Monday, November 10, 2008

Suffragette Sally

I just had to share this ensemble put together by the lovely 16 Sparrows over at Behind the Curtain. She was inspired by the Gibson Girl / Suffragette look of the 1890's... [click on her link for outfit details]:



Of course, the Gibson girl and the suffragette were quite scandalous, so the only other thing this bad girl needs to complete the look is an Eagle Bicycle [how did people ride these?] Click here for an interesting little article on how the bicycle liberated women.




Suffrage literature and the history of women's suffrage is one of my areas of interest, as well as fashion history [particularly 1890's-1930's]. So, I thought I would post a few images to continue the theme -- just for fun...








Some more scandalous suffragettes and their cycles...







An 1890's sporting/riding costume with bloomers...




Some dressier ensembles from the 1890's...

[Les modes parisiennes : Peterson's magazine. 1890's]

17 comments:

Brigid said...

Awesome! I love that period of fashion and women's history. I majored in American Studies in college with an emphasis in early 20th century history.

{Tara} said...

Thanks Brigid! Where did you go to school [if you don't mind me asking!]

Sharon S said...

Hi there-some wonderful pictures of the past here, thanks for sharing! I adore the booties featured, they're gorgeous!

{Tara} said...

Sharon -- thanks so much. Yes, the boots are great...but, I wonder, are they comfortable?

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said...

Great pictures. I love the 1890's era, particularly in the US. My current WIP is set in 1895.

{Tara} said...

elizabeth -- there is something so magical about the 1890's, in both literature and fashion. It was such a time of social upheaval and decadence...lots of interesting things going on.

Cupcakes and Cashmere said...

what a cool post with impeccable timing considering the pivotal point we've just recently come to in american politics.

{Tara} said...

Emily -- I know! My sister scolded my mother the other day when she said she would however my father voted. Oh no!!! Women didn't win the suffrage just to vote the same as their husbands!! Who knows, maybe she secretly voted differently?

Virginia Harris said...

Great pix!

Now that the 2008 election and its historic high turnout is history, there is much greater appreciation for the privilege of voting.

But most people don't realize that out of 44 American presidents, only the last 15 were elected in a truly democratic fashion by all of our citizens -- men AND women.

Until 1920 women were denied the vote, and few people have any idea of the struggle our suffragettes had to go through to right this wrong. It's an amazing, awe-inspiring story!

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Angela said...

cool bike.

lune_blanc said...

Great images as always. I like the Gibson Girl / Suffragette look, and it was one of my childhood dreams to ride on n Eagle Bicycle, but how the hell did they ride this?!

{Tara} said...

michiko -- thanks so much for your kind words. I also would love to try and ride one of these bikes, but it seriously looks dangerous!

Mrs.French said...

fabulous post!

PIGNOUF said...

trés bien documenté, joli message !
A bientôt...:)

{Tara} said...

mrs french -- thanks for your kind words!! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

pignouf -- merci!!

s.i. michaels said...

Love all of these images & adore that modern take on the Victorian/Edwardian look.

{Tara} said...

ambika -- thanks!! I love the idea of modernizing historical fashions.