Tina Fiorda: Hannah Swensen Mysteries costume designer

By | August 22nd, 2021|Categories: Customer's Fashions, Entertainment, Fashion, Recollections, Regency Era|

The Hannah Swensen Mysteries is a Hallmark film series about a baker who solves mysteries when she isn’t mixing up sweets. With the help of her detective fiance, the two fight for justice in their small town, with a few messes along the way. The series is a Hallmark fan favorite, and it has just [...]

L. Frank Baum's Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

By | July 20th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Entertainment, Holidays, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations|Tags: , , |

Did you know that Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum wrote an entire novel on the life and times of Santa Claus? I had never heard this before and came across a reference to it while doing some online research on the history of Mother Goose. The novel, The Life and Adventures of Santa [...]

Shellie O'Neal: bringing Fanny Crosby to the stage

By | July 14th, 2021|Categories: 19th Century Literature, Customer's Fashions, Entertainment, Recollections, Women's History|

Recently one of our customers reached out to us to purchase a new blouse to refresh a costume she uses in her most interesting of one-woman shows. She got her blouse and sent lovely compliments our way as well. When we learned that she was a long-time performer portraying 19th-century writer and missionary Fanny Crosby, [...]

The anatomy of a perfect Mrs. Claus costume

By | July 10th, 2021|Categories: Christmas, Entertainment, Holidays, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

Christmas in July is here! While many of us will be celebrating with warm pool parties or cocktail get-togethers, it is also a great occasion to start putting together a Mrs. Claus costume to use later in the year. I know a lot of our readers enjoy dressing up, and the world can use more [...]

Lillian Smith: Buffalo Bill’s other female sharpshooter

By | May 23rd, 2021|Categories: American West, Entertainment, Old West, Victorian Era, Women's History|Tags: , |

The long-awaited summer has me thinking about trips to Golden, CO, exploring new mountain towns, and being outdoors. And because of my other interests, it got me thinking about Wild West shows, especially that of Buffalo Bill, given that his museum and grave are in nearby Golden. As a performer, what he accomplished was impressive. [...]

The 1950s cocktail party

By | May 11th, 2021|Categories: 1950s Fashions, 1950s fun, Entertainment, History of the home, Women's History|Tags: , |

Last week I wrote about what I believe is the unrecognized fashion gem of the 1950s: the housedress. I find it so interesting that women placed so much emphasis on having new, pressed, stylish dresses to wear around the house and for errands each day, yet we often leave it out when discussing the fashion [...]

An interview with Joanna Syrokomla of Murdoch Mysteries

By | February 26th, 2021|Categories: Edwardian Era, Entertainment, Fashion|Tags: , , , |

Joanna Syrokomla on set I recently had the opportunity to have a fun chat with Joanna Syrokomla, the costume director for Murdoch Mysteries. Joanna has been in her role since season 12 and is as in love with her job as ever. As a new fan of the show and of course as a fashion [...]

Are Bridgerton costumes Regency? Fashion historians weigh in

By | February 20th, 2021|Categories: Entertainment, Fashion, Regency Era|Tags: , |

Last week we started to unveil our new Regency fashion pieces. I started to explore the basics of what constitutes “Regency dress” and why we love it. This conversation very easily gives way to the hot topic in costuming and historical fashion right now: the Netflix series Bridgerton and how it got the clothing right [...]

1950s recipes for the holidays that aren't as loved today

By | October 21st, 2020|Categories: 1950s Fashions, 1950s fun, Christmas, Entertainment, History of the home|Tags: |

I am a big fan of the 1950s. The clothing, the decor, the many things we would now consider kitschy. I LOVE poodle skirts and have a goal to create a new tradition of wearing one each Christmas (the first poodle skirts had Christmas designs on them). It was fun for me to read about [...]