Recollections is the Best of the West!

By | January 20th, 2021|Categories: American West, Old West, Pioneer Dress, Recollections, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , , , , , |

Recollections is excited to be selected by True West Magazine as one of their 2021 Best of the West award winners. We have been chosen once again as the Best Western Clothing Maker. The awards are chosen by a survey of readers and people in the “Western” world, so it is a great honor to [...]

Victorian gloves: etiquette for use

By | January 10th, 2021|Categories: Accessories, Fashion, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , , |

Tis the season for chapped hands! As a Denver transplant from Arizona, wearing gloves regularly has been a hard habit for me to make and I often find myself regretting not putting more effort into covering my hands when I go out. And truth be told, I enjoy wearing gloves. But I’m glad it is [...]

The magic of the cape

By | December 21st, 2020|Categories: 1950s Fashions, Fashion, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , , , |

We love capes and so do our customers! We carry a wide variety, from the barely-there style seen in the 1950s to full-length-style cloaks similar to those worn in Victorian times. And of all the clothing we create, the cape is perhaps the most historic. Is that a surprise to you? This week we take [...]

A short history of the hand muff, one of history's cutest accessories

By | December 15th, 2020|Categories: Accessories, Fashion, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

Last year I wrote about the various ways that women and families stayed warm during the cold months in Victorian times. I mentioned the little-known use of hot ceramic bottles sometimes placed in a hand muff and said that I’d love to come back to write more about this particular fashion accessory. Well, hand muffs [...]

100 Years of Winter Coats

By | December 8th, 2020|Categories: 1920s fashion, 1950s Fashions, Fashion, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , , |

There is no denying that winter is here. For the past year and a half I have lived in Denver, Colorado and I am still learning about how to dress for the chilly months and I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would. I was raised in Arizona and before moving to Denver had [...]

A Victorian Christmas party

By | November 27th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Holidays, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations|Tags: , , , |

The Victorians knew how to celebrate Christmas! During the reign of Queen Victoria, the holiday grew more popular with each passing year, becoming a national holiday in America in 1870. A good majority of the traditions we enjoy today were either started or popularized during the late 1800s and early 1900s, though in some ways [...]

Victorian cocktails: The Golden Age of mixology

By | November 26th, 2020|Categories: Christmas, Holidays, Victorian culture, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations|Tags: , , , , |

The holidays are here, and boy, don’t we all need it? It’s been a year of struggles for all of us, and I can tell how much people are looking forward to being with their families and to enjoying some comforts as we wait for the fresh start of the new year. And some of [...]

Victorian Greeting Cards for Autumn Holidays

By | October 31st, 2020|Categories: Holidays, Victorian Era|Tags: , , , |

I love looking at Victorian greeting cards. The style is so charming and there are a lot of things I find quite humorous about how they celebrated holidays back then and what the cards teach us about their attitudes and culture. For instance, I love that there is so often a romantic angle in many [...]

Victorian Hair Jewelry: Yay or Nay?

By | September 26th, 2020|Categories: Accessories, Victorian culture, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , |

As a blogger of the history of fashion, I am always interested when I see a surge of interest in a particular trend of the past. One such thing that I’ve noticed is the attention given to the hair jewelry of the Victorian era. While such pieces have been on display in museums and passed [...]