Mabel

My father and I were reminiscing the other night about my great-grandmother. Mabel (or Nanny to her descendants) was born in 1892 and lived to be 100 years old. She was, as my father said, a "true Victorian." I think the conversation started because I was fondly recalling how she never wore trousers. I am deeply, deeply fascinated by vintage clothing and cultural standards of dress. So it was fun to discuss, in detail, the habits of a woman born in 1892.

My grandmother would joke that Nanny changed clothes several times a day. I love this because it indicates purpose-driven dressing. Whereas I tend to cook, shop for groceries, and plant daffodils in essentially the same ensemble (with a shoe variation and of course an apron when the occasion demands it), Nanny chose completely different outfits for these very different tasks.

Every day she got dressed right down to her shoes. Stockings? Check. Skirt? Check. Ear-bobs? Check.

I was especially curious about her at-home attire. I remember her in floral dresses or, when we were attending An Event, in slightly dressier dresses or even a skirt suit (once, I think). My father noted that she wore the floral dresses most days; he was vague on details about these 'housedresses' (who can blame him? he's a man, I don't expect him to notice Every Last Detail!).

But I was most fascinated by his description of her gardening attire. He said "the only time she ever wore pants was when she gardened, and she wore something more like culottes, in seersucker, and a shoe with a heel."

A shoe with a heel? I pressed for more details. Turns out she was wearing something like a brown lace-up ankle-height brogue. Okay. I love that!

The conversation has inspired me to think harder about my own choices in dressing. Maybe I will bring back the purpose-driven dressing my great-grandmother embraced. Cooking in a floral wrap dress with an apron on top? Sure. Gardening in seersucker culottes and brogues, even if the neighbors laugh? Why not?! Bring it on.

(As an aside, I haven't been posting here lately because of my own little descendant. I'll pick back up more regularly once we've settled in with our new family. Probably summertime or autumn, once we have a routine down and our household renovations are winding down. Family and housework trump blogging! But I've got all sorts of delicious little girl dress patterns to showcase!)