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 [...]
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 was the final decade with fairly prescribed clothing. Once 1960 hit things got a lot less complicated as far as women’s clothing was concerned, and it got there quickly. But looking back, fashion really held onto things during that decade. 1950s accessories were expected, were vast in their variety, and required for completing [...]
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 [...]
If you look for information online about the fashions of the 1950s, you will be bombarded with blog posts and photographs about Dior’s iconic “New Look” and black and white images from high fashion magazines. What is harder to locate is information about what I consider to be a jewel of fashion history: clothing worn [...]
Revolutionary War fashion was a bit of an outlier when it comes to Western fashion trends. We see styles embraced during this time that are really only seen during the years shortly before the war. When the war ended in 1783, there was a rapid move to adopt French fashions and also to invite more [...]
Last weekend I picked up the April copy of Real Simple. The theme for the issue is naturally, spring cleaning. It got me thinking about how this tradition has been around for so long and wondering how much I could find in Victorian household manuals on the topic. I am also striving to use more [...]
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 [...]
When I met with Murdoch Mysteries costume designer Joanna Syrokomla earlier this year, I asked her about her favorite women from history and she mentioned Emilie Flöge, particularly for her fashion sense. Always curious about trendsetters from the early 1900s, I read up on Flöge and quickly became a fan. She was an early female [...]