Not everyone has the same needs regarding clothing. A farmer's wife will need something different than a woman living in an apartment or a suburban home. I have chosen several kinds of clothing and patterns to accommodate these differences. In choosing clothing, the main principles are beauty and propriety. Propriety involves being appopriate for the occasion or the job you have ahead of you. I have, for example, noticed that most bodices are too low cut, even in patterns, for the active woman of the home. Though they may appear to be just right when standing, they make a gap when bending to tie a child's shoe or changing a diaper, or even leaning over when serving dinner. Therefore I recommend creating modesty by raising the pattern 3 to 4 inches, or buying lace and doilies to create an inset.
Homestead Dress from www.cattlekate.com
Dress and apron from www.cattlekate.com
Skirts can be the same way. Standing up, they appear to be the perfect length, but once a person sits down or leans over to clean a bathtub or something like that, they pull up and become very uncomfortable. That is why I wear my skirts a little longer.
I also think that colors should be bright and patterns should be pretty. I was just talking to a friend of mine and discussing the way that films portray poor people of the past. I objected to the fact that most movies, even period movies, show the poor people in drab colors and torn costumes. Growing up poor, and having known poor grandmothers who were born in the 1800's, my observations were completely different:
Poor people liked bright colors and shiny things because it disguised their poverty. In those days very few people were proud of poverty and certainly didn't want to look as poor as they were. We girls loved bright colors, especially red and aqua blue, emerald green and purple. These colors always elevated our moods and lifted us out of our poverty. We ironed everything because there was no wash and dry, nor permanent press.
One reason we did not want to look poor is that it told the public that we had no self-respect. A poor person would never have gone around with torn clothing, wrinkled clothing, or dirty clothing. Though we wore jeans, we were ashamed of being seen in them in public, so we never wore them to church. I remember when we had to ride in the back of our father's truck because it was the only vehicle that would work at the time. We had fallen on really hard times, and we girls had to wear warm jeans under our skirts in the back of the truck on the way to church. As soon as we got there we took off the jeans.
The poor are portrayed in films in brown, taupe, black, and grey, but I never knew poor people to wear those colors. Life was drab enough without making us more depressed. Women didn't like those colors, generally, and preferred things with flowers on them or some kind of embroidery and even things with shiny embellishments.
It was the rich who began to wear these plain garments. I always wondered when I visited a richer person's home, how, if they were so well off, they lived so plainly. The women wore drab pantsuits, in monochromatic, dull, dark colors, and they decorated their homes in beige. I always sewed my clothes and one day I received a sarcastic comment about the flowers in the fabric of my dress. Another day someone said in mock amazement: Lydia, why don't you wear a brighter color?" Others have ridiculed with sly remarks about a pink outfit I wear.
Folks, where does this elitist snobbery come from? You can go to exotic places like Thailand and India and deepest Africa, and the women love bright, pretty colors. Women have an instinct for beauty if they are not educated out of it. Look at the past at the paintings. We recently went to Mary Hill Museam in Washington state, and viewed paintings by painters like Paxton and Lack. One painter, Mr. Lack, bought a dress for his wife so he could paint a picture of her sitting at the piano. I can't imagine a painter today wanting to paint a scene of a woman in an uninteresting dress. Somewhere in time, the so-called progressives, changed the meaning of truth and beauty, and foisted upon society these terrible fashions. Without being a brilliant research scientist, a person can almost trace the increasing depression in the population, to the dull furnishings and fashions of the 20th century. Both men and women are affected by this: the women, because they have so little choice in the market and end up having to wear these rags, and the men because they have to look at the women wearing them.
I have found a few things that might be appropriate for some people, but for the most part, I would suggest skirts that are a-line rather than full, because they don't get caught in doors gates and other things, and are warmer. (I wear leggings under most my garments). I would also highly recommend natural fabrics. Cotton is my all-round favorite. It always feels fresh and it launders well. You can hardly damage it and the threads don't pull out. It doesn't pill, and if it fades or thins with time, it is even more charming. In winter, I make a cotton flannel night gown, and by summer, the wash and wear has made it thin enough for the warmer temperature.
Women generally feel good when they wear beautiful colors and prints, but the prevailing culture has made them self-conscious and uncomfortable. The only way we can defeat this attitude is to wear what is lovely give your home and family the feeling of cheer and optimism it deserves.
Just as I was writing this article and had it in my drafts folder, my friend told me that she had read someone's blog that was talking about the same thing. I haven't had a chance to go and look at it, but I must say that I think people are catching on to this manipulation of fashion and are going their own way rather than following the trends that the industry is forcing upon us.
If you know a site that sells pretty clothes, please post it on the comments. I will add the pictures. I realize not everyone will wear western clothing, so I plan to add more as time permits.
