More Than Myths: What Women Actually Wore Under Their Dresses

by Kimberly Keagan


My books all take place in the Gilded Age, and I try to incorporate historical facts about events, clothing, and even weather. But not that long ago, my daughter brought me to task when one of my female characters made a quip about corsets cutting off her breath. “You know,” my daughter said, “that’s not historically accurate.”

Really? It seems like modern movies and books all depict the torture that was the corset. I’ve even seen articles in newspapers from the 1800s in which doctors claimed corsets were bad for a woman’s health. But knowing that my daughter tends to be correct more often than I’d like to admit, I did some digging.

What I discovered is that while corsets were certainly part of the expectations placed on women of the past, many of the common assumptions don’t hold up to historical fact—and the corset had many practical uses.

Before the Victorian corset, women in the Regency era wore stays—lightly boned garments with shoulder straps and a stiff busk in front. Their purpose was to support the bust and create smooth lines under high-waist gowns.

 

Corset, American or European, 1790-1810
Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access) at metmuseum.org

By the mid-1800s, Joseph Cooper patented the familiar front-opening corset, making daily dressing dramatically easier. No lady needed a maid stationed behind her every morning just to lace her in—she could fasten the corset herself and then adjust the laces as needed.

And, yes, people wore corsets every day. Not just women in drawing rooms, but shopkeepers, mothers, cooks, laundresses, and factory workers. A garment that made you faint or prevented you from bending over simply wouldn’t survive real life.

One of the biggest misunderstandings about corsets comes from imagining them worn directly against the skin. That simply wasn’t the case. First came the chemise or shift—a soft cotton or linen undergarment worn against the skin to protect the corset from sweat, oils, and everyday wear. The corset was then placed over the chemise. It provided lift, posture, and the fashionable silhouette of the era—usually far gentler than modern myths suggest. Over that came a thin cotton corset cover, worn to soften boning lines, prevent snagging, and add modesty under light-colored blouses. It was practical, but often very pretty, too. 

 

 
The Chemise, American or European, 1860-61, metmuseum.org 

 

 
Corset, England, 1860, metmueseum.org 

 

 
Corset Cover, American, 1887, metmuseum.org

Contrary to modern commentary, the illusion of a tiny waist wasn’t created by an overly cinched corset, but by dramatic skirt supports. Attached to the waist or hips, these gave skirts their shape—bell forms in the 1850s and bustles in the 1870s–90s. Only after all of that did the woman’s dress go on.

Each layer had a purpose, and together they made movement—and modesty—possible. Could they leap high hurdles in their corsets? Probably not. But the idea that they couldn’t bend, breathe, or function simply isn’t accurate. Tight-lacing certainly existed, but it was unusual and widely debated even in its own day. Doctors warned against it, clergy condemned it, and newspapers wrote satirical cartoons about women who pursued extreme fashion at the expense of good sense. However, most women didn’t lace themselves anywhere near those extremes. Much like tying shoes—you tighten them enough for support, not enough to prevent walking.

And one more myth-buster: women weren’t the only ones who wore corsets. Throughout the 1800s, men often wore them to achieve the fashionable slim waist that complemented their fitted coats and trousers. Companies even advertised men’s corsets for improved posture and spinal complaints.

Understanding what women actually wore—layer by layer—gives us a clearer, kinder picture of their lives. Yes, corsets reflected the beauty standards and expectations of their time. But they were also practical, supportive garments that women lived, worked, worshiped, and raised families in. Truth be told, they were far more practical than some of the things women wear today. Like four-inch heels!

Christian Louboutin, NeimanMarcus.com

About the author:

Kimberly Keagan is a former corporate financial writer (not very romantic) who now crafts historical romances filled with strong heroines, swoon-worthy heroes, faith, and a touch of humor. Her debut novel, Perfect, released in May 2025. Go to KimberlyKeagan.com and download her free Christmas novelette!

Reaching for the Beaufort by Cindy Regnier

 I’m guessing most of us have heard of the Northwest Passage, the route that takes ships back and forth between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean via the Arctic Ocean near the northern borders of North America. But did you know, many ships and lives were lost in the attempts to find this route? The many islands and ice clogged waterways of the Arctic Archipelago made it very dangerous, especially for the early explorers looking for a route they weren’t sure even existed.

Ptolemy map

The idea of a sea passage from Europe to East Asia dates back to the second century A.D. as noted in the world maps drawn by the Greek geographer Ptolemy. Europeans developed an active interest in the sea passage after the Ottoman Empire over all the major overland trade routes between Europe and Asia in the fifteenth century.

 

This century finds the first record of explorers searching for the elusive passage, but these attempts were made so treacherous by the ice  that most expeditions were counted as failures shortly after beginning. Many tried and failed being met with thousands of giant icebergs rising up from the sea like mountains and huge masses of sea ice that could seal the waterways and trap ships unable to go forward or return. Some of the more notable explorers that searched were Henry Hudson, John Cabot and Jacques Cartier.

John Franklin

 Perhaps the greatest tragedy occurred in 1845 led by Sir John Franklin of the English navy. 128 men aboard two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror vanished without trace. Most believe the ships became ice-bound and were abandoned.

In 1850, Irish explorer Robert McClure and his crew set sail from England in search of Franklin’s lost expedition. McClure was able to confirm the existence of a route, though they did abandon the ship at one point and crossed the ice by sled. More than fifty years later Roald Amundsen would make the entire passage by sea, the first time in recorded history. After a three-year expedition, Amundsen and his crew, aboard a small fishing ship called Gjoa, emerged in the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s Pacific coast in 1906.

Roald Amundsen

Even after the route was charted and established, it was rarely used as the passage was only open about one month of every year due to the ice cover. In other words, if you sailed this route, you remained on the other side for a year until you could make it back. It wasn’t until the summer of 2007 that the route was found to be entirely ice-free for the first time in history

As an item of note, a Canadian diving expedition found the wreckage of the HMS Erebus in 2014 off of King William Island. The wreckage of the HMS Terror was discovered slightly north, in Terror Bay, two years later.

Beaufort Sea off Alaska

So there you have it. Many brave explorers gave their lives to find the Northwest Passage that is now an important shipping route. Would you have been brave enough to set out on such a dangerous mission? I know I wouldn’t have.

 Rand isn't looking for true love. What he needs is a wife to help care for his orphan nieces. Desperate, he sends an advertisement and hopes for the best.
Fleeing her former employer who would use her to further his unlawful acts, an advertisement reads like the perfect refuge to Carly. Hiding herself on a Kansas cattle ranch is her best shot for freedom.
But its sanctuary comes with a price. While marrying a man she doesn't know or love means sacrificing her dreams, it's better than being caught by the law.
Or is it?

The History of Cowboy Boots

By Jennifer Uhlarik

 

Happy November, readers! In just a few days, we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving! Are you ready? What are you thankful for?

 

Perhaps it seems silly, but beyond being immensely thankful for family, friends, and the usual things people say, I am thankful for our nation’s unique heritage. We have such a melting pot of cultures…with so many nationalities and cultures represented across our land. But one of the decidedly American things about our country that grabbed my heart as a little girl was the cowboy culture of the American West. This part of Americana has spawned me to write and publish fifteen stories about the Old West or parts of that culture, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! So, I thought I’d explore another piece of that culture today by looking at the history of iconic cowboy boots.

 

The Roots of Riding Boots

For centuries, riders have needed sturdy footwear to protect their feet while working around or riding horses. Of course, just as with the rodeo and the cowboy’s large belt buckles, the Vaqueros provided the basis for the boots that would eventually evolve into our modern cowboy boots. 

 

The Vaqueros were livestock herders who rode horses while performing their duties. Originally from Spain, they came to Mexico and Florida and worked their way up into the area we now know as the American Southwest. They needed sturdy footwear that would be easy to get in and out of the saddle stirrups, as well as that could keep their heels from slipping through the stirrup. (Such a mishap could prove deadly if the rider was thrown from the saddle with his foot trapped—as he could be dragged by the horse with no way to rescue himself). Also, they wanted to protect their legs from thorny plants, snakes, and other such dangers. So these men developed a style of boot with a tall shaft and a heel to prevent their feet from becoming stirrup-bound. They were basic cowhide, sometimes made in the colors of their respective ranches.

 

Wellington and Hessian boot styles

The military also adopted a tall boot with a heel. Hessian Boots or Wellingtons (the leather precursor to the rubber rain boots we know by that name today) are two such styles—first worn by cavalry troops in 19^th century Europe. These were often made from a single piece of dark-colored leather, with a rounded toe, a slight heel, and a tall shaft, they made for a sharp accent to the military garb, and they served to protect a rider’s feet and legs from the problems mentioned above. 

 

Evolving Styles

In the post-Civil War America, many men made their way to the western states and territories. Particularly in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, cattle ranching was big business, and boots were in high demand. It was then that these utilitarian styles began to change. In some cases, the boot makers took the typically rounded toes and made them pointier, to make it easier for the wearer to slide his toes in or out of the stirrups. In other cases, the height of the stacked-leather heels was shortened to make walking in the boots over longer distances easier. Still others added decorative stitching to the shafts of the boots or created cutouts or patterns with different colors or materials—purely for ornamentation. Those cowboys who could afford two pairs of boots often kept one pair for work and a second, fancier pair for going to town.

By the 1930s and 40s, the cowboy boots took on an even more decorative style, since they became an iconic image of the American cowboy in movies. The point of the toes became more pronounced, and the patterns of stitching or inset leathers became more colorful and noticeable. Then, in the 50s, rodeo stars who competed in roping competitions asked for changes specific to their particular contests. They needed shorter shafts, rounder toes, and more of a block heel to help them dismount quickly and safely and be able to run. Thus, the “Roper” style was born.

 

Modern Boots

Today’s modern cowboy boots aren’t just for cowboys anymore. They’ve become a fashion statement of their own, worn by people in many different walks of life. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be worn for work, casual outings, social events, and even in formal settings like weddings or gala dinners.

 

Depending on style, the shaft of a cowboy boot falls between eight and seventeen inches tall. The toes of the boots can be square, round, pointed, snip (a pointed toe, but with the tip “snipped” off), wide snip (a pointed toe with a wider “snip”), or other variations of these themes. The stitching styles can be a simple, monochromatic style or might include multiple colors in geometric or starburst patterns. Truly ornate patterns may have elaborate floral stitching adorning the entire boot. Other options of ornamentation are stamped or tooled leather, colorful insets like stars, playing cards, or crosses. And exotic materials like alligator, ostrich, or snakeskin are often used to make a statement.

 

And the iconic cowboy boot styles have even been adapted into shoe styles, lopping off the traditional boot shaft but keeping the pointed or snipped-toe shape of the foot. Over time, these popular styles have shifted from utilitarian to fashionable, but one thing is for sure—it doesn’t appear that the cowboy boot is going anywhere anytime soon.

 

It’s Your Turn: Do you like cowboy boots? Do you own a pair? 

 

 

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered western novels at twelve when she swiped the only “horse” book from her brother’s bookshelf. Across the next decade, she devoured westerns and fell in love with the genre. While attaining a B.A. in writing from the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. She has finaled in and won numerous writing competitions and appeared on various best-seller lists. Besides writing, she’s been a business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, a historical researcher, a publisher, and a full-time homemaker. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband and fur children.

 

 

Love and Order: A Three-Part Old West Romantic Mystery

Wanted: 

Family, Love, and Justice

One Old West Mystery Solved Throughout Three Short Romantic Stories

Separated as children when they were adopted out to different families from an orphan train, the Braddock siblings have each grown up and taken on various jobs within law enforcement and criminal justice.

 

Youngest child, Callie, has pushed past her insecurities to pursue a career as a Pinkerton agent. Middle child, Andi, has spent years studying law under her adoptive father’s tutelage. And the eldest and only son, Rion, is a rough-and-tumble bounty hunter. 

 

When the hunt for a serial killer with a long history of murders reunites the brother and sisters in Cambria Springs, Colorado, they find themselves not only in a fight for justice, but also a fight to keep their newly reunited family intact. How will they navigate these challenges when further complicated by unexpected romances?

 

Children of a Doomed Voyage: the SS City of Benares PART 5: The Bech Family

By Terrie Todd

Not all the passengers aboard the SS City of Benares were part of the CORB program. A few private fee-paying passengers booked passage on board for various reasons. Some were VIPs on government business, others were continuing their flight from Nazi-occupied Europe. A few were mothers taking their children to North America and leaving their husbands behind to continue their contributions to the war effort.

The town hall in Bognor Regis, Sussex, was still new when the Bech family left on their ill-fated trip.

Among the mothers was Marguerite Bech, along with her three children: Barbara, 14, Sonia, 11, and Derek, 9. Marguerite had vivid memories of Zeppelin raids during WWI and had become more and more terrified as air raids began in their small town of Bognor Regis. As overhead dogfights took place on the Sussex coast where they lived and bombers crashed on the beach, Marguerite made the decision to take the children to Canada, where they could spend the remainder of the war with old family connections.

Liverpool's luxurious Adelphi Hotel still operates today.

The first leg of their journey on September 11, 1940, took them to Liverpool’s premier hotel, the luxurious Adelphi, where the children were impressed with a whole suite just for them and an ensuite bathroom—something they hadn’t seen before. They gladly settled into their beds, only to be disturbed by a knock on the door. The air-raid siren had sounded, and they were to evacuate to the basement—the former Turkish baths, orhammam. So, they packed up and spent the night on wooden benches surrounded by mosaic tiles, the crashing and banging of bombs dropping around them. Near morning, they were allowed back to their room, where they tried to grab a couple of hours of sleep before having to leave for the docks. Sonia, 11, admitted to a sinking feeling as they boarded the Benares, but in the rush and excitement around her, she quickly forgot her misgivings.

Although housed at the opposite end of the steamship from the CORB children, the Bechs were equally as impressed with the posh liner and the abundance of food onboard. They quickly made friends among the other first-class private passengers, barely aware that so many children were on board.

Marguerite made sure her children took the daily lifeboat drills seriously, wore their life jackets at all times, and kept an emergency bag packed and ready to grab in the event of an emergency. Barbara Bech later wondered whether the drills left the children with a false sense of security. Sure, they knew what to do if the alarms sounded. But they never did the drills at night or during a storm, and they never lowered the boats. “Nobody would have dreamt of discussing not getting to Canada,” she said. “We were on our way and that was it.”

The SS City of Benares

When the ship was torpedoed on the night of September 17 in the middle of a storm, they felt ill-prepared indeed. They dressed and gathered at their muster station, where they awaited further instructions that did not come. Finally, a crew member burst in, shocked to find the room still full of people. “Get to your lifeboats because the ship’s going down!” he hollered. The Bech family clambered up to the lifeboat deck, but the boats had all been lowered to the water. Barbara volunteered to go down on the ropes. She’d learned to climb up and down ropes in gym class, but didn’t realize her stiff, lace-up shoes would not grip the rope. Hand over hand, she managed to lower herself to the boat below, already filled with passengers. Soon, her boat drifted away from the sinking ship without her family.

Marguerite, Sonia, and Derek ended up on a rickety raft to which they spent several hours clinging by their fingernails. At daybreak, another lifeboat picked them up. Not until they were rescued by the HMS Hurricane around six p.m. on September 18 did they learn that Barbara had survived and were reunited with her. From Scotland, the family caught a train to their home in Bognor Regis where they remained. Only Sonia eventually made it to Canada, where she taught school for three years before returning to England.

Their story can be read in more detail in Miracles on the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack, by Tom Nagorski.

Even If Perish is Terrie’s novel based on the sinking of the SS City of Benares and on the heroism of escort Mary Cornish and the six boys she cared for in a lifeboat for eight days. Terrie is the award-winning author of ten historical and two split-time novels, most of which have won Word Awards through The Word Guild. Her 2023 release, April’s Promise, was a finalist in the ACFW Carol Awards. She lives with her husband, Jon, on the Canadian prairies. 

 

 

“If I perish, I perish.” A sermon based on Queen Esther’s famous

words spurs music teacher Mary Cornish to action. She volunteers to escort a group of 15 girls from England to Canada as part of Britain’s World War II child evacuation program.

All is well aboard the SS City of Benares until September 17, 1940. With a storm brewing in the North Atlantic, a German U-boat releases its torpedo and breaches the ship’s hull. Do the Nazis know ninety children are on board?

In the scramble to save as many lives as possible, Mary lands in a crowded lifeboat as the only female among crew members, passengers, and six young boys. In the storm’s aftermath, two things soon become crystal clear: that Lifeboat 12 has become separated from all the others, and that Mary has been placed here for such a time as this—even if she perishes.

Follow Terrie here:

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THE CENTENNIAL BULB

By Mary Davis

 

The average incandescent bulb lasts about 1,000 hours (approximately 1 year of 3 hrs/day usage).

 

Halogen bulbs last about 1.5 years.

 

Compact fluorescent bulbs last about 6-9 years.

 

An LED bulb lasts about 23-45 years.

 

They have nothing on the Centennial Bulb. It has been lit for 124 years (well over a million hours of nearly continuous use). It was off for short periods due to a few quick moves (22 minutes for one move) or a power outage (9 hours & 45 minutes).

Most early incandescent bulbs lasted around 2,500 hours, but in the 1920s, their lifespan dropped to only 1,000 hours because of the Phoebus Cartel. Philips, Osram, and General Electric got together and agreed to artificially cut the lifespan of bulbs nearly in third and jacked up the prices. They could make three times the money that way. Grrrr.

 

However, the Centennial Bulb wasn’t under these contrived regulations.

 

This particular incandescent bulb was made by hand in the late 1890s in Shelby, Ohio by the Shelby Electric Company. Adolphe Chaillet, a French engineer, invented this carbon-filament bulb and filed a patent for the socket technology. In 1901, Dennis Bernal gifted one of these bulbs to the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department in Livermore, California, his hometown.

 

It lives in station #6.

The bulb started out on L Street in the hose cart house, then it lived in a garage downtown used by fire and police departments. In 1937, the bulb was off for about a week while the station underwent renovations. When the station moved to a new location in 1976, no one was brave enough to unscrew the bulb for fear of damaging it, so they cut the wire and rewired it in the new location 22 minutes later.

Why has this bulb lasted so long when modern bulbs don’t? Well, it was made from high quality materials, has been in nearly continuous use, and a low wattage, 60-watts. These three factors contribute to its longevity. The thermal shock by a light being turned on accounts for a major portion of the wear and tear. Modern incandescents use a tungsten filament compared to the Centennial Bulb’s carbon filament that is 8 times thicker. Another contributing factor is that the bulb has dimmed from 60-watts to about 4-watts (the brightness of a nightlight), using very little power.

 

The Centennial Bulb has its own live-feed webcam, similar to baby animals on farms or eagle hatchlings in the wild. You can watch the bulb in “action” HERE. But I have to warn you, it’s pretty boring. The firefighters joke about having to replace the camera several times but never the bulb.

 

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3)
Can Nicole learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?
   Nicole Waterby heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband, not realizing women don’t wear trousers or carry a gun. She has a lot to learn. Rancher Shane Keegan has drifted from one location to another to find a place to belong. When Nicole crosses his path, he wonders if he can have love, but he soon realizes she’s destined for someone better than a saddle tramp. Will love stand a chance while both Nicole and Shane try to be people they’re not

Get it HERE 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Rocky Mountains with her Carolina dog, Shelby. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

 

Sources

https://www.centennialbulb.org/

http://bulbcam.cityofpleasantonca.gov/view/view.shtml?id=452972&imagepath=%2Fmjpg%2Fvideo.mjpg&size=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Light

https://www.lampsusa.com/blogs/lighting-guides/light-bulbs-how-long-do-they-last-and-when-will-they-need-replacing

https://sunco.com/blogs/sunco-blog/the-oldest-light-bulb-in-the-world-that-s-still-burning

https://www.slashgear.com/1860838/centennial-light-bulb-worlds-oldest-explained/