SCHWENKSVILLE — Ladies, are you tired of keeping up on the latest fashion trends, constantly worried if you will have to shelf the retro high-waist jeans and try on something a little more low-rise?
If so, take a tip from Carl Klase, curator at Pennypacker Mills: women in the Victorian Era had it worse. With so many necessary accessories; hats, parasols, fans, watches, jewelry, purses, gloves and more, it became hard to keep track of what was hot and not.
“You had to be sure your outfit matched the occasion,” Klase explained. “But you had to make sure your accessories matched the outfit as well.”
These pioneers of the fashionista frontier, wondering if their brim was too wide or if peacock feathers were so-last-year, turned more and more to fashion magazines, like the New York-based Delineator. The Ladies World began publishing a column called “Our Up-to-Date Girl” and The Ladies Home Journal reached one million subscribers in 1907.
According to Danielle Parker, tour guide and educator at Pennypacker Mills, with more elegant styles came more embellished advertising.
“As magazines focused on fashion,” Parker said, “you start to see a flair for words.”
Not only did women need to keep track of the “in” look, they needed to learn an entirely new romance language. Yes, that is right; the hand-fan could speak volumes.
Need to tell pesky Mr. Brown you wish to be rid of him? Place your fan on your left ear. Need to tell the even peskier Mr. Lanslowe you are married? Wave your fan slowly.
If you don’t believe it, take a trip to Pennypacker Mills and check out the historical mansion’s new exhibit: Finishing the Look, Fashion Accessories of the Victorian and Edwardian Era.
The exhibit features displays of Victorian and Edwardian accessories including hats, purses and parasols along with cutouts from magazines and advertisements demonstrating the latest trends in clothing. One display case is comprised of men’s fashion accessories and displays a top hat, pocket watches, detachable collars, and golden links for keeping shirts buttoned.
The museum staff encourages visitors to bring their kids and see what perfect ladies and gentlemen they can be. There is a dress-up station where children can try on replica hats, gloves and jewelry. Reenactments of scenes from the movie Titanic are strongly encouraged.
Samuel Pennypacker, who signed Pennsylvania’s first Child Labor Laws and sent all of his daughters to Bryn Mawr College, converted the old farmhouse to a summer home during his term in office in the early 1900’s. Unlike many historical homes in Pennsylvania that claim George Washington stayed there but do not have the proof, Pennypacker Mills features a letter signed by Washington postmarked from the Pennypacker residence.
“We like to think of it as a place where the old world met the great age of invention,” Parker said, noting that the house has indoor plumbing but no electricity. “Cars and horses were sharing the roads. People were still reading by oil lamp, but going out to see silent films in movie theaters.”
90 percent of the furniture and household items are authentic to the Pennypacker Estate. However, the other 10 percent have been authenticated to the time period, including the coal burning stove which the museum staff uses for Victorian cooking demonstrations.
Free tours of the mansion are offered 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Visitors to the mansion can experience the fashion exhibit during a tour, or request to skip the tour and go straight to the fashion. A suggested tour donation of $2 dollars and all proceeds from the museum shop go directly to Pennypacker Mills for maintenance and program support.
Upcoming events at the mill include Tea and Scones in a Victorian Kitchen on March 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a Spring Basket Making Workshop on April from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and an Easter Workshop for Kids on April 12 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information on the new exhibit or upcoming events contact Pennypacker Mills at 610-287-9349, email pennypackermills@montcopa.org, or visit http://ift.tt/1ktQtNk.
The fashion exhibit will be on display until Jan. 10, 2015.
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