article, "Corset Queen Penny Brown Loves Getting 'Waisted'," drew … Continue reading A Difficult History: Corsetry and Feminism, Part One
Mimic of Modes 