Wednesday 7 May 2008
Ladies Costumes in the Nineteen Twenties
by Mrs Lee Ault
For our Ladies Lunch in May 2008 we were delighted to welcome Mrs. Lee Ault (shown left). She is a costume historian, a member of the Costume Society and a curator of the Dickens's House Museum, Broadstairs, Kent. She is also a Joint Honorary General Secretary of the International Dickens's Fellowship (website below), which has some 8,000 members.
Lee has lectured at the Tate Gallery, Imperial War Museum and has been responsible for costume workshops at English Heritage. On this occasion her audience numbered about 60 Probus Club of Ewell members and their friends (photographs are here), who enjoyed a very professional presentation covering a wealth of clothing of the 1920 -30s mainly dealing with lady wear but covering children's garments and indeed male apparel.
Lee came in a vintage gown of the period with her numerous exhibits in a carefully packed Victorian vintage travel trunk and proceeded to produce garment after garment in almost a magicians manner, each then explained and displayed with appropriate comments that had the membership in fits of laughter. A typical remark when covering the section on Bras we had this off hand comment, "in the rag trade the fittings were humorously known as the cups were egg cups, teacups, breakfast cups and challenge cups!!"
Lee set the scene about the period she would cover, the clothes of these two hectic decades in between the two world wars are set against a background of the 1926 General Strike, The Wall Street Crash (The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, economists and historians disagree as to what role the crash played in subsequent economic, social, and political events. The crash in America came near the beginning of the Great Depression, a period of economic decline in the industrialized nations especially the UK) and The Jarrow Hunger Marches with work houses always in the background, where the English landowners and gentry were extremely rich whilst the working majority were very poor almost slaves.
The clothes of the 1920s reflect the new found freedom that some women found by working in the 1st World War (1914-18) filling many of the male occupations as the menfolk had been called to serve in the military.
The clothes were loose and shapeless even worse they were short and see-through by 1925 the waist dropped to the hips and the hemline rose to the knees or above, to go with these loose styles the dances were very fast and free with names such as the black bottom, the turkey trot, the shimmy and or course the Charleston.
By contrast the 30s clothes were more styled and elegant evening dresses were long and flowing for dances like the Foxtrot they were also long with day wear very tailored at this time to be tall with a neat hairstyle and a feminine figure was fashionable the gentle men wearing white tie top hat and tails when he took a lady out dining and dancing.
This was a most enlightening presentation with many fads such as the step in knickers, roll-ons, roll up, liberty bodices, covered with examples from Lee's collection, much of the above script has been produced by Lee for which we are most grateful.
The vote of thanks given by Ken Robinson showed our appreciation of the presentation, although when Ken drifted into his expert knowledge or was it his experiences of ladies nightwear the membership became delirious!, but all ended well as this was just a slip of the tongue and we all agreed with Ken that this was indeed a delightful summation of the Ladies lunch and showed our appreciation in our usual way, thank you Lee.
Award of Excellence 2008.................More
Welcome to the home page of the Dickens House Museum. http://www.dickenshouse.co.uk/museum.htm
Once the home of Miss Mary Pearson Strong, on whom Charles Dickens based much of the character of Miss Betsey Trotwood in his novel David Copperfield, this building has been adapted as a museum to commemorate the novelist's association with the town of Broadstairs.The parlour is refurbished as described by Dickens and illustrated by H. K. Browne (Phiz). Some of the author's own letters and memorabilia are on display. Around the house there are fascinating old prints of local and Dickensian interest as well as costumes and Victoriana.
Dickens House Museum, 2 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QS
Hon. Curator Lee Ault
Telephone +44 (0) 1843 861232
Fax +44 (0) 1843 863453
E-mail Dickens House Museum l.ault@btinternet.com
"The Club accepts no responsibility for any statement, views, opinions of whatsoever nature expressed or given above which is just a summary of a talk given to the Club and does not necessarily reflect those of the Club or its members."
