For some reason, since time immemorial women's modesty has been about covering the head and male humility about revealing the head. Of course, the practical reason LizzieMaine gave is also valid. What a mess of disarranged hair it would be if women were to remove and replace their hats at the...
One additional positive thing about cloth hankies is that they don't crumble into tiny, irritating particles of paper if they happen to be stashed in a pocket and forgotten there (and no paper lint all over your clothes in case of paper tissue ending up in the washing machine). Personally I find...
As a fantasy, I like to imagine myself as a fashion writer working for some elegant ladies' magazine, with bi-annual trips to Paris and a wardrobe to go with that... But more realistic career would have been a seamstress. Not bad either, especially when I think about the fabrics available back...
While the definitions already posted in this thread are brilliant and comprehensive, I dare to add my own very short definition of a lady: a lady is both dignified and feminine. Many fine and good people are neither, or only the other, but it takes both to be not merely lady-like but truly a...
I apologise in advance, for even I do understand this is really quite partcular and nit-picky, but it would have been better if the raschel knit apparatus had not been invented. Many unpleasant synthetic knits are produced by it, and especially horrible plastic laces which simply should not...
Perhaps the "Tailor-made" girl or woman has some connection to what you are looking for? The tailor-made look, basically a skirted version of man's suit, was the choice of women who did not have ornamental ambitions and wanted to focus on other, work-related things. When it appeared in the...
Oh, I sympathise with your troublesome experiences with shoe repairers. For whatever reason, there is a strong tendency for shoe repairers to be slightly hostile towards their customers. I am especially annoyed at the shoe repairers who see fit to judge on my behalf whether some operation is...
Dear scarletgrenadine, have you taken your shoes to a shoe repairer? It's not that good shoes never break but they can be repaired, unlike low-quality shoes which can only be tossed in the rubbish. Women's shoes are usually glued, not sewn like good men's shoes, so they won't last as long, but...
Ah, autumn! After the long, mentally exhausting and seemingly endless season of summer -ie. the time of not being able to wear gloves without becoming a common spectacle- arrives lovely, soothing and chic autumn, also known as the season of general public paying no unnecessary attention to...
Ladies, Gentlemen
I'm honored to be admitted in this illustrious club. It is a great pleasure to find company which shares my admiration for the elegance of style and niceness of manner in the decades before mid-sixties (which is the time when a mysterious malady which I tend to call the Cloud...
It was a brave choice between long hair and chic hats! They are extremely tempting, although I'll focus on the tilt hats for now. I suppose I should also learn to pin my hair evenly and as flat as possible, nowadays I usually twist my hair into a chignon which prohibits close-fitting hats...
What kinds of hats are best suited to long-haired women? I have rather thick hair to the waist, but the hat styles I most adore seem to be designed for shorter hair. I am loath to cut my hair just to be able to indulge in slouch hats and cloches, but am tired of only wearing minimal millinery on...
Elegance is one of my all time favourite books (to the point of adopting the authoress's name for my online life). I absolutely adore her judgements - even if I occasionally should not agree with them, I enjoy the writing style and directness. Be warned though that the somewhat recent early...
What did you think of the book? I found myself nodding in agreement many a time, but almost an equal number of times I wished to protest. The list of publications in the end of the book was extremely useful, as well as the link to Hearth electronic collection of Home Economics...
This is a subject close to my heart. Sewing and style guides from the first half of the previous century have definite charm and sense in their attitude towards dressing and clothes, which nothing published today even approaches. Among my favourites are Wife Dressing by Anne Fogarty - such...
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