Category Archives: General

Book Review: Dress Codes by Richard Thompson Ford

As usual with academic scholarship, it is the subtitle–“How the Laws of Fashion Made History”–that really tells what this book is about.  In this wide-ranging study, Stanford law professor Richard Thompson Ford examines how dress codes—both formal legal regulations and … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged | 8 Comments

Treasure and Trash on Pinterest

I have given up on Pinterest many times.  After getting recommendations from friends and sewing teachers, I’ve tried to assemble various “collections” of things that inspire me.  Each time I have delved into that chaotic bundle of images, I have … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, General | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Hip Shelf and the Older Woman, 1948

“Great Lakes—David and Mother, 1948” is written in faint ink on the front of this photo.  It evokes a lot of questions.  Why was it taken from the back? Had David been in the Navy during the war, or did … Continue reading

Posted in 1940s, General | Tagged | 5 Comments

Ida B. Wells–A Giant among Women

Here is a short list of Ida B. Wells’s accomplishments: school teacher, journalist, newspaper owner, anti-lynching crusader, mother of four, civil rights leader, and black women’s suffrage advocate.  She filled her life (1862-1931) with more achievements than tens of other … Continue reading

Posted in 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, General | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Finally Fashion Forward?

I used to think that I was the only woman in America who didn’t wear jeans, but maybe that is changing.  The Washington Post recently featured an article on the decline of jeans sales during the pandemic. More and more … Continue reading

Posted in 2020s, General | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Sewing for the Apocalypse

If you follow a lot of sewing blogs, you’ll know that some people have used the new reality to ramp up their sewing practice.  Not me.  I was already in a sewing slump before Covid 19 changed our lives.  Standard … Continue reading

Posted in 2020s, General | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The Neighbors at Mission Court, 1919

Are you wearing your mask?  These residents of Mission Court in Pasadena California are all abiding by the rules.  As luck would have it, I found a Wikipedia entry for the small apartment complex, which is now on the National … Continue reading

Posted in 1910s, General | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Summer Outfit, Mid 1930s

When I found this photo on eBay, I originally thought the pattern was dots—and I was about to launch into an essay on the love of dotted fabric in the 1930s.  However, once I enlarged it the pattern looked more … Continue reading

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The Olive Cycle

Although I have vowed to stop buying books, I couldn’t pass up Elizabeth Strout’s the new novel about Olive Kitteridge. I read it in a flash and then decided to read the two books–Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again–one after another.  … Continue reading

Posted in 2020s, General | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Bridge Ladies

Not too long ago I read a wonderful memoir called The Bridge Ladies about a group of four friends who played bridge every week over the course of fifty years.  Their conversations covered marriages, children, and eventually widowhood.  Throughout there … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, General | Tagged | 2 Comments