Happy Valentine's Day

Puck Valentine's Day edition 1914

To men of early 20th C, fashionable women must have seemed much too thin.  But a glance through photos of the time shows that it was a matter of perspective.  (Below is Lina Calvieri, an opera star and great beauty, in 1914.)

Their narrow skirts made them seem like much smaller targets than they'd been some years before.  A century earlier, women of the Regency seemed half-naked in their light muslins, compared to their mothers or grandmothers in the previous century's double-wide skirts.  For more on the topic of changing fashions, I recommend you click on the "historic dress" label at Two Nerdy History Girls, the blog I share with Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scot.

Lina Calvieri c. 1914

Whatever your fashion choices, I hope yours is a very sweet Valentine's Day.

Both illustrations are courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

Color your own ball dress for January 1808

I posted La Belle Assemblée's color plate for January 1808 at Two Nerdy History Girls.  This interesting ball dress, alas, appears only in black & white.  I've come across this before:  hand-colored plates for colorful fashions, and black & white for white dresses.  It's not a rule, by any means—one often sees hand-colored fashion plates of white dresses—but, especially in the earlier part of the century, maybe it made more sense to reserve hand-coloring for colorful clothes.  Still, you can make yours a different color, if you like, or maybe just add touches of color here and there.

No. 3.—A BALL DRESS IN THE PARISIAN STYLE.
A Neapolitan robe and petticoat, of white, or coloured satin, made quite plain. Armorial vest of white satin, beaded in gold stripes. A cestus d-la-Cleopatra, composed of wrought gold and amethysts. Hanging sleeve, gathered in front of the arm, with brooches of the same. The hair confined from the roots, the ends flowing in irregular curls, leaving the forehead and temples exposed. An Indian casque of tissue, with amethyst ornaments. A long veil of gossamer gause, rounded at the end, and embroidered in a delicate border of silver, or silk, flowing from the centre of the crown, over the right shoulder, and forming a drapery in front of the figure by the attitude of the left hand. Pear ear-rings of amethyst or pearl. Necklace of pearl, with amethyst star in the centre. White satin slippers, edged with silver beading, and white kid gloves above the elbow.
—La Belle Assemblée, Volume 3, 1807

Color your own 1808 fashions

Loretta reports:

Since these two dresses came in black & white, I thought it was a good opportunity for my readers to get out their paintboxes, crayons, or colored pencils.  The color prints for October 1808 can be seen at Two Nerdy History Girls.

~~~

No. 3.—A Ball Dress.

A petticoat of fine clear white muslin, figured or plain. A peasant's jacket of white satin, with short full sleeve, in the Spanish form. The jacket and sleeves trimmed with silver beading, or cord. A Persian cap of Brussels’ lace, with a bunch of autumnal flowers in front. A composition brooch, representing the flower called the pheasant’s eye. Necklace and earrings of blossom coloured patent pearl. Gloves and shoes of pale blossom-colored kid.

No. 4.—Out-Door, or Carriage Costume

A round robe of white, or pale morone muslin over white cambric; made with long sleeves, and a high collar, edged with lace or beading, confined down the front with a row of small buttons in mother-of-pearl, and fastened round the waist with a correspondent cord and tassel pending from the right side. A Spanish mantle, and hat of morone sarsnet, shot with white (or what is commonly called a silver morone), the mantle edged, and the hat ornamented with white cord, or cut velvet. A full frill of reverse plaiting round the throat, confined towards the left shoulder with a suitable cord and tassel. Gloves of pale York-tan, and slippers of tan-coloured kid.

—La Belle assemblée, Volume 5, 1808.

Fashions Marcelline would have seen at Longchamp

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES

(No. 9—Costume De Long-champs; Walking Dress.—The plate represents one of the most distingué toilettes brought out for the fashionable promenade of LongChamps. The hat is of toile de soie; the front rather deeper, and longer at the sides, than those that have been worn lately. At the sides it sits close to the face, but at the same time is rather evasive. The crown is neither very high, nor is it pointed. The border round the front of the hat, as well as the small roleaux on the crown, is of blue satin, forming a pretty contrast with the delicate straw colour of the hat. The bows, brides, and bavolet, are likewise edged with pipings of blue satin. (See plate.) Redingotte of a new silk called Elysienne. The corsage fits tight to the bust. The skirt, which is very full, is fastened down the left side with a row of silk buttons;j on each side of the opening is a bias of satin. A large pelerine of the same, likewise edged with a bias hem of satin, nearly covers the corsage: the ends of the pelerine fasten beneath the band in front. The sleeves, which are quite new, are of an uncommon form. (See plate.) The under sleeve, which is long, fits as tight as possible to the arm; a second short sleeve, which is left loose, and is very full, reaches nearly to the elbow, and is edged with a narrow rouleau of satin. It is rather deeper on the outside of the arm than on the inside. The large falling collar of India muslin is embroidered and trimmed with a deep lace, set on tolerably full. It is fastened in front with a brooch. White silk stockings; black shoes of drap de soie; ceinture of gros grains broché; parasol of broché silk. The sitting figure gives the back of the dress.

—The Lady's magazine, Vol VI, 1835

For more about my new release, Silk is for Seduction, please stop by Two Nerdy History Girls.

White wedding dresses before Victoria

My story in the recently released Royal Weddings anthology is set on the eve of Queen Victoria's wedding in 1840.  Many people believe that Queen Victoria was the first to wear a white wedding dress.  This is simply not the case.  Brides were wearing white long before this, and 19th century periodicals offer ample evidence.  Here are some examples.  Here's more.

And here's another, from Ackermann's Repository of Fashions, August 1829:

    

1831 Archery Fashions

This is a continuation of my blog at Two Nerdy History Girls.  Following is the description for the second Archery Dress, from an  1831 La Belle Assemblée.  These are the sorts of fashions Olivia, of Last Night's Scandal, would have worn—and I have no doubt she was an expert archer.


SECOND ARCHERY DRESS.
A DRESS composed of white chaly,* with a canezou of blue gros de Naples. The front of the bust is ornamented in the hussar style, with white silk braiding and fancy silk buttons; plain tight back. Long sleeve sitting close to the arm, with a half sleeve, à  l’Espagnol, slashed with white figured gros de Naples. A row of rich white silk fringe is brought from the point of each shoulder in front round the back. Collerette of white tulle, of a novel form, fastened in front by a gold and pearl brooch. The belt fastens with a silver buckle curiously wrought; the accessories correspond in colour with the canezou.** White gros de Naples hat, ornamented with white ostrich feathers, and a gold button and loop. Half boots of blue kid.

*Chaly (Challi or Challis)—A very light and soft, plain woven dress goods in the 19th century in England, made of silk warp and worsted filling or of all wool, finished without any gloss. The figures were either woven or usually printed over a white or pale colored ground. (From Louis Harmuth, Dictionary of Textiles, 1915)

**Canezou: short chemise with or without sleeves, distinguishing feature was that it was tucked into a belt, where it stopped. (From Internet Centre for Canadian Fashion & Design)

The clothes Olivia bought in Paris...

FRENCH FASHIONS
OPERA DRESS. A DRESS composed of rose-coloured chaly, a low corsage finished by a lappel of a perfectly novel shape, which falls very far over the sleeve, and is embroidered in a light running pattern in white lloize silk. The sleeves are between the Amadis and gigot shape. The fronts and border of the dress are embroidered en tunique in white floize silk. The embroidery, narrow at the waist, becomes progressively broader, and is very rich round the border. The chemisette, which falls, en pelerine, over the bust of the dress, is trimmed with a double fall of blond lace, set on with very little fulness; it is fastened in front by a richly-chased dead gold brooch. A rose-coloured crape hat; the crown is low, and round; the brim, short at the ears, and rather deep, is ornamented on the inside with palmettes of gauze ribbon to correspond: on the outside is a blond lace drapery which falls a little over the left side of the brim, turns hack en bavolet, and passes under the right side, where it meets the palmettes. This drapery is ornamented with a loose rouleau of gauze ribbon, terminated at each end, by a full bow. A bouquet of rose-coloured ostrich feathers, is placed near the top of the crown on the right side. The hair is parted on the forehead.  Ear-rings, bracelets, and ceinture buckle dead gold.

  WALKING DRESS. A HIGH dress composed of gros de Naples ; the colour, a new and extremely rich shade of brown. The corsage, made to sit close to the shape, is ornamented in a very novel style with a row of points lightly embroidered, which forms it in a heart shape before and behind. The sleeves are à l'Amadis. The pelerine is made with a standing three-pointed collar, which descends in front in the lappel style. A very broad trimming is set on full round the border of the pelerine: it is surmounted by a row of pattes with a gold button in the centre of each. Satin hat of the same colour, lined with white satin, but bordered with the material of the hat round the edge of the brim, the inside of which is trimmed with coques of lilac and white striped gauze ribbon. Bands and bows of ribbon arranged in a novel style decorate the crown. Neckknot to correspond with the dress, fastened by a gold clasp. Bottines of chocolate coloured gros des Indes. A sable boa tippet, or cachemere shawl, should be thrown carelessly round the shoulders.

What Olivia wore

Alert readers will have noticed the comments running through Last Night’s Scandal regarding fashions.   I thought I would post some illustrations, to give you a better sense of what my characters were talking about.

You'll find the description for the Carriage Dress and Bonnet(at left) over at Two Nerdy History Girls.  Here's more from FASHIONS FOR NOVEMBER, 1831 from La Belle Assemblée. 

DINNER DRESS. A DRESS of rose-coloured gaze Polonais, over a gros de Naples slip of a similar colour. The corsage is cut low ; it sits close to the shape behind; the front is arranged in folds which cross so high in the centre of the bosom, that very little of the blond lace chemisette is seen. The sleeves are between the gigot and Amadis form, but incline more to the latter shape. The chemisette is made with a round collar, which falls low over the back and shoulders, and is trimmed with a double fall of blond lace. The hair is parted on the forehead, and arranged in a platted braid en couronne on the summit of the head. The ends of the braid, disposed in corkscrew ringlets, fall over the comb placed behind the couronne. A ferronière composed of gold chain, with a ruby agraffe, is brought rather low upon the forehead. The jewellery worn with this dress should be of gold and rubies. Swansdown boa tippet.

More Scandalous: A Girl's Best Friend

As has been mentioned on a previous occasion, Francesca Bonnard, the heroine of my new book, Your Scandalous Ways, is a..um..bad girl. You know. The two-letter “h” word that used to have a few more letters fore and aft. She’s a very expensive bad girl.

People ask where we get our ideas. Part of her personality was sparked by an article I read in the New Yorker some time ago. It dealt, among other things, with a set of emeralds discovered at the bottom of the sea that were believed to belong to the Queen of Portugal, sometime in the 16th century. Or the 15th century. I don’t remember the date and haven’t yet unpacked my brand-new New Yorker CD-Rom, so I can’t check. But I vividly remember the picture of the gigantic emeralds. Wow. So I not only gave them to my heroine but made emeralds an important part of the plot. And then it turned out that all her jewelry was important, to both the plot and the character development.

We authors do take time, at least now and then, to let our readers know about what the characters are wearing. Clothes tell us something about character as well as help us picture the historical setting. In this story, though, the jewelry really mattered.

Here’s what James Cordier sees the first time he sees Francesca:
“A sapphire and diamond necklace adorned her long, velvety neck. Matching drops hung at her shell-like ears." I found the set of sapphires, along with most of Francesca’s jewelry in a wonderful volume, Jewellery: The International Era 1789-1910, Volume I, 1789-1861.

As Marilyn Monroe informed us in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, “these rocks don’t lose their shape”--unlike we frail humans. Today a beautiful divorcee has men at her feet. Tomorrow, if she isn’t careful, she could be in the gutter. And the gutter is exactly where Francesca’s ex-husband would like her to be. But she’s a survivor, and jewels are her IRA-- “saved against the rainy day that often came to harlots as age took its toll.'' They’re also advertising. “Jewelry was a powerful form of financial security. Better yet, unlike bank notes, it was security one might display to the world."

The jewels’ quality is a signal to men: It symbolizes her exclusivity, i.e., if you have to ask how much, you can't afford her.

We usually see Francesca’s jewelry through the eyes of the hero. Being, among other things, a talented jewel thief, James has a keenly noticing eye, and there are times when I wondered which made him hotter: her gems or her body. The combination does make him cranky, as when he tells her:
“You have a high opinion of yourself. But the king’s ransom in pearls you’re wearing is not proof that you are irresistible, only that some men are weaker than others.”
Some man had been weak, indeed. He shifted his gaze from her haughty countenance to the top and drop pearl earrings, then down to the two pearl necklaces circling her throat. From the upper, shorter one dangled pear-shaped drops of graduated size, the largest at the center. It pointed to the space between her breasts, whose rapid rise and fall told him she was not so indifferent as she pretended. The low-cut gown, of silk the color of sea foam, reminded one of the pearls’ watery origins. The pearl and diamond bracelets at her slim wrists glimmered against the butter-soft gloves.
The jewels alone constituted a cruelly arousing sight for a man who was a thief at heart. It was maddening that he couldn’t simply steal them and have done with her.”

I stole the pearls from the Empress Josephine. The picture in the aforementioned book wouldn’t reproduce well even if it weren’t under copyright, but this picture shows similar pearls, although the lady is wearing only one strand.

I include a few more pictures of fine jewels, mostly belonging to the women in Napoleon’s circle.

After all, it was in Paris that Francesca commenced her career as a Bad Girl. Here are a pair of diamond earrings that belonged to Marie Antoinette, and which you can picture on Francesca's shell-shaped ears.

I’m also including a picture of Pauline Bonaparte, not because of the jewels, but because of the red dress. Francesca is aware that a red dress stands out nicely against a black gondola, and readers might want to keep this dress in mind (though it’s from a few years earlier than the time of my story) when they read the book.

For more of Francesca and James, you can stop here, at Romance B(u)y the Book, and read an excerpt.

More glimpses are coming, but I hope this preview of Francesca’s "rocks" gives you a sense of who she is and who James is and what went into creating these characters.

Originally posted at Word Wenches