Did Queen Victoria turn Victorian Wedding Dresses White?

By | January 20th, 2023|Categories: Civil War, Fashion, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations, Women's History|Tags: , |

Victorian wedding dresses are a sight for any eyes - sore or otherwise. The era was a big time for weddings as life was becoming more public and both parties were increasingly given more say in who they met at the end of the aisle. Queen Victoria herself is a great example of this gradual [...]

Sidesaddling through Gettysburg

By | January 7th, 2023|Categories: Civil War, Women's History|Tags: |

I had the privilege of connecting with some talented and passionate Recollections customers last year. One of these women, Sarah Mognoni, gave me the opportunity to continue my research into the ongoing effort to preserve the history of sidesaddle. Sarah informed me that the American Side Saddle Association was doing a ride through Gettysburg as [...]

Ellen Demorest: Victorian fashion icon

By | November 27th, 2021|Categories: Civil War, Fashion, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|

Because I know so many of our customers love costuming, I have wanted to write a post on the early history of sewing patterns for a while now. Little did I know that the printed pattern industry can be traced back to the innovations of a forward-thinking activist who stood at the top of a [...]

Making sure local war heroes are remembered

By | August 29th, 2021|Categories: Civil War|Tags: , |

Are there any Civil War heroes laid to rest in your town? Are they being remembered with properly marked graves? We recently heard from a customer who was preparing for a dedication of three graves for Union soldiers in her town of New Baltimore and just had to learn more. What we uncovered is a [...]

Crimes of Fashion: The Civil War Hoop Skirt Smugglers

By | May 9th, 2020|Categories: Civil War, Victorian Era, Women's History|Tags: , , , , |

In my last blog post, I explored the light side of smuggling in the Victorian Era and the innovative ways that female entrepreneurs took full advantage of their women’s-only clothing to advance their position in the marketplace. During my research, I encountered many stories of Victorian women using their skirts for a different purpose: Civil [...]

5 history podcasts to help you get your fix now: Part 2

By | January 5th, 2020|Categories: Civil War, Old West, Pioneer Dress, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

Welcome back to another list of history podcasts! If you haven’t checked it out already, head over to my first list to see what I recommend for all of your listening needs. If you are even the slightest bit like me, you will soon find that you won’t have enough time to listen to all [...]

Olga Leake: Historical Reenacting is Living Life in a Different Time Period

By | September 25th, 2019|Categories: Civil War, Customer's Fashions, Fashion, Recollections, Revolutionary War era, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|Tags: , |

Olga Leake is an American Revolution Continental Soldier reenactor from Pennsylvania.

Visiting Mission San Xavier del Bac

By | April 14th, 2019|Categories: Civil War, Recollections, Regency Era, Revolutionary War era, Victorian Era|Tags: , , , , , |

As a company that designs and manufactures history-inspired fashions, we and our customers are inspired by history! Here is another story from Recollections' recent trip to Tucson, Arizona. San Xavier: a step back in time just outside of Tucson The day dawned bright and sunny. It was a definite (and welcome) change from the cold [...]

150 Years of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

By | September 26th, 2018|Categories: Civil War, Entertainment, Victorian Era, Women's History|Tags: , , , , |

It’s been 150 years since Louisa May Alcott introduced us to the March family in Little Women and we can’t seem to get enough of the story and the characters who inhabit it. Is it because of the diverse personalities of the March siblings? Our readers have strong opinions on who is their favorite and how the [...]