It drives me wild that myths like this exist too, because most people during the Victorian era were working class. Many people working were women. How would anything ever get done if this myth were true? So silly 🤣 (Edit: just heard you say this part in the video, thank you!) Also, as a daily wearer of historical fashion, I can confirm that arm mobility is just as much as with modern clothes haha.
The one I heard the most at the historical site I volunteer at occasionally was "women had their ribs removed to wear corsets." Um, hello lets think about this for a moment anesthesia was in its infancy so a person is going to have an elective surgery that they could possibly not wake up from? yeahhh no.
Also armscye hint, the smaller/tighter the arm hole the more range of motion you will have. So instead of lowering your arm hole when it doesn't fit you should in fact raise it.
I never understood this idea that women couldn't raise their arms and I only came across it on the English-speaking channel. Another myth (in my opinion) is not showing your ankle as the length of dresses during the Victorian period would vary.
Wait, what? In a time with very high ceilings and shelves and cupboards all the way up -- no. My other favorite is shoes before corset because you can't put shoes on while wearing a corset. It's a corset, not a full body cast.
I wear an 1860s-style “working” corset (no busk), and apart from not being to make as dramatic of bends, I can do anything. Including hard labor. And I think busks could be removed if needed, at least in some, so I think whoever said you can’t tie shoes hasn’t worn one. And I definitely can bend for shoes if needed. Glad I never heard I can’t lift my arms as I definitely have.
I had heard the old wives tale that pregnant women shouldn’t raise their arms above their head because it will make the umbilical cord wrap around the baby’s neck. I guess they thought the umbilical cord was attached to a woman’s arms. Lol.
I had just been told that it was difficult for women in the colonial era to completely raise their arms over their heads, hence most dance moves from that time period was done with bent elbow & no tuck turns
So what was the secret? 🤔 Gussets? The shape of the arm fabric bit before sewing? 👀👀👀 I'm very curious! I'm about to start making some edwardian blouses and bodices and I'm not sure I'd know if something 'wasn't right' at the mock up/fit stage, unless there was an obvious ugly crease somewhere or the fit was all wrong. I'm too used to making due with a mass produced garment.
She mentions this in passing at 9:55 in the video- its the shape of the armscye (the arm hole in the bodice) that most determines range of motion in fitted garments of the period. It should fit high on the armpit- like, if you're trying to figure this out at home, lightly place your hand around the place where your arm joins your body under your opposite armpit... That is what you should feel in the sleeve, it should fit closely (but not tightly) around that area. I think some traditional (like 1960's and earlier) drafting manuals should give results that fit this way, so there's those if that helps. Later, in the 1900s/1910s when T shaped shirtwaists and gowns start becoming fashionable alongside set-in sleeves, they do typically have a more limited range of motion cut as a single piece, and I have seen period sewing manuals recommend setting in gussets to this style of shirt to improve the range of motion... But in short it was most typically through the cut of the armscye/armhole and the corresponding sleeve head. I hope this is helpful!
@@moraghegge7410 Thank you! Yes, it is. Tailoring is HARD. My brain doesn't have the logic yet so I can't always 'tell' what I need when I run into an issue. I also saw, I think in Bernadette Banner's shirtwaist/top of the lace dress video that you can work out what type of extra looseness you might want and kind of work it into the shape of your sleeve piece. But. Yeah. Sleeves are scary. 😂
Goodness sakes, you can see the puffs and the drop shoulders and the apparent gussets in most of the period photos. Disney movies gave me unrealistic expectations regarding bust darts.
I was just thinking about you and you this morning. Lol the things people think they didn't do back then. I've heard someone say they didn't drink water just coffee, tea, and wine. What? How could they not of drank water? That was one of the most absurd things I had heard of.
Is this another 'oh we have made so much progress since the bad old days ' myth? Also costume designers, for the most part, don't give a stuff for practicality or comfort. They are going for an aesthetic. Also there does seem to be a &look how I suffer for my art' thing going on with a LOT of actresses in period drama. If it isn't the awful corset, it's the dreadful weather conditions
It drives me wild that myths like this exist too, because most people during the Victorian era were working class. Many people working were women. How would anything ever get done if this myth were true? So silly 🤣 (Edit: just heard you say this part in the video, thank you!)
Also, as a daily wearer of historical fashion, I can confirm that arm mobility is just as much as with modern clothes haha.
The one I heard the most at the historical site I volunteer at occasionally was "women had their ribs removed to wear corsets." Um, hello lets think about this for a moment anesthesia was in its infancy so a person is going to have an elective surgery that they could possibly not wake up from? yeahhh no.
Also armscye hint, the smaller/tighter the arm hole the more range of motion you will have. So instead of lowering your arm hole when it doesn't fit you should in fact raise it.
Infection, blood clots .....
How could you even move if you had your ribs removed? If anything, you’d probably die.
What a wild idea people had, when we have photos and ads of the time showing that women did that daily
My mother had frozen shoulder in both shoulders for several months. It certainly did get old fast, for her and for her only servant: me.
I never understood this idea that women couldn't raise their arms and I only came across it on the English-speaking channel. Another myth (in my opinion) is not showing your ankle as the length of dresses during the Victorian period would vary.
Wait, what? In a time with very high ceilings and shelves and cupboards all the way up -- no. My other favorite is shoes before corset because you can't put shoes on while wearing a corset. It's a corset, not a full body cast.
I wear an 1860s-style “working” corset (no busk), and apart from not being to make as dramatic of bends, I can do anything. Including hard labor. And I think busks could be removed if needed, at least in some, so I think whoever said you can’t tie shoes hasn’t worn one. And I definitely can bend for shoes if needed. Glad I never heard I can’t lift my arms as I definitely have.
I had heard the old wives tale that pregnant women shouldn’t raise their arms above their head because it will make the umbilical cord wrap around the baby’s neck. I guess they thought the umbilical cord was attached to a woman’s arms. Lol.
I had just been told that it was difficult for women in the colonial era to completely raise their arms over their heads, hence most dance moves from that time period was done with bent elbow & no tuck turns
I am soooo here for this, especially knowing where the motivation for it comes from.
So what was the secret? 🤔 Gussets? The shape of the arm fabric bit before sewing? 👀👀👀
I'm very curious!
I'm about to start making some edwardian blouses and bodices and I'm not sure I'd know if something 'wasn't right' at the mock up/fit stage, unless there was an obvious ugly crease somewhere or the fit was all wrong. I'm too used to making due with a mass produced garment.
She mentions this in passing at 9:55 in the video- its the shape of the armscye (the arm hole in the bodice) that most determines range of motion in fitted garments of the period. It should fit high on the armpit- like, if you're trying to figure this out at home, lightly place your hand around the place where your arm joins your body under your opposite armpit... That is what you should feel in the sleeve, it should fit closely (but not tightly) around that area. I think some traditional (like 1960's and earlier) drafting manuals should give results that fit this way, so there's those if that helps.
Later, in the 1900s/1910s when T shaped shirtwaists and gowns start becoming fashionable alongside set-in sleeves, they do typically have a more limited range of motion cut as a single piece, and I have seen period sewing manuals recommend setting in gussets to this style of shirt to improve the range of motion... But in short it was most typically through the cut of the armscye/armhole and the corresponding sleeve head.
I hope this is helpful!
So like long story short depends on the type of sleeve!
@@moraghegge7410 Thank you! Yes, it is. Tailoring is HARD. My brain doesn't have the logic yet so I can't always 'tell' what I need when I run into an issue.
I also saw, I think in Bernadette Banner's shirtwaist/top of the lace dress video that you can work out what type of extra looseness you might want and kind of work it into the shape of your sleeve piece. But. Yeah. Sleeves are scary. 😂
Look at pictures. Also they are very blousy so really it's down to the tucks. And they hid a multitude of sins
Goodness sakes, you can see the puffs and the drop shoulders and the apparent gussets in most of the period photos.
Disney movies gave me unrealistic expectations regarding bust darts.
I was just thinking about you and you this morning. Lol the things people think they didn't do back then. I've heard someone say they didn't drink water just coffee, tea, and wine. What? How could they not of drank water? That was one of the most absurd things I had heard of.
Plain cold water might have been full of microbes.
...armpit gores... nuff said
The shade in this video is slaying me 😂 love it
Is this another 'oh we have made so much progress since the bad old days ' myth? Also costume designers, for the most part, don't give a stuff for practicality or comfort. They are going for an aesthetic. Also there does seem to be a &look how I suffer for my art' thing going on with a LOT of actresses in period drama. If it isn't the awful corset, it's the dreadful weather conditions
If you were a working class women in Victorian England as the majority were and you spent 14 hours a day in a mill or laundry, they lifted their arms.
Women climbed mountains, did housework and played sports in these outfits. Ffs.
𝓅𝓇o𝓂o𝓈𝓂 🙂