Did you have to remove the blayeuse when walking inside a house? Like "take of your dirty shoes at the entrance" there is a stand of blayeuse holders next to the door 😂 Or put another "inside house" blayeuse on top of the dirty one? 😂
That’s probably part of why they had “walking” dresses, riding habits, day dresses, morning dresses, etc. It seems they changed dresses every time they went out? At least the upper class.
Garments like these are only worn during evening and special events. So if a woman is wearing a trained dress to someone’s house. It’s more than likely for a ball or dinner. No you wouldn’t remove a Balayeuese while in someone’s home lol. It’s underneath the skirt. It would be improper etiquette and public indecency. More than likely will ruin your social life. After the event, once back in the privacy of your own home. Then will you have your servant remove the Balayeuse for cleaning.
@@meganrae2508 Middle to upper class women changed according to the time of day and event. You’re are correct. It was just considered proper etiquette. Walking dresses for when going out in public or making calls to someone’s house. Wrappers for in the boudoir, tea gowns to lounge in and receive guests. Afternoon attire, evening attire, dinner gown, gowns for the opera, gowns for balls. Dresses for sports, and riding. The minimum amount of garments of middle to upper class woman would need, would be about 4.
@@soheesweetheartimagine appearing at a ball in the same dress every time? I suppose the really wealthy had more than one ball gown. but they wouldn't have worn a completely new gown for every single ball. these days you cannot attend weddings in a gown you've worn at a previous wedding, and we wonder why we have issues with fast fashion. society really needs to change our thinking around rewearing outfits. we also need to bring back the pretty gowns of the 19th century, because most dresses these days are boring 😂
My grandmother was born in the 1890's and had to wear the long dresses and the underwear with the slit in them for going to the bathroom. She told me when I was very young not to romanticize those clothes. She said they were awful and one thing she specifically spoke about was how dirty the bottom of the skirts were. She said they were so hot and because of what was proper for that time buttons were buttoned and sleeves were long. Her hair was so long and heavy and she wore it up when she became of the age when young girls were old enough to "wear their up". She said it gave her terrible headaches and she hated it. Needless to say when the Roaring Twenties came about, she was in her early twenties and she adopted some of the flappers' fashions. Her dresses became shorter, she wore teddys versus pantaloons, and that "damned" hair got cut off to a bob. I have one professional photo of her from the 30's and she was beautiful to me. I wish she were around to tell me, my daughter and my grandson those wonderful tales from her childhood and young adulthood. For reference, I am 71 so I am old enough to have a grandmother that lived through those years.
Yes, fashion is just something some guy (usually a male “designer” thinks up) and then women are dumb enough to wear with much problems, or as your poor GMA was Forced to wear back in those old days. Look at high heel! WTH are today’s women trying to prove? Not me thank you. I wear comfortable beach or exercise wear here in my home state of Florida… and flip flops 😂
People in that time did not dispose of things. There were people that hand washed and pressed everything for the rich. My mom used to wash and press for wealthy people. She used an iron that opened up and you put hot coal inside. They also soaked or sprayed in starch depending on how hard you wanted the clothes.
@@ElliLavenderthis is something that still happens in parts of the world, maybe not the coal iron but some women still work washing and ironing other people's clothes
My great-grandmother was a ladies' lady. She didn't wear those dresses herself, she said that they were too impractical. But she did have to care for her lady's clothing. One of the most important things, she said, is not to try to wash dirt or mud out. Hang it, let it dry completely, and then brush it out. She said the lighter the colour, the more important this is. I got mud on a pair of white trousers once. I tried this. It worked brilliantly.
THANK YOU for sharing this!! It makes total sense, the dirt would sit on top of the fibers, but we instinctively mush them all in there 😅 this is such a useful tip!
It really was the very classiest time in history, as far as public attire goes. The 1940s also saw people caring about their clothing. I wish everyone would dress up in today's world! It would lift A LOT of spirits!!
@@leslie4351can u imagine walking in something so long on today's buildings, streets full of traffic etc.? Any spirit that those clothes would lift up would've been lifted down by how uncomfortable and messy it would get. I mean look outside - today's streets are so dirty, u could sometimes feel afraid to wear a pair of new clean shoes, let alone a long sweeping gown. Not to mention u would prob tear that gown's skirt apart wearing it outside on a daily basis.
@@maddieb.4282I think they’re implying that the servant would scrub them clean, I think. “How did their hems not get dirty?” They would get dirty, they just had people they paid to clean it!
@@Kimmie9553 yes, a bit of both. Sometimes they had people to carry their trains, and sometimes they just paid people to clean them. But it’s still interesting that there were also “skirt aprons” to help out with the problem as well. For every problem that fashion throws our way, someone comes up with a solution. Soft shoes getting muddy? Create pattens to lift your shoes up out of the mud! Ridiculously long toe points making it hard to walk? Curl them upwards, or even tie them to your leg using a decorative cord. 😁
@@maddieb.4282 no, they didn’t have people walking behind them ALL the time. But sometimes they did that, and sometimes they just had their servants do the laundry. Either way, the rich person didn’t have to think too much about the impracticality of the garment, because they had enough money not to care how impractical it was.
My great aunt had a decorative silver device that attacked to the belt /girdle of such long dresses. It had a clip that attached to raise the hem for walking outdoors.
They also made knitted covers to keep fireplace soot and other dirt off their furniture, but when these things themselves became too elaborate and decorative, they had to make covers for the covers. So the answer to dirt seems to have been "add more fabric" generally, not just for dresses.
This is also a mark of ones class to know you will need a balayeuse for your train ss even if you wore the wedding dress once, its traditional amongst the upper classes that you would want to hand it down to the next-generation and would to preserve the integrity of the dress.
@AstaDarling ...Something similar to the blayeuse is employed for sarees....it is about a 7inch wide length of cotton (color matched to the saree) that is basted allong the bottom edges that get contact with footwear+dirt whilst walking.
Well, she said « ou », instead of « eu ». But it’s totally fine because french is way too hard for no reason. Anyway, french-speaking people knew what she meant and it’s totally fine 😌
@@Bakerygo seeing how english and french have difficult sounds in each language for the other one she did alright the eu sound is tricky and if she had gotten this part right i think it would have been clearer for us to get the word without seeing it in the subtitles
This concern was only for the poor women. Rich women had money to have others clean or replace their clothing. This was a sign of wealth. Working women had short hems for day to day wearing. I think this was also how white gloves became fashionable again in the mid-20th century. White gloves meant you didn't have to work with your hands and it offered protection for steering your car (power steering wasn't available then) if your husband was rich enough to buy a 2nd one.
Exactly. Poorer women definitely did not wear dresses with trains. They also didn't wear hoopskirts, bustles or any petticoats. Those were impractical luxury items they simply couldn't afford.
@@MrsWilberforce2They did wear all those things though? They were expected to wear them because even the poorest people wanted to emulate the popular silhouette and it was just apart of daily clothing in that era. There are loads of images of working class women working in petticoats which were 100% worn to get the shape and crinolines and bustles. They weren’t luxury items at all There were loads of second hand stalls and people would invest in them just like they did in proper corsets bc they were essentials.
I’ve always been into different time periods. Like Medieval, Colonial, French Revolution, Victorian, 1940s-early 1960s and of course, the 80s. My “Walt Disney” dream would be if they could build a theme park like EPCOT but instead of worlds, it would be time periods. The hotels you could stay in would either offer rooms like they were in that time period or today. Attractions would be the most interesting things of those times. The people who work in each “era” would be dressed and act like the time period, like they do in EPCOT. Food, some of the favorites from those times and also foods we have today. I think that would be so cool. We could all learn new things, experience life of those before us and just have a really cool experience. Anyone think this sounds awesome?
I'd vacation there every year! I've always wondered why aren't there wild West towns for folks to actually live like it was over a hundred & fifty years ago?! I'd move there for sure!
@@leslie4351 I’m glad someone else thinks it’d be a cool place to go. Now if I can only find investors. There aren’t any old west type towns you can go to? I feel like there has to be. Maybe one day it’ll happen but someone else will get rich off of it because that’s how my life goes.
I would love that. I would also love to dress up like that for a day, including the corset, perhaps to even go to a ball to watch Cinderella meet Prince Charming before the clock struck twelve!!! Oh to be an extra at that moment!!!
I always assumed there was a protective layer down there but this is the first time I have seen it explained. Thank you! Also that pink gown was a masterpiece in confectionery design ☺️💕
You'd also wear different hem lengths for different occasions - you wouldn't be having a chill day at home or a trip to the marker with an elaborate train.
Thank you for teaching me something new today! I try to learn something new daily. I love the Victorian Era, as well, so this is like a double win for learning today. Lol Ps: Your dress is BEAUTIFUL!
Alot lf garments that were worn regularly were whool wich had natural dirt repelling amd water repelling properties and people wore a lot of underlayers to too so theyre skin and sweat never cam in contact so the fabrics werent washed often
I work in a warehouse for a department store chain. Gown hems can get dirty before storing and shipping. Kinda wish they came with a belayeuse from the manufacturer.
Reminds me of those microfibre socks that look like soft hedgehogs, which claim that they help you cut down cleaning time by sweeping the floor as you walk around the house. The truth is that you only walk in a habitual pattern that excludes the dustiest corners, and when you go to bed at night you forget to take the broom socks off and just dump all the mess straight into bed instead…
I've always wondered about the girls in China wearing traditional clothes in daily life. they are absolutely beyond stunning, but a lot of them are made from chiffon with beautiful long draping sleeves. I don't know how they don't wreck them on the first day!
A common phrase for me on ren-fairs is 'careful your standing on her dress/train' or 'don't move they are standing on your dress/train' when i am looking at stalls. most ladies with long dresses put a little loop so they can lift the dress is it's very dirty where they walk 🤣
always wondered this, thank you! especially in GOT everyone would just walk around with mud and water and shit caked on the bottom of their dresses or covers and every time i thought my god how do they ever get it clean again
@@MrsWilberforce2Ever hear of lifting the hem of your skirt? Plenty of photos during this period,( Gilded Age), or the turn of the century, fearure women walking on the streets holding up the back of their hems. People did not comport themselves in the same manner as folks do today when it comes to clothing. There was a manner of wearing these garments.
In a book I'm reading about single women throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the author says that mud at the bottom of the hem on aristocratic/wealthy women's dresses meant that they were doing what they ought to be doing (going out, promenading, coming home). Pretty interesting
Yes because if they were out instead of sending a maid or servant girl running errands for them, also a status symbol that they had the wealth to clean or dispose of that piece of fabric and that they had multiple garments to wear while something else was being cleaned! Very interesting how much fashion can tell about the time period!
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH !! IM AN OLE' MAN ,,and for about 40 years I've had the question ! Streets were dirt m9stly there were horses everywhere and a lady would walk across street in long dresses, why they didn't male lady's dresses shorter !! Thank you !!
So the ladies that had these long ball gowns with trains only used them in their own homes for dinner or on special occasions like a ball. If they had to travel to the event, they had carriages & foot men to clean up any messes before they entered or left the carriage. A walking, visiting or day dress (I forgot the name) IS abit shorter and doesn't have a train. It was used to run errands or visit with friends. Please understand that these women had a different dress for everything they did and would change their clothes SEVERAL times a day. I hope this answers your question.
@@davedahowell8694Thank you for pointing out what I pointed out earlier. Women did not wear the same dress all day. Women wore different dresses for whatever function they were attending to. Only the poorest would wear the same dress throughout the whole day. People have to consider how folks lived back then and to stop looking at this era through the lens of present day standards. The mode of walking through streets barely dressed, as many do today, would have had one summarily arrested for public indecency. No one would have dreamed of such an offense.
Many years ago I asked this question of a very old lady who was born in 1870. She said the skirts they wore for everyday (not dresses) did get muddy at the bottom and that had to be dried off, then it was removed with a small hard brush which was kept attached to the waist. She recalled that the first thing she had to do when visiting a friend was always to dry the mud, then brush it off. She came from a wealthy background but told me she always did this herself when visiting to prevent the dirt from building up.
I have always wondered about that when watching a costume drama especially when you see the really beautiful fabrics I'm like no pick up your dress there's a puddle coming !! thank you ♡
Wow I learned something new today! This was actually a question I had asked myself, too; so it’s good to know the answer now😂😂. That fashion is just so beautiful, so sad this is not worn anymore except by Miss Darling of course!❤❤
There was no "REady To WEar" with these types of dresses. You had to have a dress like this specifically made to fit your body. Therefore if you could afford this type of dress, you also had a maid that would help you get dressed and undressed as well as personally clean your soiled gown or give it to a laundress for cleaning.
When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert organized their expo in the Crystal Palace there were concerns about ticket stubs and other refuse being dropped and littering the floor so to fix it the builders set the floorboards with a small gap between them so ladies skirts could sweep the litter into those gaps with their skirts
It's a balayeuse (not blayeuse, I think that was a typo in a previous comment) and it's what my mom called her Electrolux vacuum cleaner..in the 60'-70's.:))) now known as "aspirateur"😉
I kinda feel like life back in the days were so hard.. Just dressing up to go outside and grab a cup of coffee or to take a walk would take so much time and energy
Was wearing this down to ground full length skirt in a really dirty weather one day and this old old lady started yelling at me to get a shorter skirt, because it will get dirty and that seemed to be good enough reason for her to demand I wore short skirt, so I walked straight through a mudpool just to irk her. She gasped and went on a long tirade on how on how disobedient these girls are while i continued my walk home like nothing had happened. It was actually super easily cleaned, but she didn't have to know, but the look on her face was priceless!
Every time you say you're not connected you're completely accurate LOL my Venus is in cancer, you pegged it exactly. He is a Libra, as you said, you mentioned fire I'm a leo with a lot of Sagittarius in my chart. and he is not moving forward even though I know he cares, went through divorce not too long ago. I was waiting but can't anymore
Reminds me of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth walked through a muddy field to get to her sick sister. Though I think her outer dress was muddy too but she didn't care😊
Yep perfectly showed how her family wasn’t quite right according to social standards, and how she rebelled against social norms. Should’ve sent her with the carriage or she should’ve immediately changed her clothes before being presented to the host.
The pink dress at the beginning reminded me of the Royal High Goddess of Triumph dress that was used to raise money and awareness for people with cancer!
That gown that appears to have sun rays and almost oriental looking clouds is breathtaking. And I usually don’t care for Victorian gowns at all since I, admittedly, have no taste and only like whatever I’m used to seeing on people. But that one? Literally looks like it could’ve come off of a Milan Fashion Week runway.
Correct about my Libra LOL we do have a telepathic connection. And yes the Divine masculine and divine feminine are balancing out their healing and mirroring each other
