Even more details....
Posted by JennieC on November 06, 1997 at 22:51:06:
In response to Those "fichu" things again! I found something..., written by JennieC on November 05, 1997 at 12:46:08
This really is a fun book. Ashelford looks at how society and work affected dress, and how fashion affected manners. It always fascinates me to see how fashion really does revolve. The tight waists of the 1680s come back round again 250-300 years later. The waistline goes up and down and back up again. Wonderful to see it through the art and photography in this book. I give the publishing info below, so you should be able to find it pretty easily. Our little town library had it.
Caroline, I believe you're right about my previous post. The item listed in the previous quote would have been more of a partial shirt than a fichu. Here's a mention of the "scarf-like" accessory (from page 178):
Luckily there were garments that offered some protection against the cold. One was a 'bosom friend', a kind of tippet that protected the bare throat and chest.... That these garments were needed even on summer days is evident from two entries in Parson Woodforde's diary. In June 1799 he wrote: 'Though June, it was very cold indeed today, so cold that Mrs Custance came walking in her Spencer with a Bosom-friend.' A July day in 1802 must have been even colder, for on that occasion she arrived 'in a fur tippet, a bosom friend and a Muff and a Winter Cloke'.
I love the name "Bosom Friend." Makes perfect sense, does it not? Jennie
Information from The Art of Dress: Clothes and Society 1500-1914 by Jane Ashelford. The National Trust/ Laura Ashley/ Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.
