Garters and fall-fronts and booze, oh my.

There's a little grocery store down a side street in town that sells liquor too, and their selection is AWESOME. They have a huge and slightly offbeat variety of wine, often with employee recommendations for stuff that's both good and inexpensive. And they carry Kübler absinthe. And--okay, okay, I indulged in a POB geeky moment and bought a bottle of 5-year-old madeira. Which, I learned last night, tastes like the bastard mutant offspring of wine, rum, and brandy, only not really any of the above. Fun times.

While we're talking historical geekery, someone in my house had a dream that she was going to Smith in the Victorian era. Apparently I was there, but--in keeping with my habit of dressing like I missed a century--I was dressed not in 1880s regalia but in Regency garb. Sweet! (And speaking of dressing like an anachronism, has anyone ever tried to wrestle heavy, thigh-high knit stockings into a shoddy lingerie-store garter belt whose clips were designed for sheer nylons? It wasn't fun. Eventually I gave up and have been tugging my stockings back up all day.)

Also! Since this appears to be turning into a historical-clothing post. Wikipedia has articles on fashion by decade, including 1820s in fashion and 1830s in fashion. Men's clothing is included! Unfortunately it doesn't address fiddly little undergarment-y details, so here are a few, including some where misconceptions have thrown me out of Les Mis fics.

- Socks did not exist. Men wore stockings as well as women--namely, short stockings held up by knee garters. This holds true for the whole 19th century; you can see photographic examples in, of all places, Victorian and Edwardian porn, which is rife with pictures of men wearing naught but their stockings engaged in a variety of interesting acts.
- Belts were not worn. The wasp-waist and high-cut trousers of early 19th century men's fashions made them impractical; suspenders/braces were worn under the waistcoat instead.
- Despite the awesomeness of the "In my fandom underwear is an anachronism" meme, men could either tuck their shirttails over their dangly bits or wear long (below-the-knee), semi-tight-fitting drawers. Kind of like the modern boxers-vs-briefs debate, I imagine.
- Both trousers and drawers had front falls rather than a fly. Trust me, ladies and gentlemen, fall-front trousers are sexier than fly-front.

Garters and fall-fronts and booze, oh my.

There's a little grocery store down a side street in town that sells liquor too, and their selection is AWESOME. They have a huge and slightly offbeat variety of wine, often with employee recommendations for stuff that's both good and inexpensive. And they carry Kübler absinthe. And--okay, okay, I indulged in a POB geeky moment and bought a bottle of 5-year-old madeira. Which, I learned last night, tastes like the bastard mutant offspring of wine, rum, and brandy, only not really any of the above. Fun times.

While we're talking historical geekery, someone in my house had a dream that she was going to Smith in the Victorian era. Apparently I was there, but--in keeping with my habit of dressing like I missed a century--I was dressed not in 1880s regalia but in Regency garb. Sweet! (And speaking of dressing like an anachronism, has anyone ever tried to wrestle heavy, thigh-high knit stockings into a shoddy lingerie-store garter belt whose clips were designed for sheer nylons? It wasn't fun. Eventually I gave up and have been tugging my stockings back up all day.)

Also! Since this appears to be turning into a historical-clothing post. Wikipedia has articles on fashion by decade, including 1820s in fashion and 1830s in fashion. Men's clothing is included! Unfortunately it doesn't address fiddly little undergarment-y details, so here are a few, including some where misconceptions have thrown me out of Les Mis fics.

- Socks did not exist. Men wore stockings as well as women--namely, short stockings held up by knee garters. This holds true for the whole 19th century; you can see photographic examples in, of all places, Victorian and Edwardian porn, which is rife with pictures of men wearing naught but their stockings engaged in a variety of interesting acts.
- Belts were not worn. The wasp-waist and high-cut trousers of early 19th century men's fashions made them impractical; suspenders/braces were worn under the waistcoat instead.
- Despite the awesomeness of the "In my fandom underwear is an anachronism" meme, men could either tuck their shirttails over their dangly bits or wear long (below-the-knee), semi-tight-fitting drawers. Kind of like the modern boxers-vs-briefs debate, I imagine.
- Both trousers and drawers had front falls rather than a fly. Trust me, ladies and gentlemen, fall-front trousers are sexier than fly-front.