Finishing touches

Historical novels are all about the details, and there is nothing so easy to get wrong or bypass altogether as accessories of dress. Part of the problem is that things like shawls and reticules are not as abundantly “written up” in costuming books as entire dresses. Instead, they’re consigned to footnotes or collector’s catalogues where price at auction is more relevant than how they were worn. A shame, because how and when such items were used are an easy touchstone for the writer when getting into a character’s physical presence. Your heroine is going to feel very different wearing a knitted shawl versus a silk mantelette versus a foxfur stole.

Hence I was thrilled to find Ladies Vintage Accessories: Identification & Value Guide (Laree Johnson Bruton) at the library. I took it to my hairdressing appointment and nearly lost it to the staff, who loved the elegant hats and bags from the Forties and Fifties. The book focuses on the author’s collection, which dates from late Victorian and through the Twentieth Century with a lot of North American content. Many of the illustrations are from period advertising and give excellent social context for the accessories. If you’re writing Dieselpunk, there’s some nice pieces here.

My favourite tidbit from the book:

Glove length is measured by button lengths, which equals about one button per inch. The measure starts from the base of the thumb and goes up toward the elbow. Wrist-length gloves are one-button gloves. Eight buttons are for a deep gauntlet. Twelve get you to the elbow. Sixteen buttons are over the elbow and up the arm.