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 [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt They arrived by ships from all over the world and once they disembarked, they did so for a permanent life in a new land. They came via dirt trails in long wagon trains. Some walked alongside the oxen. Some sat in the rickety wagon. Others arrived in wicker baskets with latched tops [...]
Photo Contest -5 $50 Winners Only one caption per photo, please. Caption all of them and you have five chances to win! You can send your captions to contest@recollections.biz. A panel of judges will determine the best caption for each photo.Everyone who enters receives a coupon for 10% off their next order.
Imagine a sweltering summer day in Victorian England. It is not a difficult stretch of the imagination today as we push through August, but in the 19th century, with the burden of heavy clothing and without the convenience of air conditioning, relief was more difficult to find than today. One of the joys were street vendors [...]
The 1930s was a key era in the evolution of women's fashion. This decade was characterized by a shift from the extravagant and ornate "flapper" styles of the 1920s towards more refined, sleek silhouettes. The glitz and glamour of Hollywood played a significant role in shaping fashion trends in the 1930s. Chic evening dresses, tailored [...]
WHAT IS COSPLAY? By Christine Skirbunt , Guest Writer First, let’s try to answer the seemingly simple question of “What is cosplay?” Cosplay (shorthand for “Costume Play”), in its simplest definition, is that it is the practice of dressing up as characters from anime (animation that first originated from Japan), manga (the art in comics [...]