Author: Christine Skirbunt In today’s digital age, it’s not uncommon to hear concerns about the impact of violent video games, explicit music lyrics, or provocative TV and films on young minds. But this pattern of blaming popular media for societal ills isn’t new. Back in Victorian England, Penny Dreadfuls – cheap, sensational fiction aimed primarily [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt Modern men’s fashion is often dismissed as plain or predictable, especially when compared to the kaleidoscopic shifts in women’s clothing every season. But history tells another story – one in which men once used fashion as a form of rebellion, identity, and spectacle. When they entered a room, they were never aiming [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt Before the Kit Home Era, it was a different America. Kit Homes preceded the housing developments and modern suburbs that came into fashion after WWII by decades, yet it was the Sears Kit Home that gave Americans their first glimpse at 20th century single-family domestic life when most families were still living in [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt “That night, and every night she appeared at the London Pavilion, Florence Mills received an ovation each time she came on stage – before every song she sang. This is a tribute, which in my experience, I have never known to be offered to any other artist.”-C.B. Cochran, British Theater Impresario Florence Mills [...]
Where History and Healing Meet:Exclusive Interview with Second Chance Farm Sanctuary & 1812 ApothecaryAuthor’s Note:As a writer who is lucky enough to write for Recollections, I typically prefer to stay behind the scenes, letting historical facts speak for themselves. However, I’m making a brief exception here because this cause is one close to my heart. [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt When British archaeologist Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922, little did he know the impact his find would have on the world. Almost overnight, a wave of “Egyptomania” swept across fashion, design, architecture, and even pop culture. From the glitzy beaded gowns of flappers to bold Art Deco [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt A Ritual in Green Taking a delicate sugar cube, you place it on a slotted spoon, balancing the spoon atop a glass filled with a beautiful green liquid. Slowly, you then pour ice-cold water over the sugar cube either via a carafe or a small tabletop fountain and watch as the clear, [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt March is Women’s History Month and, while we sing the praises of an often-well-known repertoire of already famous woman, Women’s History Month includes the history of some lesser-known-but-no-less-important infamous women. Women who defied their times and stood their ground outside of traditional norms. Thus enter the English Highwaywomen. While highwaymen are among the [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt Valentine’s Day is near and no other day on the calendar captures the essence of romance like that conjured by February 14th! The connection between Valentine’s Day and love has its modern roots stretching back to the Middle Ages. Fast forward to the modern era and you will find that from its [...]