On 6/7/2010 10:47 AM, R Lloyd Mitchell wrote:
My nineteenth dC dresses have buttons or hooks and eyes, center front.?
One has a left side closure with HandE.? Middle class women of the ordinary sort?
often could not count on help getting dressed and so front closures were independence.
I've never understood the common "no one around to help her dress" statement. The person to help you dress could be a mother, sister, husband, or servant--the middle classes often had servants, even if there was no lady's maid per se. Yes, it was easier to dress with front fastenings, but that does not mean it was insurmountably difficult without them.
Fran Lavolta Press Books on historic clothing www.lavoltapress.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
