Before selfies and text messages were friendship books

By | September 24th, 2020|Categories: Accessories, Women's History|

While selfies and text messages may be reminders of the time we spend with friends, in times past handmade gifts, letters, and keepsakes such as hair jewelry or a cross-stitch may have been items that people would exchange to keep memories alive. Up until the early 20th century, many people kept friendship books to capture [...]

19th-century female writers who should always be remembered

By | September 20th, 2020|Categories: 19th Century Literature|Tags: |

Women have always been literary. We have always loved to express ourselves with words and writing. Some of the earliest known writings are believed to be written by women. Scholars widely consider Ann Bradstreet to be America’s first poet. One of my favorite poems, The Thunder, Perfect Mind, was written by a woman and dates [...]

Victorian calling cards

By | September 17th, 2020|Categories: History of the home, Victorian culture, Victorian Era|Tags: , |

"To the unrefined or unbred, the visiting card is but a trifling and insignificant bit of paper; but to the cultured disciple of social law, it conveys a subtle and unmistakable intelligence. Its texture, style of engraving, and even the hour of leaving it combine to place the stranger, whose name it bears, in a [...]

10 ideas for a virtual Halloween party

By | September 13th, 2020|Categories: Halloween, Holidays|Tags: , |

Our readers and customers love Halloween! It is one of my favorite events of the year and something I look forward to for months. And that includes this year. While it may still look a lot different than Halloweens past, there are still a LOT of opportunities for celebrating and dressing up. I am hoping [...]

Four Soiled Doves of the Wild West who Left Their Mark

By | September 5th, 2020|Categories: American West, Old West, Women's History|Tags: , |

Readers loved the look inside the histories of the famous madams of the Wild West and we heard from a few of you that you’d like us to dig deeper into the topic. As an Arizona girl currently living in Denver, women of the Wild West is one of my absolute favorite historical topics, so [...]

Preparing for an Edwardian-themed event

By | August 30th, 2020|Categories: Edwardian Era, Edwardian Fashion, Style Guides|Tags: , , , , , |

Guess what I did this weekend? Many of our readers will be pleased to know that I rented Somewhere in Time and enjoyed every minute. Though I was quite unsettled by the ending, it is an adorable movie with a great script. And most of all, similar to the experience of watching Sofia Coppola's Marie [...]

Edwardian women fashion: morning, noon, and night

By | August 27th, 2020|Categories: Edwardian Era, Edwardian Fashion, Style Guides|Tags: , , , , , |

The Edwardian Era was a great time for fashion! After the outward social stiffness of the Victorian Era, King VII came onto the stage with a bit of flair and a more relaxed approach, and things slowly started to evolve. With the new century also came a desire for innovation, and designers became increasingly inventive [...]

5 Madams of the Wild West and What Made Them Famous

By | August 23rd, 2020|Categories: American West, Old West|Tags: , , |

The Wild West was a world of its own. It was a place where people wrote their own rules, territories governed themselves, and anyone had the potential to build a name for themselves regardless of their past. In a time that provided few career opportunities for women, it also presented the chance for them to [...]

Roundup: Spooky Victorian Traditions

By | August 19th, 2020|Categories: Halloween, Recollections, Victorian Era, Victorian Era Celebrations|Tags: , , , |

Our readers and customers really love Halloween. That is a delight to me, as it is my favorite holiday. I love the chance to dress up, go to parties, and have all sorts of festive fun without all of the pressures associated with the upcoming winter holidays. I also enjoy it because one of my [...]