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Ladies Home Journal, June 1910 thedreamstress.com

Some social commentary on corsets, 1910

Published by The Dreamstress

I bought the June 1910 issue of the Ladies Home Journal (it was the American Fashion Number!) when I was in the US, and thought I should share this fascinating piece of corset related social commentary from it with you: And if you can’t quite read that one: So many layers! The anti-tightlacing message, right as longline corsets came into fashion. The message that corsets should be looser, without even a hint of a suggestion that they should be left off. The weird overtones about fertility. The use of ‘man’ and ‘girl’. The idea that women dress for men. The mansplaining…

A quick guide to corset & stay styles from 1750 to 1850

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In last week’s (well, almost week before lasts at this point!)  Five for Friday post, when I discussed transitional stays, and succumbing to the temptation to make ‘reenactor style’ Regency stays* (which, you will be pleased to hear, I have not!), I didn’t make it clear what either was.  So naturally, people asked! I was going to just write about transitional stays and reenactor stays, but how can you write about a transition if you don’t show what something is transitioning from, and towards?  And how can I show something is a reenactorism if I don’t show what the reality was?  I realised that both needed more background, and deserved complete posts. So, here is the slightly longer, more complicated, post with a history of supportive undergarments (i.e. stays and corsets – read this post for the difference between the two) from 1750 to 1850.  This  is intended as a very general introduction to the way the types of supportive undergarments period, rather than an in-depth exploration.  One could easily write a full blog post …

Terminology: the Olivia cap / Olivia bonnet

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The silver screen has  been launching fashions for almost as long as it has been around.  50,000 copies of Adrian’s  ruffled-sleeved Letty Lynton dress were sold  in 1932, and  in 1939 Gone with the Wind launched innumerable  green-sashed dress replicas.  Annie Hall made oversized androgyny tres chic.    Closer to the present,  yellow is predicted to be the frock  colour du jour of 2017, thanks to La La Land and Beauty & the Beast. Before the screen launched fashions, the stage did the same job.  While not as many people could see a stage performance as a film, the costumes in notable London & New York productions were described in great detail in newspaper articles around the world, and images of the actors in their roles were widely disseminated as collectable trading cards.  The costume enthusiasts amongst you are probably familiar with Merry Widow hats and Dolly Varden frocks. Less famous today is the Olivia cap, or Olivia bonnet, popularised by Ellen Terry’s turn as Olivia in 1878’s  Olivia  at the Court Theatre, a play …