On the second Thursday of each month the William Candler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution meet at the first Presbyterian church on Enota Street in our town. Someone is always responsible for bringing drinks and snacks. When everyone has settled in and are seated at some round tables, our Regent brings the meeting to order and we begin by going through our ritual. The ritual expresses our mission and all participate in a litany which reflects this goal. We have the pledge to the American flag, the Americans Creed, and the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. It is always the same and one line I really like especially. It is a response, "Yea, I have a goodly heritage".
If we have a speaker that day, that is next on the agenda. Yesterday we had a lady come ,who had been there before. Her background is varied, but fashion design is one facet of her many talents. The last time she came she was dressed in period costume. This day, she was dressed in the style of the 1980's. She gave a history of clothing from the time of the Pilgrims up to the present. Also she had some vintage clothes which had belonged to her grandmother. She wore white gloves when she handled them. She touched them gingerly as she told about them. One tip for those who had old and delicate clothing was never to fold them, rather roll them for storage and once a month bring them out for a good airing.
We had been invited to bring to this meeting any vintage clothing that we had inherited. Some of the ladies did. The thing that impressed all of us was the very small waists of the dresses. They did wear corsets, skirt hoops, lace and ruffles too, which all seemed extreme in light of how simply we ladies dress today. The clothing which was brought in was for formal occasions mostly, like weddings. They were quite old and some had disintegrated in places, but still were impressive in their embroidery and hand work. In some cases they were made of silk. I think seeing these old styles made us appreciate our comfortable styles of today and also our many choices of fabrics.
One lady brought in a book which had pictures of her families from the past. Seeing them reminded me of my mother in her wedding attire. I am guessing that it was her wedding attire as she wore an elaborate blouse with many tucks and turns with blousing sleeves and of course the tiny waist. The picture of my father of that same year shows a hat worn at a jaunty angle and him seated in a casual pose. His white shirt had a very high collar, stylish at that time. No one was smiling, and I notice the same thing in other vintage family pictures. It was just not in vogue to smile for your portrait. It makes one wonder, if the folks of that time ( around 1900) had good dentistry services available. The pictures which I have of my fraternal grandmother and my maternal grandmother shows the same straight look, no smiling. In their portraits they wore dark clothing and were probably in their seventies. Perhaps these ladies were not smiling as they led austere lives in a time when the living was hard for most people, especially women. The dressy attire. lace and ruffles were reserved for special occasions and youth. I am still guessing, but I wonder if they had to sit very still for the cameras of their day.
Regarding the hair styles, I remember when my mother had her hair "bobbed". It was a big step. In her youth she had long hair but it was pulled over a round, rolled form, around her face. This form was called a "rat". Someone told me that they were now called "bumps" and were coming back into style. They are worn in back at the top of the head, maybe they replace wigs, for some women do have balding there, later in life. For whatever reason, we adapt to the present , according to what is available to us. We are now living in an age of rapid change. Hopefully the changes will be better for ourselves , our children, and grandchildren. It can be fun to look back, but looking forward can be more productive.
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