How do you spend time with family and loved ones over the Christmas holiday? Are there games or traditions that you enjoy? Do any of them involve trying not to catch on fire? In the Victorian era, that is exactly what one could anticipate with the playing of a popular Christmas eve parlour game, snapdragon. [...]
I have loved blogging for Recollections for the past two years! One of the things that has been so special is that I have had the chance to do a lot of research into holiday traditions of the past. This has added a lot of depth to my holidays and I noticed at Thanksgiving dinner [...]
Do you hang mistletoe in your home over the holiday season? Do you know that of all the holiday traditions that have both ancient and pagan roots that this is one is among the oldest? Or that it was ever-so-saucy Victorians that turned it into the kissing ritual as we know it today? The history [...]
I have often seen references to "Irene Castle Corticelli" in my research for Recollections blog posts but didn’t know much about the woman behind the brand. I love studying the lives of women related to the fashion industry of the 1910s and 1920s so have had her on my list for a while. I was [...]
The word “sugar plums” automatically puts me into a pure winter romance mood. And yet, like many if not most people, I don’t enjoy my holiday eating them. I have never bought or made them. And having done a lot of research on Christmas traditions from the past, although they are widely referenced, I can’t [...]
I recently gave a presentation on women and the Victorian bicycle craze and explored the way that women’s fashion was examined as the popularity of the bicycle. At the end of the presentation, I touched briefly on the next craze on wheels that hit the public, the automobile. I showed a selection of images from [...]
The 1910 and early 1920s is one of my favorite periods of fashion history. It fascinates me that women’s fashion took such a drastic turn from the strict silhouette looks of the Victorian era to long, loose, sleek lines. I love the creativity of the era. And naturally, I LOVE anything art deco. Yet still, [...]
I love studying the beginning of women and sport, especially as it relates to advancements and social change that took place in the Victorian era. Last week I was preparing to give a presentation on women and the bicycle craze of the 1890s and as the temperatures were dropping each day I started thinking about [...]
Because I know so many of our customers love costuming, I have wanted to write a post on the early history of sewing patterns for a while now. Little did I know that the printed pattern industry can be traced back to the innovations of a forward-thinking activist who stood at the top of a [...]