http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:11:00 -0600 Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:11:00 -0600 The 18th century... A time of fashion extremes! By Allison Elizabeth        I'm sure you have seen the pictures of hairstyles such as the ones above, that reach to colossial heights, and the skirts that could not fit through doorways no matter what way you turned.This is why I call the 18th century a time of fashion extremes! Hair: At the beginning and towards the middle of the 18th century, hairstyles were extremely tall. Contrary to popular belief, wigs were not usually worn by women. Women often added fake hair to their pre-existing locks. We do the same thing today and call it "Hair Extensions". Their hair was usually powdered with a gray or blue-gray powder made of finely ground starch that was scented. Toward the end of the century, the "big hair" was replaced with big hats, and the hair was more generally worn down in masses of curls. Clothing: The 18th century lady would wear many different layers of clothing, Begininning with a Chemise.Next, the lady wore Stays that were designed to encourage a posture that made the woman stand with her shoulders back, to create the fashionable silhouette. Women during this time period were not usually concerned about having extremely small waists, so their stays were laced snugly, but not uncomfortably. Dresses usually had a low neckline that was worn over a petticoat. They also had fitted sleeves, often with lace at the bottom.  Some dresses had no front, so a lady put on a stomacher. The stomacher was pinned either to the dress itself, or the stays underneath. There were three popular dress styles. "The robe à la française or sack-back gown featured back pleats hanging loosely from the neckline. A fitted lining or under-bodice held the front of the gown closely to the figure. The robe à l'anglaise featured back pleats sewn in place to fit closely to the body, and then released into the skirt which would be draped in various ways. Front-wrapping thigh-length shortgowns or bedgowns of lightweight printed cotton fabric were fashionable at-home morning wear, worn with petticoats. Over time, bedgowns became the staple upper garment of British and American female working-class street wear." ~From Wikipedia "1750-1795 in fashion"   Shoes: Shoes were either made out of cloth or leather. Ladies decorated their shoes with beautiful embroidery. They don't look very comfortable!!!       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/749532/ Fri, 4 Dec 2009 14:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/749532/    Erin is a 15 year old Christian girl who absolutely adores history,acting,writing,reading,and a whole long list of junk. Her favorite kind of books are mysteries and historical fiction. She enjoys wearing costumes,and plans to sew an entire collection of costumes,one from each time period.She also likes singing,making movies,and using her imagination to think of fun and crazy things! It is her dream to someday become a stage and/or film actress.She loves anything from the 1940's and 50's,and will pay almost anything if these items are for sale. She enjoys collecting antiques,but has only just started,so her collection is very small.In her free time,she likes to draw,read outside(weather permitting),listen to music,or just sit and think. She hopes that her love of history will show,and that you will enjoy every bit of this blog! Click Here to Visit Erin's Blog     Allison is a 15 year old Girl with a love for history, writing, acting, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff. She is particularly fond of the movies "North and South" and "Pride and Prejudice". She is a Christian, and would someday like to have her own Christian Theater group. Her favorite quote is " Don't judge a book by it's movie". She also loves over-sized sunglasses, amish dresses, hats, hats, and hats, making movies, and a lot of other random, eclectic stuff. She also will buy anything at any price if it is from the 50's or earlier. Her favorite time period is Regency, and her favorite TV show is "I Love Lucy". Now you know enough to write a biography. :0) Click Here to Visit Allison's Blog http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/749271/ Thu, 3 Dec 2009 16:21:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/749271/ This is another response to a comment posted by an anonymous reader. Here's the Comment: "hey. As you might think I have a question. I am doing a fashion show for charity and I need to know what girls wore in the 1930s. Please respond asap..." And Here's the response By Allison: During the Great Depression, when so many people were without homes and food, fashion was certainly not a priority. Nevertheless, this era had a fashion statement, mostly influenced by movie stars and small budgets. A dress could be up to $6, a lot of money for a family in need. Still, people copied the latest fashions, in frugal ways. Shirley Temple Shirley Temple type dresses were in fashion for little girls. Moms and daughters both liked these dresses; girls liked dressing like their favorite little actress, and the short smock-style dress was easy for moms to sew themselves, and it didn’t require much fabric. Bob haircuts that fell just below the chin were also in fashion for both adult women and children. Popular Hairstyle - 1936 Women’s fashion often had a V-neck top, with a skirt that was straight then flared out into a fuller skirt at the bottom. A popular style hat was called a cloche hat. Its name is French for “bell”. It got that name because of its bell-like shape. Some Girls during the 1930's Many families could not afford brand-new, store-bought clothes, however. For that matter, many people could not even afford the material for new clothes. But if you had chickens or other animals, and you bought feed in feed sacks, you had some free fabric for the taking! Many families during the depression used the cloth that the animal feed came in to make new clothes. I have read many accounts from people saying what a treat it was to go to the feed store and pick out a specific pattern. The sacks would sometimes come in floral prints, or a different design (I heard of one that had ducks printed all over it.)  It would take 2 or 3 sacks to make a dress for an older child or adult, but for small children 1 sack would suffice. People would also take plain sacks, bleach them white, and sew them into slips or napkins. Nothing was wasted, and every scrap of fabric was used and re-used. Although it might seem a little strange to make your clothes out of feed sacks, these clothes often were just as nice as store-bought clothes, and I have read quite a few accounts of how children loved these dresses, even though they were not store-bought or real fancy. Here is a little story told by a girl who was a teenager during the depression. This story shows how she frugally made a homecoming dress for $1.20. "I made many of my own clothes when I was in high school, but my senior year in 1934 posed a special challenge! As graduation time approached, the high school and 7th and 8th grade students cast votes for a senior girl as homecoming queen. I had made no special plans for homecoming, thinking I didn’t have a chance. But when the votes were counted, I had won! Naturally, I was excited, but when I told my parents I would need a special dress for homecoming, they said we just couldn’t afford one. I was disappointed, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I knew I could make the dress myself, If I could just find the money for material! I sometimes worked in the principal’s office, answering the phone and helping with paperwork, and I knew there was a small cash fund used to buy supplies for needy students. One day I got up the nerve and asked the principal if the school could give me just enough money to buy material for my homecoming dress. He said anyone who received such an honor should be willing to buy her dress. When I explained that I couldn’t afford it, he asked “How much money are we talking about?” I replied “I think I can make the dress for $1.20.” The principal just smiled and said, “Anyone who thinks she can make a homecoming queen’s dress for $1.20 deserves a chance to try”. And he gave me the money! A friend drove me to the nearest village, where I bought 7 yards of cheesecloth for 70¢, three packages of white crepe paper for 45¢, and a small spool of thread for 5¢. I made a foundation garment from part of the cheesecloth, hand-stitched crepe paper to the bodice, ruffled a piece of paper for a collar, and then cut the rest of the paper into strips for ruffles, which I stitched in tiers from the waist to the floor. The rest of the cheesecloth was used to make a train. My crown was a piece of cardboard covered with gold foil, and I carried a bouquet of fresh apple blossoms from my parent’s orchard. The highlight of my reign was when the mother of a younger student said, “My daughter thinks you’re beautiful and she wants to look just like you when she graduates!”" (C)Copyright Allison @ Vintage Attic http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/741810/ Tue, 3 Nov 2009 15:49:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/741810/ Hey! This is just a quick response to a comment we got recently.... Here's the comment: Hey I am 13 and i am currently writing a short story about a girl who is 14 in the Jane Austen time. I was wondering what age the girls were introduced into society. Like the balls, dances, etc. Will you please answer. Thanks! P.s I'm a homeschooler and a Christian too:) That is so awesome that you are writing a story! Sadly, I looked and looked, but was unable to find any information about what age a girl would be introduced into society at. I hope you will be able to find the answer to your question! If you post it onto a blog, let me know. I would love to read it! ~Allison http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/736285/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/736285/ Here's a youtube video on how to make your own 1950's car hop costume!!! ~~Erin http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/722598/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:58:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/722598/ Watch this video from Youtube on how to make your own fairy wings out of stuff you have around the house!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/722595/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/722595/ Click on the Picture for a larger view! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/721007/ Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/721007/ Click on the picture for a larger view. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/721004/ Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:05:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/721004/ Want to make a 1950's outfit? Use these pictures as inspiration!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/718518/ Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/718518/ Here are some pictures of what women wore in the 1930's. The big thing that was going on in the 30's-The great depression. Another great reference for 1930's clothes would be to watch the Kit movie,made by American girl,staring Abigail Breslin and Chris O'Donnal. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/714023/ Mon, 3 Aug 2009 20:47:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/VintageAttic/714023/