Books with author Kate Havelin

What would you have worn if you lived during the Civil War era? It depends on who you were! For example, upper-class women wore tight corsets, bustles, and wide hoop skirts to fancy balls. The layers weighed almost 30 pounds (14 kilograms)! For everyday, whether at home or nursing soldiers, women put on multiple layers of simple fabrics. Some daredevils sported women's trousers―called Bloomers―to make a statement on women's rights. Read more about wartime fashions of the 1860s―from ankle boots to parasols and tiaras―in this fascinating book!

What would you have worn if you lived during the Colonial era? It depends on who you were! For example, many Native American women made skirts or dresses out of deerskin, and they completed the look with jewelry crafted from metal, shells, stones, pearls, or animal bones. But in European settlements, women of fashion dressed in many layers. One of the first layers was a stay―a corset-like garment made of whalebone that tied or laced around the chest. On top of that, they put on a bodice, a waistcoat or a jacket, and several heavy petticoats. Read more about Colonial fashions―from wigs to beaver-pelt hats and linen caps―in this fascinating book!