Enter to win one of 2 copies of Highland Hellcat by Mary Wine! Just comment on the post below.
You do need to be a NOR Fan Club newsletter subscriber. You can get signed up at www.NightOwlRomance.com. Put the first part of your email address on your post for entry. Ends 10/29/2010
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Why did those women wear dresses? by Mary Wine
Thanks so much for having me here today. I’m celebrating the release of my latest book…Highland HelcCat. For those of you who got your hands on a copy of ‘To Conquer a Highlander’ this newest release will pick up where that book ended. Connor Lindsey will be looking to follow his friends example and marry, only he already has a betrothed. The only problem is…she’s in love with another man so he decided to take her sister instead….
As I’m writing and researching these books, I thought I’d share a little information on just why women ended up in dresses. I mean, it’s sort of interesting to me when I look back all the way to ancient Egypt and see what people are wearing. When you’re looking that far back there’s one point that is most important, function. Sure, those ancient Egyptians liked fashion as much as we do today but for the general population, clothing was about practicality. If you’re living in a dessert, with no sunscreen and limited water for washing…I can see how a light weight robe that covered all those places sand can get into …would be an ideal garment. Sand fly’s everywhere and it’s logical to see how wrapping my head up might keep those little grains out of my hair.
Now going up through the ages, you see a lot of robes. Some of this is due to the fact that spinning techniques for fiber were rough and you didn’t get an ultra fine thread such as we have today. What that meant was that you didn’t want to cut the fabric because it would unravel. Think of burlap. So the lengths of fabric would be woven and sewn together to make a boxy looking robe.
But that robe didn’t protect the inside of the thighs. This is where I see a splitting of fashion between the genders. The reason goes back to functionality. Men harvested the fields, using hand tools and the stalks of the plants most likely were very rough on unprotected skin. The easiest solution is to pull the tail of the robe up in front and tuck it through a belt, but with time people began to sew the fabric into something that would do the job…like pants. These came in very handy for riding horses to. I shudder to think of riding in a robe…
So why did that leave women in skirts? Well…these people didn’t have time for chores that didn’t need doing…Who cleans a clean house? I’ve got my hands full cleaning when it’s dirty! I believe the same was true for them. Women were in the home, so a longer length robe kept the legs warm. Just like anything else, when it’s just always been that way, it’s easy to say it’s correct. I your mother wore a long robe and her mother did too…I can see how it began to be considered a woman’s garment. The kilt is not a skirt but that’s another topic.
Thanks for having me today and drop by my website for excerpts of what I have coming next. Check out the cover for Highland Heat (which is coming out next Spring!)…it’s my favorite! MaryWine.com
HIGHLAND HELLCAT BY MARY WINE—IN STORES OCTOBER 2010
“Hot enough to warm even the coldest Scottish Nights…”
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review of To Conquer a Highlander
He wants a wife he can control…
Connor Lindsey is a Highland laird, but his clan’s loyalty is hard won and he takes nothing for granted. He’ll do whatever it takes to find a virtuous wife, even if he has to kidnap her…
She has a spirit that can’t be tamed…
Brina Chattan has always defied convention. She sees no reason to be docile now that she’s been captured by a powerful laird and taken to his storm-tossed castle in the Highlands, far from her home.
When a rival laird’s interference nearly tears them apart, Connor discovers that a woman with a wild streak suits him much better than he’d ever imagined…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Wine is a multi-published author in romantic suspense, fantasy and western romance; now her interest in historical reenactment and costuming has inspired her to turn her pen to historical romance. She lives with her husband and sons in southern California, where the whole family enjoys participating in historical reenactment. For more information, please visit http://www.marywine.com/website/.
visit us at http://www.nightowlromance.comYou do need to be a NOR Fan Club newsletter subscriber. You can get signed up at www.NightOwlRomance.com. Put the first part of your email address on your post for entry. Ends 10/29/2010
***
Why did those women wear dresses? by Mary Wine
Thanks so much for having me here today. I’m celebrating the release of my latest book…Highland HelcCat. For those of you who got your hands on a copy of ‘To Conquer a Highlander’ this newest release will pick up where that book ended. Connor Lindsey will be looking to follow his friends example and marry, only he already has a betrothed. The only problem is…she’s in love with another man so he decided to take her sister instead….
As I’m writing and researching these books, I thought I’d share a little information on just why women ended up in dresses. I mean, it’s sort of interesting to me when I look back all the way to ancient Egypt and see what people are wearing. When you’re looking that far back there’s one point that is most important, function. Sure, those ancient Egyptians liked fashion as much as we do today but for the general population, clothing was about practicality. If you’re living in a dessert, with no sunscreen and limited water for washing…I can see how a light weight robe that covered all those places sand can get into …would be an ideal garment. Sand fly’s everywhere and it’s logical to see how wrapping my head up might keep those little grains out of my hair.
Now going up through the ages, you see a lot of robes. Some of this is due to the fact that spinning techniques for fiber were rough and you didn’t get an ultra fine thread such as we have today. What that meant was that you didn’t want to cut the fabric because it would unravel. Think of burlap. So the lengths of fabric would be woven and sewn together to make a boxy looking robe.
But that robe didn’t protect the inside of the thighs. This is where I see a splitting of fashion between the genders. The reason goes back to functionality. Men harvested the fields, using hand tools and the stalks of the plants most likely were very rough on unprotected skin. The easiest solution is to pull the tail of the robe up in front and tuck it through a belt, but with time people began to sew the fabric into something that would do the job…like pants. These came in very handy for riding horses to. I shudder to think of riding in a robe…
So why did that leave women in skirts? Well…these people didn’t have time for chores that didn’t need doing…Who cleans a clean house? I’ve got my hands full cleaning when it’s dirty! I believe the same was true for them. Women were in the home, so a longer length robe kept the legs warm. Just like anything else, when it’s just always been that way, it’s easy to say it’s correct. I your mother wore a long robe and her mother did too…I can see how it began to be considered a woman’s garment. The kilt is not a skirt but that’s another topic.
Thanks for having me today and drop by my website for excerpts of what I have coming next. Check out the cover for Highland Heat (which is coming out next Spring!)…it’s my favorite! MaryWine.com
HIGHLAND HELLCAT BY MARY WINE—IN STORES OCTOBER 2010 “Hot enough to warm even the coldest Scottish Nights…”
—Publishers Weekly Starred Review of To Conquer a Highlander
He wants a wife he can control…
Connor Lindsey is a Highland laird, but his clan’s loyalty is hard won and he takes nothing for granted. He’ll do whatever it takes to find a virtuous wife, even if he has to kidnap her…
She has a spirit that can’t be tamed…
Brina Chattan has always defied convention. She sees no reason to be docile now that she’s been captured by a powerful laird and taken to his storm-tossed castle in the Highlands, far from her home.
When a rival laird’s interference nearly tears them apart, Connor discovers that a woman with a wild streak suits him much better than he’d ever imagined…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Wine is a multi-published author in romantic suspense, fantasy and western romance; now her interest in historical reenactment and costuming has inspired her to turn her pen to historical romance. She lives with her husband and sons in southern California, where the whole family enjoys participating in historical reenactment. For more information, please visit http://www.marywine.com/website/.
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