Paris Fashions of the 1890s: A Picture Sourcebook with 350 Designs, Including 24 in Full Color

This book is a good source for 1890's women's fashion embellishment. It gives excellent examples of the wide use of lace, ribbon, buttons, embroidery, feathers, and flowers. It is not, however, a useful resource for studying the structure of the garments. The period illustrations will not give a clear idea of the construction of the clothing to anyone who is not already familiar with the fashions of the period.

From the days of John Adams, his wife, Abigail, commented in David McCullough's book about those times, how impressed she was with the fashions of the day in Paris and England at the time, but would never have worn such fashion here in America. The reasons she gave in her letters were that 1)America was mostly "puritans," and/or 2) poor so that much of the European fashion industry was alien to this country where women had to make do with simpler garments. Over the years, it's possible we have not had a clear vision of what constitutes female fashion to its fussiest and frilliest advantage. What little there was in the 1920's 1940's gave way to the men's wear fashions of today where women are taught to compete with men by wearing similar styles, sadly. The ability to manufacture more cheaply now could encourage a revival of designs that challenged Americans throughout her history that the times now may be right for, though not necessarily a return to Victorian times. "Play clothes," especially for women could be much more imaginative and fun, and perhaps women deserve that privilege without having to dress like men even while competing with them in business. Should femininity be so restrained as to make women anomalous and obscure in 2002 as to be nearly a uniform?