5 REASONS WHY THE TEA GOWN CHANGED WOMEN'S LIVES | BARONESS BOLSOVER
Welcome to my Victorian world.
WHAT IS A TEA GOWN
Quite simply, it’s a gown we would wear for entertaining AT HOME, which of course includes an AFTERNOON TEA.
All the ladies were hosting Afternoon Tea Parties by the 1870’s and our ‘Tea Gowns’ as we called them, were all the rage.
Fundamentally the Tea Gown is a simple shape, not unlike the earlier Georgian dresses with their long empress line and also the Japanese Kimono.
And I must emphasise again, you could ONLY WEAR A TEA GOWN IN YOUR OWN HOME!!
HOW DID THE TEA GOWN CHANGE WOMEN’S LIVES -
FIRSTLY, YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO WEAR A HAT.
It was a love hate relationship with our hats. They looked amazing and certainly made a statement, but they were cumbersome. The bigger they were the heavier they got and my goodness did they trap in the heat!!!
We were already suffering in silence in our heavy corsetry, a hat only added insult to injury, and IN PUBLIC YOU HAD TO KEEP YOUR HAT ON, that was the etiquette. This included keeping it on in someone’s house.
Mind you, if you wore a hat and took it off an hour later you might live to regret it. One’s hair was a flattened mess, most unattractive. Keeping your hat on was the more flattering option, but as I say, hats were hot and heavy, especially my elaborate Flower Pot Hat!
With the Tea Gown being a much lighter garment and IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME a hat was not required. A perfect reason to host your own Tea Party!
YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WEAR GLOVES
I know this may come as a surprise to you, but wearing gloves all the time in public, which was expected of us, was most tiresome. I detested wearing gloves in the warm seasons, it meant we were getting even less fresh air to our bodies than was already the case!
Having said that, one of the wonderful things about our Tea Parties were they provided us with a little respite. One would always remove one’s gloves to eat food, for WE ATE WITH OUR FINGERS. You didn’t want crumbs getting into the delicate weave of your expensive Italian lace gloves so off they came!
YOU DIDN'T NEED TO CARRY A HANDBAG
We called our little handbags reticules, and which contained the essential items we needed for our constitutionals and an Afternoon Tea. Our essential reticule items included our smelling salts, calling cards, handkerchief, pencil and paper.
With a Tea Gown however, you didn’t need to have a reticule dangling around your wrist for YOU HAD A POCKET. Discretely stitched into the gown, your pocket was large enough for all your essential items.
OUR HANDS WERE TOTALLY FREE! Oh how we loved our Tea Gowns!
YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO CHANGE FOR DINNER
After Hosting a busy Tea Party when all the guests have gone, the last thing we wanted to do was change into a tight dress for dinner. The splendid thing was however, IN YOUR OWN HOME IT WAS ACCEPTABLE TO WEAR A TEA GOWN AT DINNER. Things were starting to look up!
YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WEAR A CORSET
HOORAH, HOORAY, LIBERATION WAS ON IT'S WAY! Freedom to move almost naturally! I say almost, because of course we still wore one or two light petticoats and a chemise, but nothing as constraining as the tight corset.
I must repeat THE TEA GOWN COULD ONLY BE WORN IN THE COMFORT OF ONE’S HOME. The reason being, it was considered a rather flimsy, casual outfit, and heaven forbid us being seen doing anything casual in my Victorian days!
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I’d taken to the streets in my Tea Gown. I’d have probably been carried off to bedlam.
MODERN TIMES
I realise I am now in the 21st Century and customs have changed somewhat, so, I've decided to be terribly daring, outrageous even.
I'm wearing my Tea Gown in public! Well, it's so much cooler, especially in hot weather.
And to make me really stand out from the crowd I've added a stunning fascinator, designed and constructed by milliner Sherry Richardson.
Sherry listened very carefully to my needs, that of being cool and being seen by everyone at my Afternoon Tea Etiquette Talk. In her distinctive style, she combined different feathers, textures, beading, and colours to create a truly inspirational headdress that complements my Tea Gown beautifully.
It's also as LIGHT AS A FEATHER!
ON A FINAL NOTE...
I'll admit the Tea Gown wasn’t quite a Onesie, but they were the next best thing, life-changing back then, and that's why I'm still wearing mine today...
It makes me smile just to be able to say that I, the Victorian Baroness am ...COMFORTABLE!
Thank you for joining me my friends.
Until next time.
Yours Truly
Her ladyship
