Illustration of girls in "lingerie dresses" from a 1910 catalog. These were marketed for young ladies preparing for high school graduation. Beautiful! [Note: "Lingerie" dresses refer to gowns made from thin heirloom fabrics like voile and organdy, worn over intricate undergarments.]

Illustration of two girls in day dresses from a 1910 catalog in my collection.

An illustration of women’s underpinnings from a 1910 catalog in my collection. Note in particular the “mono-bosom” brassieres in the upper left and right corners.

Last summer Gabrielle and I sewed ourselves some Wives & Daughters dresses. My sister, Gabrielle, made a dress that reminded us of Molly, while I sewed myself a dress that reminds you of Cynthia. Aren’t these lovely? The costumes from the A&E adaptation of “Wives and Daughters” are what inspired me to start researching and [...]

This is a special dress for me – a renewal of vows so it is all in white. Thank you for making the pattern available. I searched two days on the internet until I found you! I am very happy with the way the dress turned out and had a lot of fun embellishing it! [...]

Three pages of ladies’ hats from a 1910 catalog in my collection. Note the fantastic plumes and varying brim widths.

I love finding images of period hairstyles! All four of these came from the same issue of The People’s Home Journal of 1910. The article which accompanied the photos noted that coronets of braids were back in fashion, as were “high Josephine curls” a la’ the French Empire (English Regency). If you didn’t have masses [...]

This is an illustration from a story that appeared in a 1910 issue of Collier’s Magazine. Note the neo-Empire lines of the lady’s dress, with the raised waistline and sash. The hairstyle is even reminiscent of the Regency period. The empire waist had a brief revival between 1911 and 1912. (Click the thumbnail for larger [...]

This is actress Billie Burke in 1910. Most remember her as “Glinda,” the Good Witch in the 1939 production of “The Wizard of Oz.” But Billie was a well-loved stage actress long before she earned acclaim on the screen. I love this sweet portrait of her in her lovely gown, holding a large bouquet of [...]

This is a lovely photograph of four friends posing in their everyday outfits. The gal standing at the back right has on a white lawn dress with tucks and is wearing a locket around her neck. The two ladies in front have on the plain, slimmer skirts of the early 1910s, but their “waists” (blouses) [...]