Life was very different for women back then. Take clothes, for example. Most were homemade, sewn by nannies or other women in the household who were good with needles. Interestingly, an hourglass-shaped ‘dummy’ was used to fit the clothes, and no matter the woman’s shape, all the clothes in Elizabeth’s home were fitted to the dummy. It seemed that it wasn’t unusual to stuff the ‘empty places ‘ with filling of some sort. Mmmmm….
Then there were Tea-gowns, which actually weren’t worn to tea at all. These were a cross between a housecoat and a dress, worn during those times when one felt poorly. If you were seen in one of these, it meant that ‘even though you were up, you were only just up’. .. I guess that’s like sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt or sweater in our day? I think I could have lived in a Tea-gown last week. What does your ‘tea-gown’ look like?
In our culture, as age creeps up , we women tend to do things that will hopefully keep us looking younger (at least we fool ourselves into thinking so!). But in the early 1900’s in England, the women changed their dress to celebrate their old age – wearing soft dresses, shawls or lace scarves, and a lace cap – to hide the grey or thinning hair. And then they sat down by the fire or in the garden, depending on the weather, and watched the grandchildren play. There weren’t a lot of expectations put on older women. I wonder if this made them age more quickly? They probably weren’t much older than 50 or 60 years at this point.
I thought this quote from the book was quite humorous: “ I suppose it is on balance a happy thing that old people are put on the shelf less early now: but I do have days when I hanker for a lace cap.”
I’m definitely not even close to being ready to be ‘put on the shelf’. And a lace cap? Maybe one day I’ll have a hankering, too.
My tea gown looks like yoga pants and a tank top. On a really bad day my tea gown looks like pajamas. As for the lace cap, I can't imagine myself ever being ready for one. Perhaps when I'm in my 90's.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen I sewed a lot of my own clothes (I don't sew anything now) and I always wanted to save up $$ to buy one of those dressmaker forms with adjustbale waist, bust hips, etc. Life moved on and I never got there. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteMy tea-gown would probably be capri lenth sweats (I have never owned a pair of yoga pants, so I might like them better once I try them) and a tank top. A tank top with a shelf-bra. Braless comfort without all the hanging-out I guess. Hmmm. I feel comfier just thinking about it.
I love looking at the way older women dress. They seem to care less for the trend of the day (although sometimes they really work it!) and seem more comfortable in their bodies, they seem to know what flatters them and what they like. I love it whan a woman gets ahold of her own beauty and relaxes about it. Love it.