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Why All Those Black Dresses?

on June 20, 2010 – 3:07 am

Victorian mourning customs got a lot of press in the 20th century. Everybody who’s read Gone With the Wind has the idea that mourners, especially widows, were subject to stringent expectations for proper dress and behavior. But like any cliché, our image of Victorian mourning always needs re-examination. 

When shopping antique clothing racks, people see a lot of black. From Victorian times, they see little feathered black bonnets, boned black bodices, black silk shirtwaists. And from the 20th century, they see little black dresses, trimmed black felt hats, black velvet evening coats, beaded black bags.

Does mourning account for most of the black antique clothing that survive from the last century? Read full story by Cathy Taylor.

Victorian Christmas

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