Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Romance Writers of America’s annual national conference. This year it was held in San Francisco, and unlike previous years, I actually managed to get out of the conference hotel and enjoy the city a bit. Okay, perhaps getting lost near the hotel while looking for a Subway doesn’t count, but I did make a deliberate trip out to Berkeley’s Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles with members of the Beau Monde Society and Hearts through History.
Victorian wedding dress
I am researching the Victorian era for my current work-in-progress, and understanding what people wore, and how those clothes affected them, is important to me.
The pre-conference session hosted by the two chapters for historical romance writers remains the highlight of my trip. I attended sessions on Victorian dress, medical practices throughout the ages, the great estates of Britain, and a discussion by Kensington editor Hilary Sares and Michelle Buonfiglio from Lifetime.TV.com about how historicals are hot right now (both in terms of selling and sensuality).
Since my previous historical romances were set in 1525 Germany and Italy, I have a lot to learn about the British Victorian era. As an English major, I had of course read much of the literature, which can be very revealing–ah, the repression! ah, the double standards! ah, the political correctness!-but haven’t spent much time with them otherwise. The Victorians were fascinating people, and quite on the knife’s edge between the traditional and modern eras. The clothing seems to be a metaphor for this in-between state. Much of it was intricately detailed, lavish, and beautiful, but terribly restrictive as well. Even their mourning clothes were beautiful.
Mourning clothes
The gorgeous Moira, shown modeling a Victorian evening dress (it was actually her wedding dress), demonstrated how, once fully encased in her corset and bodice, it was nearly impossible to raise one’s arms above one’s shoulders. 
A woman dressed in this manner had to depend on her man or on servants for assistance. Moira also displayed her lovely charms in other ways, showing how, with the help of her ladies’ maid, a Victorian woman of means got dressed from the inside out. So if you want to know more about what Victorian women really wore under all those layers, check out my blog at www.tjbsopinion.blogspot.com.
On the one hand, part of me wishes we still wore gorgeous, tactile clothing like this. How could a woman not look elegant when dressed up in one of these? On the other hand, when I think of wearing all those constricting layers in humid, hot Houston-well, I’m glad my daily outfits consist of flip flops and t-shirts, I have to say.
How about you? Do you think these outfits made women feel more like “women,” enhancing their femininity, or do you feel they were just another way for men to keep women subservient? Do you ever long to wear fashions like this, or are you a flip-flops kind of girl?
TJ Bennett
The Legacy (available now) When secrets destroy, can love live on?
The Promise (May 2009) In a dangerous world, sometimes the greatest risk is love….
August 8, 2008 at 10:12 am
I’m with you, TJ, thank heavens I don’t have to lace up every morning. The first thing that goes when I walk in the house is my bra. Maybe that’s too much information, but I hate being bound in any way.
Though I rarely feel elegant, and I can’t help thinking wearing clothes such as you’ve shown would make me feel refined and lovely, I’d still rather read about it in books!
Looking forward to whatever kind of book you write!
Lynne
August 8, 2008 at 10:13 am
Gorgeous dresses! I love reading historicals, but just can’t write them. Sounds like that event was too much fun!
August 8, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Can’t be any worse than thongs. What sadist came up with that idea?
I love a good historical and am frequently tempted to write another. So you go, girt. I’ll live vicariously through you.
August 8, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Thanks for your comments, Shelli and Colleen. Writing historicals can be tough, especially the research, but I remember another author once saying how she enjoyed the “broader canvas” the historical romance offered in terms of social mores and conflicts–it gave her so much more to work with when finding conflicts for her characters. I find I’m drawn to the big issues of morality and duty these time periods present us.
TJB
August 8, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Wear those outfits, in Houston, in the summer! They would
be the death of me! Whoever determined that women had to
wear so much clothing? Did anyone ever dress those people
in this style clothing? They would have changed their minds
ever so quickly! It’s short, tees, and flips for me!!
Pat Cochran
August 8, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Those outfits are beautiful, but I’m not sure I can handle being trapped in a corset all day. I’ll stick to my jeans, tees and flip flops.
August 8, 2008 at 4:35 pm
In the clothing I’ve seen in Texas museums, much of it was made of breathable cotton with lace insets All Over. So they did make adaptations for the Southern heat. Still… Ick.
Did you get cold, TJ? I was smart enough to bring my jacket, because Galveston hasn’t had temps like those in San Francisco since, oh, February or so…
August 8, 2008 at 4:52 pm
It was cold in the hotel for sure, Gail. I’m glad I brought a sweater. However, the few times I made it outside during the day, it was very nice–except for one night coming back from my agency’s dinner, the wind kicked up as we walked several blocks and we nearly froze in our elegant clothing!
Pat, Jane, I hear ya. Still, supposedly the weather was much cooler in previous centuries, so the multiple layers may have served a purpose. Still, no stays or busks or whalebone for me, thank you very much. I can’t even wear pantyhose without dying!
For those of you who are interested, Kalen Hughes taught me a little trick for popping open a corset with a steel busk in front that is hooked together with those metal hook and eye thingies–the outer layers of clothing have to be off when you do this or you’ll shred the dress, but a good squeezing hug around the waist from someone in front will pop that baby right open. LOL! Oh, the things one learns at conference…
TJB
August 8, 2008 at 6:56 pm
LOL at Colleen’s comment on thongs! How true is that!
Makes you wonder what horrible fate is in our future, eh? From all those clothes back then, to barely anything now… yet it still hurts. LOL.
Can’t wait for the next book, TJ!
D’Anne
August 8, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I don’t know if the outfits were specifically crafted to subjegate women, but both men and women probably liked it because it would “enhance” otherwise average looks.
For example, I’d love to have a teeny-tiny waist and a buxom bosom, which I don’t, but I remember an outfit I wore to an evening event once. The dress was so form-fitting that I had to wear a corset underneath. I felt a little like Jessica Rabbit walking into the ballroom…. and, errr, let’s just say, I had a lot of attention (which I didn’t usually receive) paid to me that night. As a matter of fact, as I was walking toward the event, a man leaving the hotel where it was held did a double-take and said out loud, “I want to go to the party SHE’s going to!”
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t hanging all out or anything, but I received direct evidence that night of the benefits of a corset. Of course, the second I got home, I ripped that sucker off! So, for the odd special occasion, yes, but not for day to day.
August 8, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Hi, D’Anne! Next book is coming in May 2009, so hang on! Thanks for commenting.
Great story, Shawn. Sigh…I miss the days of the double take men, for they are no more for me. But yes, I can see how a corset can have its advantages.
TJB