 
							
					
															
					
					 by Kristin Holt | May 12, 2016 | Articles
Victorian-era Americans (both men and women) had ready access to commercially prepared human hair pieces. Women wore them to achieve the style of the day without cutting their hair or to achieve the fullness and length considered stylish and desirable when their own hair couldn’t grow to such amazing lengths. Mail-order catalogs of the period provided a wide variety of products, appealing to men and women alike, including products purported to restore gray hair to the color of youth.
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Kristin Holt | Jan 30, 2016 | Articles
How did 19th century folks go about ordering something from Montgomery Ward or Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogues? How was payment sent? What about delivery options?
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Kristin Holt | Jan 27, 2016 | Articles
I’ve read books where the intrepid hero has to reuse brown paper the mercantile owner used to wrap a purchase in order to leave the heroine an all-important note. I read another novel where a would-be bride’s employer deducted the cost of paper and envelope from her wages. Was paper that expensive? Did expense translate to scarcity?
				
					
			
					
											
								 
							
					
															
					
					 by Kristin Holt | May 12, 2015 | Articles
Corsets are synonymous with the Victorian Era and well-dressed ladies. Corsets were worn by women… and men, adolescent girls, and even children. Maternity corsets existed as did nursing corsets. Unbelievable!