Our clothing at Recollections is built to last, and we love hearing from customers about how our pieces last for so many history-inspired adventures. People appreciate quality and the “slow fashion” movement continues to thrive. In the 1960s, things were a little different. Paper dresses, meant to be worn an average of three times became [...]
If pickleball were trending in the Victorian era rather than today there would have been a very prescribed outfit for playing it. Instead, we ladies throw on whatever is clean and comfortable and then head to the park. Sporting and outdoor leisure for females was a new concept in the 1800s, and etiquette experts scrambled [...]
There is nothing like a summer BBQ or a warm night out on the town. A few weeks ago I explored how Victorian women altered their clothing to make their long-sleeved dresses and multiple layers more tolerable during the season. While the dresses I shared were stunning, it did make me thankful that we have [...]
What is your birthstone? Have you ever wondered why? I have been learning more about each month as research for this blog and have been interested in diving more into the history of how each month was assigned its stone. December, for instance, is turquoise, which is simply odd to me. I set out to find [...]
July means that summer is officially here in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a month full of warmth and celebration, and those Victorians knew how to enjoy it. As we have already explored this year, July was part of the Victorian social season. The formal events of the set season were combined with similar social [...]
A few weeks ago I did a post on the history of the corsage. While researching, I came across references to the most delightful accessory 18th and 19th-century women used to carry small bouquets with them. Sometimes called a tussie-mussie and sometimes simply a “bouquet holder,” it is a trinket that I hadn’t given much [...]
Summer is here! It is a great time for freshening one’s wardrobe, with so many opportunities to be seen and to get creative. This year I am enjoying pairing my light sundresses and skirts with the cowboy boots and Western-style accessories I have been collecting over the past couple of years. I enjoy the fact [...]
I am a huge sunglasses freak! It is so much fun to have a pair for every occasion and mood. I am also quite fired up about summer finally arriving and have been doing a lot of thinking about how people from the past may have celebrated the beginning of this fun, sunny season. I [...]
“It is not the material worn, but the judicious choice of colors, which indicates the true lady.” ~Color in Dress, 1841 Victorians were nothing if not prescriptive. They were (in general) also very concerned with aesthetics and beauty. The overlap of the two created an emphasis on the “rules” of female dress, including discussions about the [...]