AttaGirl, circa 1900: 2013

Friday, August 16, 2013

Your weekend send-off

IT'S THE WEEKEND at long last. Kick it off with three quick links:

Like to canoe-dle? Couples seeking romance took to their canoes 100 years ago. Oh the scandal of it!
A nearly all-male crowd gathers around “Votes for Women” protesters, August 1913. Women have been rabble-rousers for a good long time.
Shopping for back-to-school clothes for a fashion-forward teen? Here's what she would have worn, circa 1913-1920.

Not behaving like a lady

I can't remember which volume in my large collection of turn-of-the-century etiquette guides first got me hooked. I only know that its unintended humor—not to mention sexism and classism—compelled me to search for more.
This month The Loft Literary Center features my essay, "Not Behaving Like a Lady, circa 1900: Researching the Rulebreakers," in its online publication, A View from the Loft. While most authors taught conformity, propriety and rules for living, some aimed to help women recognize their own smarts and savvy. And then, of course, there was Emily Post, who infused her copy with lively characters and gave them tongue-in-cheek names such as the Richan Vulgars, the Toploftys and the Kindharts. Read about it all here: www.loft.org.