Gowns From 1800 to 2013

I've love using Pinterest as a way to collect pictures of clothing for my characters. My first story was set in 1857 and my second was set in 1898, but I've been gathering images from numerous eras.

I thought it would be fun to watch the amazing transformation women's gowns have taken from 1800 to 2013.

It was interesting for me to find that somewhere around 1930 designers started modifying designs from previous generations and "updating" them. The trend has continued to this day. Since 2000 it's hard to determine what the "style" has been. It's such a combination of many eras.

I was also surprised to find that some gowns were only slightly modified from one decade to another, but there are a few decades that changed drastically (such as the 1910s to 1920s).

Here are some of my favorite gowns from the past two hundred years.

c. 1800

c. 1810

c. 1820

c. 1830

c. 1840

c. 1850

 

c. 1860

c. 1870

c. 1880

c. 1890

c. 1900

c. 1910

c. 1920

c. 1930

c. 1940

c. 1950

c. 1960

c. 1970

c. 1980

c. 1990

c. 2000

c. 2010

Your Turn: What is your favorite era? If you could choose, which gown would you bring back?

Using Pinterest

 

I have to admit, when my sister first told me about Pinterest, I was a bit leery. She's a professional interior designer and she kept telling me how wonderful Pinterest was for sharing decorating ideas.

Don't get me wrong, I like a pretty house, and I think I do a fairly good job decorating, but I'm not in her league. I definitely don't spend my free time dreaming about color swatches or fabric weaves. Actually, my husband and I are the type of people who paint a room once, place the furniture and then don't change a thing for years.

So it took a little cajoling to convince me Pinterest was for me. What finally sold me was when she told me about all the great recipes she was finding.

Excited for a few new dinner ideas, I signed up, went online - and then I froze! All those DIY projects, cute outfits, craft ideas and homemade tips just made me feel like I could NEVER measure up! For some people, looking at all those pictures makes you feel energized - but, for me, it just made me feel tired.

It was months later when I finally had a revelation! I could use Pinterest for my writing. I was researching 1850's clothing and came across some beautiful dresses, so I thought: instead of saving the links in my favorites bar, I could just pin them to Pinterest!

I started a board for each decade (1850's, 1860's, 1870's, etc.), for character ideas, and for historical items. I've actually had a lot of fun with it!

A few weeks ago I read a blog post by one of the Books & Such agents about using social media to help build our platforms. One of the suggestions the agent gave me was to make a board for each of my books. I could pin pictures of the characters, their clothing, the setting, little odds and ends that make my story unique - so that's just what I did!

Here is the link to my Pinterest board entitled: Enticing Julia Morgan - Book.

I plan to add more to the board, but I wanted to get it started to draw some interest - and it worked! I had a message from someone who follows my Pinterest account and she said she's excited to read Enticing Julia Morgan now!

Another thing I've used Pinterest for is to draw people to my blog. I post recipes here periodically, and then pin them to my Favorite Recipes board. It has drawn hundreds of people that wouldn't have visited otherwise.

Your Turn: What ways have you thought to use Pinterest? If you're not on Pinterest, what keeps you away?