Corset Parade

In front of the Mirror by Edouard Manet -  1876

1909 Corset

1924 Corset

Image from a vintage advertising pamphlet

 'In a Corset' by Lovis Coringh - 1910

Toile it is

I recently was hovering around varied Etsy Treasuries and discovered this gorgeous Treasury called Toile Be or not Toile Be, that is the Question which was put lovingly together by the lovely Mom Wald of Mom Wald's Place on Etsy. I had never head of Toile although I have seen this design often enough in antique shops or antique market stalls. So.... I asked this Etsian to kindly illuminate us about this design and its origins... here is what she says, 

"Most of us are familiar with a style of fabric known as Toile. Many may not know the name, but recognize it. The actual name is Toile de Jouy, and although it is French, the style actually originated in Ireland. It found its home in France in the late 18th century and from there enchanted the world.

Toile began as cream or white fabric with intricate single color pictures of people or flowers repeated to make a lace like pattern. Nowadays every color combination imaginable can be found.

Rustic Toile Pillow from Photocraft Lady

The popularity of Toile has helped it not only endure, but thrive through the centuries. Today this type of pattern can be found on everything from fabric to glass. Whether it the romance of a bygone era or the flavor of France that appeals to you, Toile is available in almost any form."

I was quite excited to discover this Etsian also has an adorable blog which you can visit here. It's all about vintage teacups, quilting, embroidery and beautiful things from times gone by. Be sure to visit.

Peter Pan and Mary Jane

Look at this 1939 picture taken in Australia. The lady on the right is wearing a Peter Pan collar. This style of collar became popular after the American stage actress Maude Adams wore such a collar in her costume when she played the role of Peter Pan in 1905. Most of us have had dresses with such a style of collar. I can think of coupling it with Mary Jane shoes. 

Mary Janes which have been all the rage recently, also have a strong connection with a popular story - this time a 1902 comic strip called Buster Brown. Mary Jane was the sister of Buster and they were both invented by Richard Outcault. So how did the shoes end up with name of the cartoon character? 

It appears that Outcault always drew both Buster Brown and Mary Jane wearing the same style of shoes. In 1904 Outcault went to the St Louis World Fair and sold a licence to 200 companies, permitting them to use Buster Brown characters to advertise their wares. One of these companies was the Brown Shoe Company. The Brown Shoe Company hired actors to tour different states whilst acting out the part of Buster Brown comic characters. The Brown Shoe Company and Buster Brown became synonymous and the style of shoe both Buster Brown and Mary Jane wore started being called Mary Janes. The picture ad above shows the Mary Janes worn by the little girl and in the close-up, the strap is shown tucked on the back of the shoe so that the shoe can be worn also as a slip-on. Cute!

Honiton Lace

I've been reading about Victorian fashions and Honiton Lace keeps being mentioned, so I decided to find some images to see what it really looks like...
I also found this link which does not seem to be going anywhere but it gives a couple of very good images of this variety of lace. Does anybody know where it originated from?




I cherish your comment, each and every time.....

Hey Bloggers - It's Award-Time!

I just received a wonderful gift - a blog award from Deborah Piana Agostinetti  of the blog Easy and Chic. Researching the blog award, I found it has been given to a good number of bloggers, so thank you Deborah (the above image is from her blog) and I am very proud to have received the Liebster Blog Award.....

Liebster means "dearest" in German and is given to blogs with less than 200 followers.

When you're given the award you - 

1. Thank the one who gave you the award and post a link.

2. Mention 5 blogs to forward the award to (let them know by leaving a comment at their blog).

3. Keep your fingers crossed that the chosen ones want to keep forwarding the award ;)

Here are my chosen ones.....

I Look Good Today

Moments

Babettopolis

The Taxonomy of My Wardrobe

Vintage Me

A Cameo laced with Maltese Filigree

This incredibly beautiful cameo was recently embellished and turned into a fantastic brooch by Maltese filigree maker Charles Gerada. The 'frame' surrounding the cameo, which is reminiscent of 19th Century jewellery fashions, is in fact surrounded by a very delicate frame of Maltese filigree in gold and it is all worked by hand. 

See more Maltese filigree here and more cameos here and here.