Granddad's Guide to
EYE MAKE-UP n STUFF
Eye Make-Up
Nail Art
Fashion Thru The Decades
Hair Thru the Decades
Wedding Gowns Thru the Decades
Funky Shoes
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
This page is dedicated to my granddaughter Sophia who loves make-up!
If you see her roaming around the halls of Midlothian High, say hi to her :-)
Ya'll, Please keep in mind that I am by no means an expert in any of this, I'm just
reposting interesting stuff I've found on the internet :-)
Links are provided for anyone wishing to explore more
These are all "press-on" nails, altho Super-glue works much better! If you have a good nail tech, they could duplicate any of these designs.
References:
https://bloshka.info/2021/06/02/1890s-fashion/
https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll12/search Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries: Digital Collections (pix with plate numbers)
Corsets
Corsets played an important part of Women's fashion from approximately the 1300's (predominately, but used earlier) through the early 1900's, in one form or another.
If you want to see a particularly funny take on wearing a corset, see the beginning of Pirate's of the Caribbean.
From Wikipedia: The corset's history spans centuries, evolving from ancient Minoan supportive garments to the structured Victorian hourglass, serving as a key undergarment for shaping the torso, supporting heavy skirts, and creating fashionable silhouettes for both women and, occasionally, men, before declining in mass use in the 20th century with modern bras and shapewear, though it remains a significant fashion statement today, notes. Its construction and purpose shifted dramatically, from rigid 16th-century conical shapes to softer Regency styles, and later to the infamous S-bend, reflecting changing ideals of beauty and comfort. End Wiki
If you want to go digging further, here are a few of the top entries from Google if you go looking:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_corsets
https://corset-story.co.uk/blogs/news/the-history-of-corsets?srsltid=AfmBOoo62GNjRJ-6F378ooODdkj3mXZM5Zz-i6dEF-68iluwrvw781fW
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/corsets-crinolines-and-bustles-fashionable-victorian-underwear?srsltid=AfmBOooiz8Did8Mfzr_VNkvJd8MAQJjg6f84In71zgH1TYIMk7izmocr
Buttonhooks
Another reason to be glad the past is in the past. :-) Button hooks were a staple of the late 1800's thru the early 1900's. Guess you were up the creek if you lost your buttonhook, a 1900's version of losing the stylus on your smart cellphone, huh. :-(
Breeching
https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingvictorian/posts/3251182558360665/ (1)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/101917256564924/posts/7064883550268225/ (2)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1447268078825074/posts/3433883260163536/ (3)
Take these posts for what they are, as they are not written by accomplished historians. This is similar to my standard Wikipedia disclaimers.
Plate 065 below (in the 1890s) illustrates another common practice of the 1800's (and earlier) thru the early 1900's......
Breeching, because we can't tell if the child is a boy or a girl.
Apparently, it was easier to dress both girls and boys in "frocks" until they got older, because it was easier to "keep em clean". When they were old enough to put them in pants, the term was called -breeching- (sometimes breaching). Many a mother didn't seem to care for the practice, preferring to keep them in frocks/dresses as long as they could, hence the wide range of ages breeching occurred. Hope you didn't have a MISERY kinda mother who wasn't going to allow it at all costs, huh? LOL. [Misery is a 1990 movie, where Kathy Bates plays a woman obsessed with this particular writer, who happens to break down near her house, and she winds up keeping him shackled until he re-writes one particular book the way she wants it to be written, including taking a sledge hammer to his ankles to keep him from trying to escape. Yikes! :-( :-( ]
Prior to the 1880's
1880's
https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll12/id/7559/rec/55
Dresses were (still) full length.
Kids dresses were generally knee length.
1890's
Dresses were full length, and were expected to cover almost the entire shoe.
Exceptions were when playing sports, where you could wear knickers, which usually came down to the knee.
Instead of recreating what has already been done, here is a plate illustrating typical fashions of the 1890's,
most of which are from the "upper class", and many are evening wear.
Dresses worn by the "average class" woman. You can tell because they are not "fancy".
1900's
1910's
1920's
1930's
1940's
1950's
This picture of Jane Mansfield exemplifies the 50's - big bust, small waist, trim figure, and tight leggings, altho I'm not sure they call them leggings "back then". :-) However, ordinarily, when women were at home or out, they generally wore dresses AND hi-heels, even to do housework.... yes, I did say "even to do housework!"
1960's
1970's
1980's
1990's
2000's
2010's
2020's
1700's
1800's
1900's
1910's
1920's
1930's
1940's
1980's
I have to say, since "Granddad" is doing this page, and I lived thru the 80's, I gotta say I loved the "big hair" look. Not all of the decades had defining hair styles, but in the case of the 80's.....
1990's
2000's
Current
Wedding Gowns Thru the Decades
Before we get going.....
This style is called a "Mermaid" styled gown - It hugs the body. You can find some version of this dress in every decade.
1960's
1970'sDominate characteristics: Simple styles, High neckline (usually), Mostly long sleeves, Lots of "prairie/country" style inspired dresses.
1972 Christian Dior Couture White Beaded Sheer Silk Billow-Sleeve Bridal Gown
Early 70's "Gunne Sax" Style.
From the year your mum was born! :-)
1980's
Many early 80's gowns were inspired by Princess Diana.
1990'sDominate characteristics: High neckline, long n puffy sleeves, large rear bow, generally large and elaborate train.
2000's / 2010"sDominate characteristics: None really, once we hit the turn of the millennium, just about anything goes, altho it seems more gowns than not "had less". :-)
Current
Special and Fantasy
Fantasy Gowns :-)
If you're getting married at Christmas, these would be a cool dresses to "do it" in. But they come from websites that don't have -any- reviews on 'em, and the dresses are selling for $40 (L), $39 (M) and $47 (R) ..... I don't think if you spend your money there, you're going to receive anything :-( Here's a link or two if you wanna take a look, but I wouldn't drop any cash on em: here
If you have a flair for the Japanese Lolita style.....
If you like the Victorian look, here ya go, available thru specialized outlets.
If you have a flair for the unusual!
$2500
D&D Clothing
How many of these shoes would you be willing to wear out into public?
WTF? :-)
Disclaimers:
New format 10/26/23: Please check out my disclaimer page for my standard dribble and contact info here.
Found this stuff on Ali Express, Temu, and Google Images. Wanna see some crazy t-shirts, check here
Love Grandad!
NEW 09/21/2025, SEP22/2025, OCT02/2025, NOV25/26/27/28/2025, DEC06/07/22/2025, JAN04/05/2026
Last Modified 05-Jan-2026