Welcome!

Old Rags Tumblr

Welcome to the first post of my blog!  Ideally it will be a foray into historical fashions...in particular American and European fashions from the 18th and 19th centuries.  I'll very likely take a detour now and again into other lands and decades and oftentimes venture beyond just fashion.  Now, you're probably a little curious about the title...so, let me explain.  Well, first off I love, love, love history and especially anything that gives me a glimpse into who the people of the past really were.  What did they feel, how did they live, are they more like us than we might suppose?  So, a while back I stumbled upon a little book in the library of my workplace...which just happens to be a historic house museum.  There among dusty tomes on Federal architecture and 19th Century glassware sat this little gem of a book that I had probably passed by a gazillion times.  This time though we found each other and since then I always find an excuse to take it off the shelves....ahem, like for this blog post.  Not to mention, it also has given a rise to a slight obsession with finding other such books.  There will be a blog post or two on those other little treasures later.  

"Sophie du Pont - A Young Lady in America" by Betty Bright Low and Jacqueline Kinsley is a glimpse into the life of Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810 - 1888) through her letters, diaries and most endearing...her sketches.  Sophie was the daughter of Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, the gunpowder manufacturer and ancestor of the later industrial giant DuPont.  Her life was idyllic...a perfect mix of wealth and comfort, but belonging to the first generation of that emerging empire still unspoiled and happy with the simple pleasures of life.  Sophie's sketches and the "world" she created are both hilarious and magical.  The letters, diaries and sketches chronicled in the book are in the time period of 1823-1833.  

Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888)
painted by Rembrandt Peale
Hagley Museum & Library 

Eleuthere Irenee du Pont (11771-1834)
painted by Rembrandt Peale
Hagley Museum & Library

All that and I still haven't explained the blog title yet. Well, I don't want to spoil the book for you but the title is a caption related to my favorite of Sophie's drawings.  I'll keep the caricature a surprise, but I will say this...the title of it "Preparations for a Wedding - adorning the paranymphe" might give a bit of a hint.  Sophie usually included the dialogue of what had transpired with her sketches since she tended to capture interesting scenes that took place among her friends and family.  "Discompose the altitude of my puffs" is a phrase that appears along with a particularly charming scene and I fell in love with it!  Basically, I say that curious phrase whenever I can cleverly (or not so cleverly) insert it into a conversation and of course most people likely think I'm crazy.  Thankfully,  people that know me and have had me shove Sophie's drawings in their face shrieking about how amazing they are...well, they understand...or tolerate me. 

Sleeve "puffs" in the LACMA collection
No one wants to have the altitude of their
puffs discomposed...no way!

I'll explore more about Sophie and her drawings later...but, in the meantime think about getting your own copy.  http://www.amazon.com   If you love historic fashion and 19th Century material culture then you'll fall in love with it!  So, the adventure (and nerdiness) begins and hopefully it will be fun and fashionable...to a degree.