Girls have Always Loved to be Girls

This week, a friend and I went to the local art museum to see an exhibit of Italian art. Not only did I get to see the La Bella portrait that I mentioned in an earlier post, but they also had a replica of her famous blue dress and prints of other paintings from the time period. One of the many things that stood out to us was the women’s clothing and hair.

“Women back then wore such pretty closes,” I told my friend. “Can you imagine how long it must have taken to get dressed in the morning?”

I tried to imagine putting on all those layers. Several of the women, including La Bella, had intricate hairstyles that obviously involved a lot of braiding and twisting. Then came the accessories—strings of beads, jewels, and furs.

“Look at her,” My friend said when we finally stood in front of the La Bella portrait that was saved for the end. “It’s obvious from her stance that she was a very confident woman.” We talked about how strong-but-feminine she looked. I wondered if part of her confidence came from feeling pretty in that blue dress, with her hair done perfectly.

It struck me as I considered how long ago she lived, that God clearly created women with a natural desire to feel pretty. Today, instead of sewing gowns lined with gold thread and braiding our waist-length hair before arranging it delicately around our heads, we choose favorite fashions, wear make-up, and style our hair in ways that make us feel good about ourselves. A bad day can often be remedied by a pedicure. Face it; few things lift our spirits like knowing we look nice.

Does this mean women are shallow and only care about our looks? Not at all. I think it means that we enjoy being who God made us to be—girls. What a fun privilege!

Each of us has our own list of things that makes us feel pretty. I, for example, love jewelry, especially if it’s delicate and looks slightly antique. I enjoy having naturally curly hair. While I like to wear jeans and boots, my clothing style is definitely feminine. I feel best when I know I’m wearing a color that people say I look good in. (Since I don’t see in color, my friends are nice enough to tell me.)

What about you? What makes you feel pretty? Why do you think women enjoy dressing up and looking our best? What blessing do we enjoy by being girls?

Dressing the Part

Clothes. We probably all give some thought to this subject at least once a day, right? I love clothes, and with Halloween coming, my first thought isn't scarfing up the mini-chocolate bars that the trick-or-treaters leave behind ... uh-uh, it's "Oh boy, I get to dress up!"

This carries over into my writing life, too. Over the years, it's become part of my process to get into the clothes that my main character would wear. For a while, I tried writing Regency historicals, so I went and got the Regency dress pattern from La Mode Bagatelle and made an afternoon dress and an evening gown. You would be astonished at the insight you get into a character from wearing her clothes. That Regency corset made this body do things it had never done before, LOL!

And when I made a Victorian ballgown, suddenly I knew why mothers of that period insisted that a lady's spine should never touch the back of a chair. Um, it can't. In a corset, you can't slouch. And in a bustle, you have to sit on the edge of the seat. So your spine literally can't touch the back of the chair no matter how hard you try. But I have to say, my posture was great. But I understood in those clothes just how confining they are--bending over or going to um, the ladies room, is an effort that takes careful concentration. And girls back then used to play tennis in their corsets! My hat is off to them.

Now I'm moving into Amish fiction under a new name (Adina Senft), so what did I do? Yep, I went on eBay and ordered a set of Amish clothes (who knew you could do that? I love technology). I got a glimmer of the "plain" mindset, which doesn't use buttons. You pin your dress together with straight pins, and pin the apron and cape on. You pin the prayer covering on your hair. Suddenly I have new and interesting details to write into my story--details that other women who are interested in clothes might be interested in learning.

Clothes say a lot about a character. What do yours say about you?

Love,
Shelley