In my last blog post, I explored the light side of smuggling in the Victorian Era and the innovative ways that female entrepreneurs took full advantage of their women’s-only clothing to advance their position in the marketplace. During my research, I encountered many stories of Victorian women using their skirts for a different purpose: Civil [...]
How Women Used Their Skirts to Smuggle Goods in the Victorian Era When I covered the rise and fall of the bustle in a post late last year, one of our readers brought up a good point. The extra space under the skirts of the popular dress styles of the mid to late 1800s would [...]
We welcome Spring this week with this caption contest. Your caption can be funny, thoughtful, or even a poem. Our panel of judges will choose from the entries to determine the winners. Each winner receives a $50 gift coupon to use on regularly-priced merchandise at our website! Enter your caption by midnight PT on Wednesday, [...]
There are starting to be some warm days mixed in here and there with those that are still too chilly to enjoy being outdoors. Spring is upon us and the end of the frigid temperatures is in sight. In Victorian times, the end of winter meant that garden parties and picnics would soon be following, [...]
Episode two of A Very British Romance covers love in the Victorian era and it did not disappoint! It was so full of great information and charming stories about coupling in the 19th century that I was disappointed when I realized the end credits were rolling! The docuseries’ premise is that all of the courtship [...]
I recently wrote a post on how women in the American frontier dressed as they settled into new lives in the West. I looked at how they adapted their clothing to accommodate their new household responsibilities, how they clung to the fashions of the day and those they were used to and considered feminine, and [...]
As many of our readers, I enjoy spending my free time dreaming about owning Victorian gowns and wishing that I could spend more time in the layers, colors, ribbons, and elegance that come to mind when I think of the era. I am also a true woman of the Southwest - an Arizona native and [...]
Many of us know about the women’s suffrage movement, abolition, and temperance societies, but what about the dress reform movement? Many of the most radical and audacious women involved in progressive movements of the Victorian Era could see the way that women were physically prevented from fully participating in society. Such limitations, they argued, took [...]
A few weeks ago I bought my first pair of snow boots and cannot believe the difference that they have made in my overall comfort this winter. I have recently moved to snowy Denver after five years in Australia and had to accept that my Converse Allstars aren’t really the best for walking around icy [...]
