Last summer I had quite a fun time exploring how the straw hat went from an accessory used mostly by laborers to a shabby chic accessory still enjoyed today. I discovered that bonnets have a similar history, although they started out being used to protect hair while working, were extremely chic for a century or [...]
Last week I wrote about the Victorian home workout and the various attitudes about female exercise of the time. I included illustrations from exercise 19th century fitness manuals which showed women performing various exercises in their full proper dress of the time; corsets, petticoats, and all. Clothing had not yet evolved to a point where [...]
How useful is a painting for deciding whether or not to buy a dress? Or to describe today’s fashion trends? I’d say, it probably wouldn’t be all that effective. For many centuries women have favored multi-dimensional images over flat paintings or drawings for viewing clothing. From the 1300s to the 1800s the elite throughout Europe [...]
How many pieces of detachable neckwear do you own? Easy answer, right? Well, in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, both women and men may have owned as much neckwear as we own earrings or hats today. In an era where clothing was largely handmade and held onto for years, neckwear was a great way to [...]
We are in an era of “do what you want” when it comes to women’s hair. I think that it is just as common to see a woman wearing a full up-do or otherwise styled hair as it is to see one with a ponytail and no prep at all. But it certainly wasn’t always [...]
Does anyone else feel that it has been a long winter? It really is great to have the sun shining and to know that warmer days are ahead. It has me thinking about afternoons in the sun and relaxing under wide-brimmed hats with Aperol spritzes without a care in the world. All of this daydreaming [...]
I have a lot of favorite fashions from the past. Big hats, also known as the Merry Widow Hat, are one of them. I think I just get such a kick out of how extreme the fashions of the Victorian and Edwardian eras were. Many women were looking for as many ways to stand out [...]
I have always loved the stunning fashion plates from Godey's Lady's Book. I often go looking for them when researching different fashions from the past as they were considered to be the standard and the highest authority of fashion in print at the time. It was when I met with Nancy Jean Gray to discuss [...]
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 [...]