you forgot your skirt, amelia bloomer! / my DIY historical halloween costume

ameliabloomer I sure like a gal like Amelia Bloomer. She edited the first newspaper for women. She believed women should be allowed to vote. As Shana Corey puts it, for the mid-nineteenth century:

 

“Amelia Bloomer was NOT

a proper lady.”

You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! by Shana Corey, illustrated by Chelsey McLaren.

 

 

Shocking, I know! Certainly improper were her dress reform ideas. As soon as she discovered a friend of a friend’s alternative to corsets and hoops and gigantic, weighty dresses, she sewed up that alternative herself. And that’s why it was called a bloomer costume. After her.

images courtesy of Scholastic Skirt 01 “Amelia Bloomer was NOT a proper lady.” Skirt 02 “The corsets they wore underneath their dresses were so tight it was hard to breathe in them. Proper ladies were fainting at the drop of a hat. What was proper about that?”   Skirt 03 “And she went right to her sewing machine and sewed a matching outfit for herself. Then she went out for a walk.”

“As soon as it became known that I was wearing the new dress, letters came pouring in upon me by the hundreds from women all over the country making inquiries about the dress and asking for patterns – showing how ready and anxious women were to throw off the burden of long, heavy skirts.”

-Amelia Bloomer herself

Screen Shot 2013-09-20 at 4.59.44 PM

My inspiration mood board

I took some major liberties with my Amelia Bloomers-inspired costume, of course. But thanks to four local thrift stores, I think the idea of an independent 19th century woman wearing bloomers comes through!

/ / / / / / /

Screen Shot 2013-09-29 at 3.44.27 PM

ameliabloomer3

The bloomers are from Ragg Mopp Vintage in my neighborhood and I’m going to keep them around to wear around the house or sleep in. They’re big and flowy and adorable.

ameliabloomer5

The local Goodwill and Out of The Closet had both skirts I found and both period-looking shirts, all for six bucks each.  That short velvet jacket? Six bucks as well and totally wearable again. (It’s actually Ann Taylor LOFT!)

ameliabloomer1

The only bits that are mine are the shoes and knee-highs.

ameliabloomer8

Amelia would never have worn JUST bloomers, but hey, they’re so adorable!

ameliabloomer4

ameliabloomer6The long coat I got at a local vintage/costume shop, Ozzie Dots. If you were so inclined, it could be worn as a Victorian-y fall coat.

ameliabloomer7

ameliabloomer9

Here’s to an historical Halloween ! And gutsy ladies!

photos by Todd Davis @ www.DavisHandmade.com. Screen Shot 2013-09-20 at 5.10.08 PM

9 Responses to you forgot your skirt, amelia bloomer! / my DIY historical halloween costume

  1. Danzel says:

    LOVE THIS! This book is fabulous. My five-year-old still talks about it, and we checked it out back in March.

  2. amelia bedelia is my absolute favorite — love this costume 🙂

  3. Oh man. This is so cool. First, I want this book. Second, I want those bloomers.

  4. Pingback: here come the girl scouts/merry merit badges | This Picture Book Life

  5. Pingback: six stupendous historical lady books (plus many more) | This Picture Book Life

Talk to me!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.