All posts tagged: picnics

A picnic story

My second year in university I decided I was not going to suffer through another dining hall Thanksgiving, and so I was going to throw my own Thanksgiving dinner for those of us stuck in the dorms over the long weekend. So I went out and bought a dozen plates and fancy glasses and cutlery, and planned the full menu (sans the turkey). Then I went food shopping at Trader Joes (for those who don’t know, its a chain store that sells delicious gourmet and organic foodstuffs). I filled a cart with sweet potatoes and cranberries and salad stuffs and fancy non-alcoholic sparklies, and made my way to checkout. And the cashier said “card please.” And I said “you need a card?” And the cashier said “yeah, I can’t let you buy it without a card” And I said “I didn’t know Trader Joe’s had membership cards?” And she said “Not a membership card, an ID card” And I said “Why do you need an ID card?” And she said “You can’t buy alcohol without …

Picnic ensembles for 1871

Published by The Dreamstress

Now that we have seen how artists interpreted outdoor clothes in the early 1870s, lets take a look at some real outfits that might have been worn to picnics in 1871. For the ladies, dresses would most likely be of plain, unpatterned fabric, trimmed with fringe, braid, and bias strips in either matching or contrasting tones. The silhouette and would demonstrate the change from the back heavy, oval hoops of the 1860s to the bustled 1870s silhouette. Fabrics would be of wool, silk, or cotton depending on the weather, and how fashionable and up-to-date the wearer was. Four silk dresses: If the weather was relatively cool, very fashionable ladies might wear highly trimmed silk dresses, such as this one: The design and trim of this dress are very similar to the one shown in Monet’s painting on Monday. In warmer weather, light cotton dresses similar to the ones shown in Monet’s Women in the Garden would be ideal. These dresses are quite easily soiled and torn, but also easily put together. They seem to have …

Let’s go on a picnic!

Published by The Dreamstress

I was asked what a middle class English family would have worn to a picnic in 1871. What fun! I love picnics, and 1871 is such a fun period for them – such ridiculously over the top day dresses for ladies. This week I’m going to be exploring the question through period prints, paintings, and real clothes. First, let’s start with some prints and paintings, so that we can get an idea of what a full scene would look like: These three prints show relaxed picnic scenes in 1871. The first two are set in England, and the last one, based on the musicians, is probably set in America, and appears to show a less respectable scene. The thing about prints is that they are often like today’s fashion spreads: glamourised, romanticised, and with ensembles based on the very latest fashions. The thing about real life is that it isn’t like fashion spreads. Most people wear clothes they have owned for a few years or more. Not everyone is pretty, or charming. So a picnic …