It was a time of change in the strictures of society and clothing. Fashion was changing from a tightly corseted waist to a more cylindrical look. Yes, corsets were still required, but they were now long-line rather than the breath-stealing, waist-cinching corsets of previous fashion trends.
While good old Google is fabulous for research, there is nothing like the real thing, and I was lucky enough this week to go to a free fashion exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in my hometown of Melbourne. My researchers heart did a little jump for joy when I spotted a few original examples of dresses from the Belle Epoch.Now, when my heroine is at a formal dinner and meets the hero for the first time, I can describe in perfect detail the French gown she excitedly bought on her last shopping expedition. She can be as taken as I was with the fine detailing and delicate fabrics.
The suffragette movement kicked into high gear around this time, when women fought for the right to vote into their own hands and showed men that would no longer be quiet home-bodies. That many of them, out of necessity, were now a part of the workforce and were entitled to divorce a drunken husband and keep custody of their children). While my heroine is from the upper class of society, so many of those women of privilege were very vocal in their support of their fellow females. I can now picture Sophronia in her striped day dress, with a purple, green and white sash over one shoulder, in defiance of her horrified parents.
I'm pretty sure I would have been a supporter of the movement, although I doubt I could have gone to the extremes of going on a hunger strike in jail and being force-fed, or throwing myself in front of a barrage of galloping horses at Ascot. I would love to have been Sophronia's friend and be in the privileged position of having a comfortable life and beautiful clothes, of meeting her sexy hero who discovers her secret life as a French postcard model but supports her desire to assert her independence.
While I love the times we live in today, and I'd be extremely reluctant to not have the luxuries, conveniences and freedoms we have - it would be kinda fun to (temporarily) immerse myself in the time that was the birth of a lot of what we take for granted today.
Catch up on all Andra's writing news in her bi-monthly newsletter 'The Naughty Corner' (and get an exclusive copy of 'The Biker and the Ballerina'). Subscribe here.
5 comments:
Gret post, Andra. I find that time period interesting, too. Sophronia sounds fascinating!
Thanks for the education on the Belle Epoch, Andrea. I wasn't aware of it with regard to fashion although I certainly am aware of the suffragette movement.
I also love the fashions of that era - more forgiving for those of us with curvy bits, hehe. And the era itself was exciting, advancements in all fields, before the Great War destroyed so many lives. Your Sophronia (love the name!) sounds like quite a character.
Nice post. The Belle Epoch era was definitely an exciting time for women--including suffrage--and particularly in Australia. I do like the fashions of that time, particularly the empire waistline which I wish was in fashion today. :)
Special shout out for Australia giving the right for women to vote early in 1902 (the 2nd country in the world after New Zealand 1893). Even before 1902, parts of Australia--South Australia (1894) and Western Australia (1899) passed legislation for women's suffrage.
The U.S. took eighteen more years (1920) before the Nineteenth amendment was ratified by all states.
On the downside for both countries, Australia didn't give aborigines the right to vote (male or female) until 1962.
And in the U.S., though blacks weren't explicitly denied voting rights, after the emancipation proclamation, they were heavily impacted by Jim Crow laws and poll taxes until a supreme court ruling in 1964 to stop those practices.
What fun to see this exhibit! It is an amazing time in history for women. Let us know when your book comes out. Sounds like a great story.
Post a Comment