In her own white room, where Marilla had set a flowering house rose on the window sill, Anne looked about her and drew a long breath of happiness.

   Some people, like me, are very effected by environment. We need orderliness and cleanliness in order to function at our best. For me beauty is also important in influencing my mood and the quality of my work.

 How could I write you lovely things when my writing space was filled with chaos!

So I changed my room from this

     To This-

   

           I hope my writing reflects the peace and beauty of my new space.

Gibson Girl Inspired Thrifting

Hello!
   
         Today is the first day of my new blogging schedule.  I will now be posting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monday and Wednesday will be installments of different series I have started and Friday will just be some photos I've taken that week.

  Today I am very excited to show you this sweater I recently found in a secondhand store. I had set out looking for something that reminded  me of a Gibson girl. I wanted it to be sturdy and well made with a touch of formality. Even the casual style of those days would be considered formal today , so you see in order to imitate the fashion you must look neat and well put together.

   Now, the Gibson Girl was part of the first generation of women to really compete in physical sports that previously had only been played by men.  There was alot of school sports and a general spirit of friendly competition in ladies colleges. This of course  influenced style creating a sporty collegian look. I thought this sweater captured a bit of that old fashioned school spirit. The sweater is comfy yet very well made and the different details add that aforementioned formality.

 So that's it for today. On Wednesday I will show you what I've been up to this last month.                                                                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remain

cordially yours,

Now I see the secret of the making of the best people, It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth.

-Walt Whitman 1900

     Hello! Tonight I would like to share some information I've found from 1901 on sleep- a vital practice. But also, if done right, it can be one of the most powerful cosmetic tools: Beauty Sleep.


  We are often told that getting enough sleep is vital to our health and well being. The amount of sleep each age group needs has been calculated down to scientific numbers. But is just getting the right amount of sleep all there is to this healing process?

  In 1901 Ella Adelia Fletcher wrote about how the want of sleep effects a woman's health and beauty so seriously that no other part of a healthy life style regimen should receive more attention. Yet she saw it being treated in a "happy-go-lucky fashion"which is harmful. And today people's sleeping habits have deteriorated even further. Ella also claimed that when you wake you are tired, perhaps even more then when you went to sleep, you should consider that as much as a health warning as insomnia. But of course she didn't leave us without helpful advice on how to improve our sleep.

  Nature's Example- Which for a large percent of creation is to be awake when the sun is out and to sleep when it is dark. The body has many different chemical reactions to light and darkness and studies have shown that sleeping at night when there is complete darkness promotes deep truly restful sleep.

 Fresh Air- Here Miss Fletcher was adamant- You must have fresh air circulating through your sleeping area during the night. A current of fresh air is created by two air ways on opposite walls or in two adjoining rooms. You see, if there is no circulation your exhalations as you sleep will hover over the bed until you are breathing in poisonous carbon dioxide laden air. So in the morning you awake feeling exhausted, for your blood is full of impurities. So for a cleansing and purifying night's rest create a current of fresh air. You will find it easier to wake up and your reflection will bear witness to the health benefits as well.

 Balanced Fatigue- Have you ever found that after a day of hard studying you feel exhausted, yet when you lay down in your bed that night you find yourself tossing and turning restlessly? There is a simple explanation. In order to truly rest there must be a balanced and equal use of the body and mind throughout the day. This balance can be easily achieved by making " the exercise of the one be the relaxation of the other. That is, the brain worker must find his relaxation in physical exercise, and those engaged in manual labor should find their pleasure in some use of the brain."

  Please try to incorporate these habits into your life for I know you will be blessed by them. I really believe that it isn't just the amount of sleep that you get that matters but the quality of your sleep that matters. Quality sleep definitely improves our physical beauty so we can look and feel better.

 Sweet dreams and until next time I remain
                                                                                         yours truly,

With all my love,

        At the turn of the 20th century social correspondence was conducted mainly through handwritten letters. Almost every one wrote social letters - even younger brothers. Though he spoke of a different century George Saintsbury described the past correctly when he said "Everybody wrote letters, and a surprising number of people wrote letters well".

These days a handwritten letter from a friend or relative is something to be treasured simply because of its' scarcity.   

If you have ever read a very old letter, maybe written by a famous author or your great grandmother, you have probably noticed that this way of communication is not at all similiar to the system used today.

 

Today I have some guidelines for letter writing that I found in a book from 1922.

•                                                                         
•   Always include "yours' in the complimentary closing:  yours sincerely, yours cordially, or lovingly yours.                                                                                                                       
• In the United States the salutation "My dear_" is considered  more formal than the simple "Dear_".
• Don't attempt to put anything down on paper before thinking out and arranging what you want to say.
• Never use ruled paper for any correspondence

 

 

 

Sometimes I like to send a poem or a quote from  a book I've been reading.

 

 

 

 

    I still write letters to many people and I hope you do also. I hope you still write your grandmother every week, like you did when you were younger, and maybe even supplement your phone calls to mom with a pretty handwritten note she will love to find in her mailbox.



Written in 1922 this book is full of
 instructions for improving your
letters .





 Until next time I remain



                                yours sincerely,

Gibson Girl Fashion: Vests

There is something about

 a vest that seems reminicent

of the Gibson Girl style.

Perhaps it is the slight formality that the

 vest  lends to an outfit  that makes it more

"Gibsonesque".

                                                                                   The Gibson Girl's fashion style was always feminine yet often it had an independent business like leaning.   I thought this white vest was like that -unmistakebly girly but not frivolous.         
                                                                                                         Adding a vest is a great way to look a bit more  polished and pulled together in a  vintage way.   I bought this vest at a thrift store and I have others I could show in another post... what do you think?  

                                                                                     Until next time,           

 

Gibson Girl Fashion: One

    Greetings! I would like to introduce you to  another series which focuses on fashion from the late 1800s and early 1900s. So, like in this post,  I will be quoting from fashion/beauty books and magazines from that time period.
  
       What do you wear at home?
 

If I quote Ella Adelia Fletcher it
 will most likely be a quote from this book.

           "It is a grave mistake to think that "any old thing" will do for the privacy of the home circle. The wearing of shabby defaced finery is a shiftless habit which demoralizes both the wearer and her associates. Home gowns should be exquisitely neat and dainty as any in the wardrobe, and a delicate sense of the fitness of things should suit them in fabric and cut to their use. The gentlewoman will look a queen in a neat cotton gown, when she who thinks her worn out silks serve the purpose as well looks a shabby frump."  
                                        - Ella Adelia Fletcher 1901
 
     I thought I would start the fashion series with the remedy to my greatest fashion failing. Ella puts its so clearly that her words cut right to my heart when I think of all the crazy ensembles I come up with on the days I stay at home. Now I obviously am not relaxing in my "worn out silks" but my house work outfits can be pretty outrages. I pull out random pieces and just layer  them until I'm comfortable. Like last night- I was wearing shorts underneath my favorite old sweatpants, with a worn out sundress as a top, over that a hoodie, and a sweatshirt as the final layer.  Of course I would prefer to get rid of these worn out layers, trading them for one or two clean cut, well made, and comfortable pieces for home wear. So my next thrifting mission is to find attractive yet very simple clothing for those days when I haven't any where to go.
   How about you? Do you always make sure you look neat even if you aren't seeing any one that day or do you take the opportunity to wear comfy and possibly frumpy outfits? Please leave a comment telling me your preference. I remain

                                                       Faithfully yours,
                                 

A Gibson Depiction

 

  She is a woman: one in whom
  The springtime of her childish years
  Hath never lost it's fresh perfume
  Though knowing well that life hath room
  For many blights and many tears
                      
                                   -James Russel Lowell