Fashions from the 1870s by Zina Abbott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year and last, I authored, or will author, several books set in the 1870s. I decided it was time to make a point to learn more about the fashions of that era.

I knew bustles were a key fashion style of the day. What else?

The large hoop skirts of the 1850s and 1860s—kept full by the use of crinolines and hoops—were replaced by skirts where the fullness moved toward the back. The underskirt was draped with overskirts that were held in place by tapes and supported by bustles.

Also, when dressing up, ladies wore smaller bonnets than in earlier eras. Although they appeared to look more like hats, as long as they were tied under the chin with ribbons, they were still regarded as bonnets. Small hats—often with veils—were also balanced on top of the hair and held in place by hat pins—wicked little accessories that often doubled as self-defense weapons. The hats did not cast enough shade to prevent the ladies from getting their faces sunburned. These bonnets and hats were designed to accommodate hair styles where the hair was pulled back at the sides and worn in either a tight know or a cluster of ringlets. Bangs on the forehead also became popular.

The skirts and bodices were ornamented with a variety of pleats, flounces, rouching, and frills.

During the mid-1870s—the timeframe of my most recent book—the size of bustles toned down so they were not so full. Until the full, looks-like-a-bookshelf  bustles came back into style for a short time in the 1880s, bustles gradually were worn lower in back, giving the wearer a smoother profile.

 

Outwear to keep the women warm were mostly either capes or jackets with a vent in the back to allow for the bustles. For everyday wear, shawls were also used.

Sleeves were tightly fitted to the arms. Square necklines became popular. Day dresses had high necklines that were either closed, squared, or V-shaped.

Evening gowns tended to have lower necklines with very short and off-the-shoulder sleeves.  

 

The bustle style changed so the fullness of the bustle was lower on the body, which created an

New fabric dyes were invented, which prompted women to wear brighter clothing in bolder designs.

As for the men, Western men still wore rugged work clothes for physical labor. trousers, a shirt cut in a slimmer style than earlier years, and a vest was common. Men in the West also wore derbies. (This style of hat with its rounded crown and short brim was more commonly called a derby in the United States and a bowler in the Great Britain.)

It was easy to spot an out-of-town dandy from the East. For formal dress, the silk top hats were still very popular.

 

However, toward the end of the decade, men tended to wear the more stylish derby.  In this photo, notice the shoes, the high starched collar, and tie.

 

Also, in this photograph of Bat Masterson that dates from 1879, notice the derby. Also, note how the jacket flares open at the bottom. For decades, men often fastened the top button of their jackets leaving the remaining buttons undone. This was probably to make it easier to reach their pocket watches. Not only was it more convenient for checking the time, a fashion-conscious man would wish to show off his gold watch chain and fob.

 

Although fashions changed at a slower rate in the nineteenth century than today, such changes were notable. I enjoy this collage that shows how women’s dress styles transitioned from the 1860s through to the 1890s.

 

 

My most recent release is The Bride Who Invades Saloons. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

My next book will be The Mine Owner’s Rescue, which is now on pre-order. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

 

A Mother's Sphere of Influence by Abagail Eldan

While doing research, I came across mention of The Women's National Indian Association (WNIA), formed in 1879. While the WNIA used their influence to encourage the honoring of Indian treaties, and that was certianly a worthy endeavor, they also meddled in the affairs of Native American lives.

Not in all, but in many Native American tribes, the women farmed as well as performed domestic chores. Native American men hunted, fished, and protected the village, often going to war with neighboring tribes, and later, with the European settlers.

The settlers were disconcerted to see Native American women farming the land--a job they viewed as man's work. The WNIA had an agenda. Their approach to the tribes was to encourage more home-centered activities for the women. They wished to teach them, what they believed, was a better way of life. 

Native Americans also differed in European male/female roles in other ways. For example, the inheritance of material goods was through the maternal side. (Remember that America had many Native American tribes and their customs vary greatly. I am speaking in generalities.) 

Also, as we know from many films and TV series, the chief was an older male. But did you know that he was often appointed by a maternal clan? Not only did they put men into power, they could also stip them of power if they became dissatisfied with the job performance. 

By this time in history, in the 1800s, the European view of a woman's sphere of influence had become firmly entrenched, and that sphere resided in her home and family. A popular poem by William Ross Wallace, published in 1865, epitomizes this. 

THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE IS
    THE HAND THAT RULES THE WORLD.

      BLESSINGS on the hand of women! 
        Angels guard its strength and grace. 
      In the palace, cottage, hovel, 
          Oh, no matter where the place; 
      Would that never storms assailed it, 
          Rainbows ever gently curled, 
      For the hand that rocks the cradle 
          Is the hand that rules the world.

      Infancy's the tender fountain, 
          Power may with beauty flow, 
      Mothers first to guide the streamlets, 
          From them souls unresting grow— 
      Grow on for the good or evil, 
          Sunshine streamed or evil hurled, 
      For the hand that rocks the cradle 
          Is the hand that rules the world.

      Woman, how divine your mission, 
          Here upon our natal sod; 
      Keep—oh, keep the young heart open 
          Always to the breath of God! 
      All true trophies of the ages 
          Are from mother-love impearled, 
      For the hand that rocks the cradle 
          Is the hand that rules the world.

      Blessings on the hand of women! 
          Fathers, sons, and daughters cry, 
      And the sacred song is mingled 
          With the worship in the sky— 
      Mingles where no tempest darkens, 
          Rainbows evermore are hurled; 
      For the hand that rocks the cradle 
          Is the hand that rules the world.

 While I am not belittling the mother's role (in my own life, it was second only to my role as wife when my children were growing up), the Bible has many verses admonishing fathers to parent their children. One of my favorites is Deuteronomy 6:6-9:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Fathers, I think we can all agree, should have influence their children's lives at least as much as the mother. People often forget this, as we see by the actions of the WNIA. They pressured Native Americans to adopt the European viewpoint--that of the men as farmers and the women as "keepers of the home," especially regarding the care of their children. 

Mother's Day is nearing, and note that I am not dismissing the great impact mothers have had on their children through the ages. However, that impact may be manifest in ways not obvious to our eyes. Grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends all have roles to play. A mother's influence may be great but it multiplies when others do their part as well.

(Credit to Wikipedia and teachinghistory.org)

Wishing all the mothers out there a happy Mother's Day, a few days early.

Visit me on Amazon. 

My latest book is Joy, Unending, part of the Lockets & Lace series.

Authenticity of Old West Towns

by Cyndi Raye

Working on a new series, I wanted to be as authentic as possible to bring the feel of the Old Western towns alive. Most times it winds up to be the characters that make a town authentic. While researching, I ran into some interesting facts and fodder that I'd like to share with you. 

In my upcoming book, A Bride for Abel, the town's setting lies a few miles south of Alder Gulch, which most people know as Virginia City, Montana. I didn't want to use the actual town of Virginia City in my own story since building my own town is much more fun. So, I took bits and pieces from history to build a fictional place called Pistol Ridge.

One interesting story I read about is concerning a notorious dirty sheriff. Starting in 1863, and throughout the following years, there were many shady characters typical of a boom town. One particular lawman, Henry Plummer, was supposedly as crooked as the day is long. He was alleged to be the brains behind the road agents (a group of criminals who robbed stages, freight wagons and anyone using the road from Virginia City to Nevada City). Mostly, the road agents were men who were too lazy to mine for gold or find legitimate work. Instead, they found other ways to make their fortune. 

In my own story, I had planned to use a sheriff who was not as honorable as the townsfolk thought. When I started doing my research, I was surprised and delighted to find the sheriff of Virginia City also had quite a reputation. 

What do you think? Does he look innocent or guilty?

 Henry Plummer

Since one of my first scenes start out in a saloon, I wanted it to be authentic. The interesting thing I found out and didn't know, was a dance hall girl and a soiled dove are two different people. While proper ladies look down their nose at a dance hall girl, she would never associate with a prostitute. So, what is the difference? 

A dance hall girl doesn't have to become a prostitute. She is hired by the owner to offer dances to the patrons, charging .75 to $1.00 per dance. Afterwards, she steers the patron to the bar, where she talks him into buying them a drink, earning commission on the drinks, also. The irony is her drink is usually tea or colored sugar water since she isn't allowed to imbibe while working. The patron is paying the price for alcohol on both drinks. Does it sound like he is being duped? 

Dance Hall Girl

What about the rules of common courtesy and decency? 

Interestingly, this can get quite complicated. If a man walks into a saloon and begs for a drink claiming he has no money, someone almost always will buy him a drink. On the other hand, if he orders a drink and then tells the barkeep he has no money, he may get himself beat up. 

A man walks into a bar....truly, if he walks into a saloon in the 1800's, if there is a customer standing next to him, he had better buy that man a drink. Did you ever watch an old western and notice how they always seem to buy the man beside him a shot? It is actually considered common courtesy to do so. Now, if the man walks in and ignores the patron beside him, it is also considered bad manners. Men in the old west don't stand for disrespect. 

On the other hand, if a customer is standing at the bar (no bar stools back then), and the patron next to him wants to buy a drink, he had better accept. Refusing can cause harm. It's been told a man or two have been marched through the streets to several different drinking establishments to teach a man some manners. Not sure what this entailed but I'm certain is wasn't pretty.

If you are interested in learning about Virginia City, MT, Laura Joanne Arata, a student at Washington State University wrote a thesis for her Masters of Art. It has tons of information (284 pages) if you like reading history. It can be found here: Thesis of Virginia City, MT

I hope you enjoyed my first post. If you'd love to be introduced to a new series, my book, A Bride for Abel, is set in a town much like Virginia City in 1875. It includes quite the adventure and a rotten sheriff as well. A Bride for Abel is due out November 1st, but you can always check out the other books in The Proxy Bride series awhile.  As of this writing, three of the books are already live. 

Take a look at our exciting new series:

Book #1 A Bride for Jeremiah is live

     Book #2 A Bride for Clay is live

1. Book #3 A Bride for Nathan is live
   
   
   Book #4 A Bride for Abel is live

Ethnic Valentine’s Day Customs

When I started writing When My Heart Knew aimed for a Valentine’s-themed call for submissions, I knew I wanted to include a holiday custom from the heritage of one of the main characters. So I started in on my research. Because this story would also take place in the setting of two other recent stories I'd created, I wanted the heritage different than what I’d used for those characters. Vevina, my heroine in Wandering Home is Irish, and Kell the hero is Norwegian. My heroine in Storybook Hero is of French descent, and for Trevor the hero, the subject doesn’t come up but I thought of him as a generic mix of Northern European.

I chose Scotland as the home country for hero Dylan MacInnes where he lived for the first twenty years of his life until immigrating to his uncle’s T-south Texas ranch five years earlier. So he was raised around the lore and customs taught by beloved family members from both his Scottish father and his Welsh mother. The tradition from his mother’s family he wishes to carry forward into the budding relationship he has with the heroine, Maisie Treadwell, is that of the lovespoon. The item is tangible evidence of his romantic intent-the wood carving displays his abilities, and the symbols indicate promises he’s making or represent special aspects or events of the couple’s relationship. For example: bells were for marriage, cross for faith, heart for love, horseshoe for luck, lock for security, and wheel for supporting a loved one.

I was quite happy with how I worked this tradition into the storyline.

BLURB:  For When My Heart Knew in Cowboy Kisses anthology from Prairie Rose Publications

Tomboy Maisie Treadwell meets her match in cowboy Dylan MacInnes. From the moment they meet, the sparks and words fly. Of course, if she hadn’t knocked him down and caused an ankle sprain, their relationship might have gone more smoothly. To avoid damaging the reputation of the family’s boarding house, Maisie is ordered to be at the mercy of meeting Dylan’s demands. When they discover a shared interest in adventure stories, a bond is struck. Soon, Maisie can’t wait to spend time reading aloud to the virile man confined to a bed. Until the afternoon she overhears him explaining that his demands were meant to teach her a lesson. Can Dylan find a way to gain her trust again?

 

Other authors with titles in the anthology are:

C. Marie Bowen, Lorrie Farrelly, Tanya Hanson, Gail L. Jenner, Kristy McCaffrey, Gil McDonald, and Beverly Wells

For more information on this and my other titles, go to my website

New Release! Cate Corrals a Cattleman

Cate Corrals a Cattleman, book 6 in the Brides with Grit Series is now available! It was fun to write the mother's story this time. Cate has helped her children find love with the right spouse, so now it was her turn.

Here's the story line.
A clean, sweet western romance, set in 1873. Widowed ranch woman Cate Wilerson’s four children are now all married and she’s enjoying being a grandma. But, she’s only in her forties, so she could be married again for many years. Cate’s ready to tie the knot again and she has already picked her groom.

Cattleman Isaac Connely bought a ring for Cate almost thirty years ago, but Moses Wilerson, a friend to both of them, asked Cate to marry him first. After serving in the Civil War, Isaac followed the Wilersons to Kansas and builds a cattle empire with his inheritance. He respected Cate’s and Moses’ marriage, comforted her through the loss of her husband and remained a friend of the Wilerson family.

Now he’s ready to propose—with the same ring—but someone from his past appears on his doorstep, dredging up a dark secret making him doubt his worth to be Cate’s husband.

Can Cate let go of past hurts and help Isaac realize he is not to blame, so he will finally ask her to marry him?
You'll have to read Cate Corrals a Cattleman to find out what's in store for this middle-aged couple. Love can happen at any age!

Thanks for stopping by to enjoy today's Sweet Americana Sweethearts blog.

Linda Hubalek

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