Wearing Pretty

Before I tell you what I saw in the mall (you can guess) I want to share this memory of the ladies clothes that were so popular not too long ago. 

These are Laura Ashley clothes, but in the same era were similar designers going with this loose, feminine, comfortable style. Just wearing it made you feel adequately covered (but not frumpy or sloppy), confident and happy. The colors and prints were so harmonious with God's creation, whether or not it was intended. There was something very wholesome, sweet and yet serious about these clothes. They depicted dignity.

Do you ever wonder who dictates styles to us and who decided the women in this decade would not be able to find pretty clothing that also felt good to wear--clothing that was no nonsense but feminine?

Women still wear these clothes, because 25 years after the style was replaced, they are still in good condition.

There should be sewing patterns for the dresses in both the pictures here.

I wonder who decided there would be no more Victorian clothes available for women who preferred them, and why there are not more choices of  clothing of different eras. Some ladies do not like the unlovely, unflattering clothes that are presented in stores year after year.

This is another dress of the 1990's that would be suitable to wear today:

These clothes were made of high quality cotton and not of the synthetics we find in stores today. The garments did not cling and you didn't always have to be tugging at shoulders and waist. 

This was the first Laura Ashley pattern I ever owned. One thing that made these clothes so well liked was they suited women multi-generationally. Mothers, daughters and granddaughters all wore them and there was no special youth style section in the stores. The sizes were varied but the styles suited everyone and were liked by women all over the world.

This was an outfit in a 1990 Victoria Magazine that was hard to find,

But eventually I collected similar pieces from thrift stores and giveaways to create this set which I think exudes softness and sensibility:

Blouse: Goodwill, not worn, $5.00. It would have cost me quite a bit more back in the 1990's.

Cardigan: Walmart, $5.00. The Laura Ashley cardigan was originally 6 or 7 times the price or more.

Skirt: given to me from an estate sale. It is not a Laura Ashley brand but a very similar design, with tucks along the hem.

Slippers/shoes: $5.00 at WalMart.

One reason I did not own many Laura Ashley things was their price. Dresses were often $80.00 to a hundred dollars, so it made more sense to buy a pattern for home sewing.  However now these clothes are surfacing in the thrift shops at cheaper prices. It's just a pity they are not "in style," because now they are affordable.

I am happy to see many young women developing their own style and leaving the current fashions behind. No one should allow the current trends to dictate the way they dress.

We have not been to a mall in years, but decided to walk through one this week. The place was almost a ghost town, with many shops empty.  

The window displays were as you see here:

Is all this supposed to be pretty?

My husband asked how anyone could think this is pretty on a woman.

There were certainly no admiring gazes from passers-by. Young women were not giving any of it a longing look. They are tired and bored of it all. It has been the same old torn clothing for several decades has it not?  Yet someone keeps pushing this style.

When almost every woman learned how to sew, they had more control over the fashion. I realize not everyone can or wants to sew anymore, but there are still alternatives to this wretched mess. Many of the prettier clothes have gone to catalogs:

Blair Catalog

The Paragon Catalogue

Aloha Outlet Catalog

The ugly clothes have been prominent for so long that ladies feel silly and out of sorts when wearing anything pretty.

Maybe one of the reasons so many shops in the mall have moved out is due to lack of selling those boring, drab things that women have had to wear and look at for so many years. 

There is no reason we cannot change the fashion by wearing lovely blouses like this:

More Laura Ashley from Etsy and EBay.  

From an older catalog:

The style was loved equally by girls and grandmothers. I often saw families in church sitting together with the women wearing these cheerful dresses.  No one made fun of them like they do today: they were high fashion and very expensive.

These next pictures are from the recent April Cornell catalog:

A pattern I am going to order online:  many of these dresses were made of fine wale cordoroy or polished cotton or cotton velveteen.

Patterns I am going to order.

Issue of Victoria with the Laura Ashley fashions:

More Laura Ashley:

Going Out

The Thames at Benson, by Albert Chevalier Taylor 1862-1925

( picnic basket with dishes) click on link for details of this basket

Faraway Thoughts, By Alfred Glendenning

(Heart-shape white wicker picnic hamper with goblets and other supplies) click link for details.

The First Arrivals by Alice Mary Havers, 1881

(Brown wicker picnic basket with colorful accessories) click link for details.

I enjoyed finding these beautiful outdoor scenes of 19th century women, and have included pictures of old-fashioned picnic baskets that are manufactured still today. They are expensive, but you can replicate the idea by placing a cloth of some kind (maybe from your sewing stash) inside a plain basket, filling it as desired, and bringing the cloth up and around the contents and tucking it in the edges. I have one of my own to show you, below.

Ice packs can be inserted in any of these baskets to preserve freshness.

Make your own version of a simple picnic carrier by lining a large basket with a quilt for little or no cost, with covered ice packs in the bottom, and filling it with light-weight plates or paper plates and cups and chilled foods, then folding the blanket over the top.

You might find it interesting that these paintings show women outdoors obviously relaxed, participating in casual activities, yet not so casual in their mode of dress. While we do not have to find Victorian costumes for outdoor activities, I believe that ladies young and not-so-young can add to the lovely scenes of such activities by wearing something more interesting than the uniform that is commonly on women outdoors.

These painting fashions can be imitated just by wearing a colorful long skirt. Think of "matching" the deep blue sea or the lovely flower-carpeted expanses and you can picture the idea. It is what I call mood dressing. You might observe in these paintings that the ladies are depicted in clothing that is as beautiful as their surroundings.

If you are new to this blog and you wonder why I post the Victorian paintings when I am discussing womanly clothing, the reason for it is that firstly, I like the Victorian era and the elements of their fashion. The styles looked feminine and good on women of all ages and sizes. The second reason is that the paintings and photographs reveal a time in history when all women wore dresses and skirts. The only women who wore pants or underwear in public were in the circus!

The 19th century photographs have left something to be remembered about the way our great grandmothers dressed. What will the photographs of our era say to generations to come?

Dress and apron: Cattle Kate

The last few posts are in a series of articles showing the interesting styles of what is known as the Victorian era. They had immodest styles back then, too, but it seems they had a lot of becoming styles that ladies preferred to wear at home and on outings.

There is a lot of controversy these days about what the meaning of the description of the Proverbs 31 woman really is. I have been thinking about some of the exaggerations and myths that are touted as facts, even by religious people, and I hope to address these in a post soon.

Someone has asked if I would write or show how I go about my daily life as a Christian older woman. The days have been so busy and so full, that I find myself too busy living them and not enough time to write about it all. However I hope to get my thoughts together and address this subject. In the meantime, there are quite a number of ladies at home represented by blogs on my sidebar, who take a few moments to post something they do during the day. Life at home is varied and busy.

Photographs of ladies outdoors in the 1800's:

When discovering more feminine ways to dress, consider old photographs and adapt the styles to modern clothing: longer, softer, more modest than the prevailing culture. You do not actually have to acquire the Victorian clothing or wear the style of the 1800s to accomplish a more ladylike way of dressing. In general, as in my previous article, a dress or skirt and a modest blouse. It does not have to be cumbersome or frumpy!

Current styles of skirts and blouses available today

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