Blast from the past...

A stroll back in time to the late 1800's early 1900's.... what was the fashion then and how do a lady dress? Well in Auckland Park there is a house that will take you back to the Victorian / Edwardian time. The Lindfield Victorian House Museum. (you will find them when you click on their name) Owner Katharine Love and her friend Pierre Roestorf paid us a visit to enlighten us about ladies fashion back then.

What did she wear, how many layers and all the bits and pieces that made her dress complete. SMS ala hand-fan Victorian style and many very interesting stories around the era when ladies were ladies, and men were gentlemen.

The Victorian time was when Queen Victoria reigned over Britain (1830's to 1901) Then started the Edwardian time when her son Edward the VII reigned.

Now the thing about fashion, it seemed to be a lady in those days were no easy task. From the bedroom to the theatre they had to live in very tight clothes (a man was supposed to be able to encircle her waist with his hands) some of the ladies fashions are as follows:

In the 1870s, un-corseted tea gowns were introduced for informal entertaining at home and steadily grew in popularity. Bustles were used to replace the crinoline to hold the skirts up behind the woman, even for "seaside dresses". The fad of hoop skirts had faded and women strived for a slimmer style. The dresses were extremely tight around the corseted torso and the waist and upper legs; Punch ran many cartoons showing women who could neither sit nor climb stairs in their tight dresses.

The crinoline was replaced by the bustle in the rear. Small hats were perched towards the front of the head, over the forehead. To complement the small hat, women wore their hair in elaborate curls. Some women wore hairpieces called "scalpettes" and "frizzettes" to add to the volume of their hair.

In the 1880s, riding habits had a matching jacket and skirt (without a bustle), a high-collared shirt or chemisette, and a top hat with a veil. Hunting costumes had draped ankle-length skirts worn with boots or gaiters. Clothing worn when out walking had a long jacket and skirt, worn with the bustle, and a small hat or bonnet. Travelers wore long coats like dusters.

In the 1890s, Women's wear in the last decade of the Victorian era was characterised by high collars, held in place by collar stays, and stiff steel boning in long line bodices. By this time, there were neither crinolines nor bustles. Women opted for the tiny wasp waist instead.

  The smart people is Katharine and Pierre (left and all over the collage) 

Top center is Linda and Mike Vink (they invited our guests) 

Top right: Pierre, Katharine and President Jankees Sligcher, 

Bottom Right: IPP Steve and guest Kevin Archer

Kevin Archer came to visit us to see what Rotary was all about, little did he know he was in for a "Back to the Past" session including seeing ladies underwear which makes you wonder what they were up-to back in those days. Hope to see Kevin back this week.