19th Century Ladies' Fashions – Moreton Bay and More

The preoccupations of a particular day.

I had wanted to get an understanding of the stories occupying the news, and what made people tick at a certain point in time. I used the very scientific method of picking a date at random, and looking through all of the articles in Queensland’s newspapers for that day. The random day was 26 JanuaryContinue reading “The preoccupations of a particular day.”

A Romp through the Classifieds, November 23 1866.

In the 19th century, the first page of a newspaper tended to be devoted to classified advertising. After all, this was where the money was. And it could contain some unexpected gems. Notices to the Public. Don’t tamper with your gas meter. The Brisbane Gas Company was fed up with people disconnecting their meters withContinue reading “A Romp through the Classifieds, November 23 1866.”

Bridal Fashion in old Queensland.

Ruffles, flounces and tiny waists never went out of style. Miss Hirst, pictured on her wedding day in 1872, is the very picture of the Victorian bride. She is veiled and ruffled, with butterflies embroidered on the netting over the skirt. In the original photograph, her headpiece had details hand-painted in, and I suspect thatContinue reading “Bridal Fashion in old Queensland.”

Queensland Ladies Wear the Fashions of the 1800s.

This sketch by Charles Rawson of the Rawson men admiring their wives’ new outfits (all the way from England!), shows how the better-off women stayed in touch with fashion. Decima and Winifred would have been the toast of Mackay in 1877 in their actually-from-England finery. Lesser mortals had to be content with at best, theContinue reading “Queensland Ladies Wear the Fashions of the 1800s.”

Ladies’ Fashions of the 1800s

AN EARLY FASHION VICTIM The first European women in Australia were of two distinct classes – Government/Military wives and poor convict women. The latter were largely immune to the variations in high style. The former were prey to the slings and arrows of outrageous fashion – foremost among these was Mary Bligh Putnam. Mary accompaniedContinue reading “Ladies’ Fashions of the 1800s”