The 1790s Fashion Revolution Freaked Men Out

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  • Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
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    Ok, we all know the 1790s for the absolute chaos it brought: the French Revolution and the super relatable guillotine jewelry, etc. But we totally overlook the absolutely ridiculous "OMG WOMEN AND GIRLS ALL WANNA LOOK PREGNANT" Trend that kicked off in the spring of 1793 (and the shift in women's fashion that would last until the mid- 1820s!) Newspapers, magazines, and [male] artists were so bothered about how women were wearing belly pads under their skirts to look pregnant...but is it true? Did women actually wear padding to appear pregnant or is something else happening (like full skirts under the bust + shorter stays that gave the appearance of a fuller abdomen...you know...logical things...)
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 502

  • @labhrais6957
    @labhrais6957 Місяць тому +1426

    I love you saying "This version of my body" I'll have to use that instead of all the things I say relating to my younger pre baby self.

    • @sevensongs
      @sevensongs Місяць тому +147

      Came here to say this. I've watched Abby for YEARS and love the fact that she keeps projecting body change (up, down, in, out, whatever) as normal and not a positive or negative either way.

    • @WhimsicalCrochet
      @WhimsicalCrochet Місяць тому +15

      I saw this comment before starting the video & it convinced me that this was a pregnancy announcement 🤣😭 fr thought you meant she said “this version of my body” instead of “pregnancy body”🫠

    • @AuthenticWe
      @AuthenticWe Місяць тому +11

      Yes the key is knowing change is coming, and welcome the fact that every version of yourself through the years is what makes your wisdom, never look back and say I want that again, you’ve already lived it, life wants you to experience more, hope y’all have a fantastic day. Ubuntu

    • @Lani2442
      @Lani2442 Місяць тому +16

      I changed the language I use about my body a few months ago. You can't go back. Babies or no babies, your body changes as you age due to hormones and metabolism and all manner of other things. We aren't less beautiful in all our iterations, just different. Your body, weight, and proportions aren't good or bad. They are completely neutral. The societal beauty expectations are the problem. I love how vulnerable and real Abby is with all of this right now.

    • @mindychristensen8715
      @mindychristensen8715 Місяць тому +3

      Agreed!!! I am going to follow your awesome example!

  • @bilh3292
    @bilh3292 Місяць тому +560

    Alternate theory for the belly pad trend: sneaking snacks into theaters.

    • @jenniferpalmer5130
      @jenniferpalmer5130 Місяць тому +22

      Having snack pockets sew into your garments 😂

    • @karowolkenschaufler7659
      @karowolkenschaufler7659 Місяць тому +14

      YES. with the big side hoops and the massive pockets you could have in those gone... you need to find a new place for your stuff.

    • @DimaRakesah
      @DimaRakesah 13 днів тому +3

      🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for the laugh!

    • @VeginMatt
      @VeginMatt 7 днів тому +6

      Eventually I'll start making my own dresses and skirts. When I do I'll make little pockets/slots along the hem for weights.... that will happen to be the right size to slip in mini snickers

  • @sianthesheep
    @sianthesheep Місяць тому +964

    Can it even be a fashion trend if there isn’t a bitchy letter to the editor from some dude pissed that the style of garments they make aren’t the height of fashion anymore? It’s really interesting seeing you remake a garment for updated fashion - I know it was super common for almost every class apart from the really wealthy but its not something I have seen in practise before.

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +192

      No, I don't think it can be a fashion trend unless there is a bitchy letter 🤣🤣 that's how we know it was here to stay 🤣 - i had a lot of fun remaking this gown too! Originally i was going to make a whole new gown, and i was so...bored (?) by the idea, that the moment I saw all the printed cotton gowns in the V&A I was like WAIT A MINUTE THIS SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD TIME! It was really fun picking it a part and figuring out how to put it back together in an efficient and economical way.

    • @lenabreijer1311
      @lenabreijer1311 Місяць тому +61

      I remember all the twittering about mini skirts and how it would destroy the skin on our thighs because they were now exposed to the weather in winter. Our thighs would no longer be smooths and silky for men to touch!

    • @dismurrart6648
      @dismurrart6648 Місяць тому +44

      @@sianthesheep one of my friends found one of these once. It was a guy ranting about women's pants before that was even a thing we were doing. The tone was like a guy convinced we'd literally steal his pants specifically

    • @peggedyourdad9560
      @peggedyourdad9560 Місяць тому +19

      @@lenabreijer1311 I will still mention that exposed skin is vulnerable to UV damage from the sun so make sure you apply SPF to your exposed legs before going out if you're planning on being outside for more than 10 min. Back of the knees/legs is actually one of the top spots for skin tumors.

    • @lenabreijer1311
      @lenabreijer1311 Місяць тому +24

      @@peggedyourdad9560 yes but we don't have good sunscreen. And they were more concerned about winter putting calluses on our skin.
      And trust me, you haven't lived until you have gotten a sun burn wearing fishnet stockings! I think it was the only time I tanned. Cute bloches of tiny diamonds on my legs all summer.

  • @megleland6320
    @megleland6320 Місяць тому +360

    I'm betting many women in the 18thC were just as nervous as Abby was cutting into a handmade dress to re-work it. The stakes were very high.

    • @merchantfan
      @merchantfan Місяць тому +6

      I really do wonder what kind of piece making methods they used to keep reusing fabric that long. I mean when you're sewing now you end up with so much scrap and it's hard to find an exact match to the old fabric. Though maybe for some of it they could just dye more fabric to match?

  • @FlagCutie
    @FlagCutie Місяць тому +463

    "When the teasing stopped." makes me think of all the boomers going after the teens in the 90s and their ratty jeans and inevitably making the "did you pay full price for those" joke.

    • @chrissihr1031
      @chrissihr1031 Місяць тому +97

      My boomer dad had a complete mental meltdown once in the 90s because I packed a pair of jeans with holes in the knees to go to a friend’s house overnight and he thought I was sneaking around behind his back to wear them because I packed them in my overnight bag instead of trying to wear them out of the house where he could see them and tell me to go change. This is the moment I realized my dad’s generation was fully and completely insane and could not be reasoned with. So I just started keeping my fun clothes at my bestie’s house and he never had any idea what I wore in public again. 😂

    • @The_Cloth_Surgeon
      @The_Cloth_Surgeon Місяць тому +16

      And the babydoll complaints of the early 00s

    • @niamhfox9559
      @niamhfox9559 Місяць тому +14

      Rah-rah skirts from the 80's (think Cindy Lauper's look) or Peplums(sp?) being so hated in the late 90's!

    • @seitanbeatsyourmeat666
      @seitanbeatsyourmeat666 Місяць тому

      @@niamhfox9559I still love a nice peplum 😂

    • @Aelffwynn
      @Aelffwynn Місяць тому +7

      ​@chrissihr1031 I'm sorry your dad was so unhinged about your clothes. And probably other things. That's a tough thing to navigate as a kid. My mom was weird about a lot of things, but she wasn't controlling and paranoid like that. She even went to therapy and has gotten a lot better.

  • @JustSaralius
    @JustSaralius Місяць тому +466

    Remember in like 2008-ish when empire waist dresses and tops were trendy? As a skinny, flat-bellied teen, I was told I looked pregnant and "why do you want to look like you're pregnant?" and it wasn't girls or women saying those things...

    • @charlibrown7745
      @charlibrown7745 Місяць тому +56

      I love empire waist dresses and I assure you, you were adorable. I'm sorry you were spoken to so rudely. People are crazy.

    • @sarahwoodward1652
      @sarahwoodward1652 Місяць тому +28

      People are rude! Sorry about that. Luckily I was pregnant in 2008 and for the ONLY time in my life, fashion suited me 😂

    • @MonikaSzustakiewicz-u2r
      @MonikaSzustakiewicz-u2r Місяць тому +7

      This was such a calming, beautiful video to educate myself with whilst making dinner. Subscribed just now as I am officially hooked on your content ❤

    • @Littlebeth5657
      @Littlebeth5657 Місяць тому +24

      Omg I loved those dresses and tops and got so many of those pregnancy comments. They were so comfy and I felt pretty but nothing destroys a 14 year olds self esteem like calling them pregnant

    • @NvmTheJoy
      @NvmTheJoy Місяць тому +12

      I was also in high school in '08 and my mom absolutely said I looked pregnant, too. *eyeroll*

  • @jennifercourtemanche9793
    @jennifercourtemanche9793 Місяць тому +470

    Thank you for showing that "first cut paralysis" is a thing across all skill and experience levels!

    • @AllTheHappySquirrels
      @AllTheHappySquirrels Місяць тому +4

      OMG, I thought I was the only one!

    • @kadybourn7143
      @kadybourn7143 Місяць тому +12

      I so related to that moment! I wasn't remaking an existing garment, but for the past two weeks, I have been sewing an Edwardian ensemble from fabric in my stash that just barely was sufficient yardage. No room for error but plenty of room for terror.

    • @jennifercourtemanche9793
      @jennifercourtemanche9793 Місяць тому +7

      @@kadybourn7143 Oh that last line is great!

    • @AReluctantSeamstress
      @AReluctantSeamstress Місяць тому +1

      A great Lamaze breathing moment…

    • @karowolkenschaufler7659
      @karowolkenschaufler7659 Місяць тому +4

      and it's not just cutting into an existing garment. it's also cutting into expensive fabrics. I have it, my boss has it... it's a thing.

  • @Miss_Kisa94
    @Miss_Kisa94 Місяць тому +134

    On this episode of "men complaining about women having fun" we have example 37289

  • @DarcyCarmen
    @DarcyCarmen Місяць тому +163

    What I love the most about this, especially the part where Abby is talking about the stakes of cutting up the gown, is that literally EVERY sewer going back before the 1790s had this exact same conversation with themself (or their sister). “OMG, what if I screw it up and ruin it?” Also, every single sewer, regardless of the age, sewed it wrong and had a mini fit over the mistake. It’s such a common human thread (no pun).

  • @The_Cloth_Surgeon
    @The_Cloth_Surgeon Місяць тому +108

    7:43 I can just imagine Timothy Stay complaining his wife and daughters wanting to look pregnant/ 4 months gone, and I can just imagine what the wife and daughter were thinking
    The Stay Dude: they want to look pregnant!
    Wife and eldest daughters, ah actually this look is just of the fashion?
    8 year old daughter look at my big puffy skirt! It’s so puffy, did you see me slouching… that’s right you didn’t!!!! , it’s impossible to see me slouching in my big puffy skirt!
    Look it goes spinny! 🤣

  • @michaeldomeier
    @michaeldomeier Місяць тому +164

    “I’m not procrastinating I’m being efficient.” Abby cox I need this as a sticker. 😂

  • @Ciara_Turner
    @Ciara_Turner Місяць тому +271

    Never thought I'd hear the phrase skibbidi toilet during a discussion of 1790s fashion lol

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +87

      It might have been cringey af but I made myself laugh lol

    • @jungtothehuimang
      @jungtothehuimang Місяць тому +5

      It took me by shock

    • @MadamoftheCatHouse
      @MadamoftheCatHouse Місяць тому +17

      That's the first time I'm hearing it in my life.

  • @makeminemonsters
    @makeminemonsters Місяць тому +45

    Ooh, I love the idea that the "looking pregnant" aspect of 1790s fashion had a transgressive, obliquely suggestive "I'm sexually active" coding that was a feature not a bug.

  • @Tailfeather-Studio
    @Tailfeather-Studio Місяць тому +391

    Literally snorted at the alpha male podcast/cybertruck comment 😂

    • @erinnyren5564
      @erinnyren5564 Місяць тому +18

      Right?!😂 Oh, and maybe don’t accost women…”pregnant” women at that! 😳

  • @Sweetthang9
    @Sweetthang9 Місяць тому +145

    My own flawed reaction to seeing a video like this in my feed:
    - "how interesting could watching someone sew be?"
    - *watches*
    - *is enthralled by both the relaxing visuals of someone sewing and the incredible story behind a trend that just shows that we never really change as society*

  • @clueless_cutie
    @clueless_cutie Місяць тому +134

    It's really interesting how the "don't look pregnant" thing is back in full swing. I love the comfort of baby doll style dresses yet I avoid them because of the belly effect

    • @jessa5388
      @jessa5388 Місяць тому +4

      It's a nice time to be pregnant and avoiding expensive maternity dresses!

    • @ruthanastacia
      @ruthanastacia 6 днів тому +2

      I was quite skinny in my younger years, but I still had a little belly. So, my high-waisted sun dresses from the late 1970s and most of my dresses from the 1990s made me look a little pregnant. I didn't care, though. I liked the style. Those dropped-waisted from the 1980s I avoided like the plague, though. They made my little tummy look awful, and they did my short stature no favors, proportions-wise.

    • @ruthanastacia
      @ruthanastacia 6 днів тому +1

      Now that I am 60, the high-waisted style is kinder to my post-menopause belly!

  • @BlinkiesNoGood
    @BlinkiesNoGood Місяць тому +89

    Can I just appreciate the phrasing "this (new) version of my body"? As someone whose body has changed a lot in the last decade and a half for many reasons, I'm gonna try to reword my thinking like this to reduce self-shaming

  • @neeag4112
    @neeag4112 Місяць тому +240

    Wait, men once understood for a moment in time that women's fashion was not about them?!

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +124

      Men when women kept wearing this new gown style: 👁️👄👁️

  • @quokkakola1722
    @quokkakola1722 Місяць тому +67

    So the belly pad was 1794’s version of the “tide pod challenge” which no one actually did but an entire generation was accused of doing.

  • @brittanybowen2504
    @brittanybowen2504 Місяць тому +43

    So this explains why I’ve always hated those empire waist tops from the early/mid 2000s. I always thought they looked so cute on others but made me look pregnant.

  • @meghanmcgowan7748
    @meghanmcgowan7748 Місяць тому +27

    singing "Peeeeeterrrr Diiiiiiklaaaaage" to your dog is so real lol, if you don't constantly sing nonsense to your dog are you even a dog owner

  • @cb9825
    @cb9825 Місяць тому +22

    Finally, a fashion trend I would fit in with no effort!😂 no belly pads needed, I have some natural padding there 🤣

  • @fitandhappy42
    @fitandhappy42 Місяць тому +54

    This reminds me of the assumptions people have made about the Arnolfini portrait, in which the woman appears pregnant but is just wearing a style of dress that has a fashionable over abundance of fabric at the front.
    (Aside, but I had to google to make sure I had the title of the painting right and had completely forgotten the husband is wearing a big Jamiroqui hat).

    • @karlahovde
      @karlahovde Місяць тому +4

      I was thinking she'd cover that portrait/ dress style too!

  • @SewingandCaring
    @SewingandCaring Місяць тому +38

    So when I was a young girl I got to go round a place called Calke Abbey, pre-restoration, this place is a stately home which had been shut up since the 1920s and was basically a cluttered time capsule from the 1880s. Only way up and down the stairs was by the servant's entrances and passages - every single wall covered in rude caricatures of the lords and ladies of that house from the 1550s onwards. Some of them were framed.

  • @Terrelli9
    @Terrelli9 Місяць тому +92

    This whole open robe thing just solved my problem whenever I get engaged and need to find a wedding dress that fits my aesthetic. This changes everything! Thank you!

  • @A_Amazi
    @A_Amazi 7 днів тому +7

    I love that you also mention what (besides fashion) was going on in the world during the timeframe. It really helps to paint the whole picture. 💜

  • @spooniesarah
    @spooniesarah Місяць тому +60

    From the start of your video I was like I'll bet the prego belly trend was just the awkward time when dress waistlines were ascending and ladies had to remake their existing clothes. Like how gathering fabric at the garment's waist adds bulk? But also, any garment which is fitted under the bust, but otherwise flowy.... any belly that's not completely flat will be on display.

  • @CryogenicFire
    @CryogenicFire Місяць тому +125

    Welp! I just learned that boobs were once called "the Merry Thought"; the more you know I guess 🤷🤣
    Seriously though, I loved this video Abby. I love when you go off on merry tangents (No pun intended!).

    • @persephoneee3743
      @persephoneee3743 Місяць тому +6

      I misheard it as "the married thought" 😂

    • @ItsJustLisa
      @ItsJustLisa Місяць тому +5

      I’ll have to use that term on my husband. I’m sure he’ll agree. He’s all about “the merry thoughts”.

    • @Ninnisha
      @Ninnisha Місяць тому +1

      I thought I heard "Mary's thought" and I thought it was religious lol.

  • @lorekeepermeerah
    @lorekeepermeerah Місяць тому +16

    'The 90's were wild' made me cackle. I wish more people would talk about periods in history with such passion and like, *interesting* language haha. Lovely video as always, Abby ^^

  • @kathmorgan3429
    @kathmorgan3429 Місяць тому +173

    They are just calling natural unstayed women fat. Same as they do now as soon as we breathe out.

  • @wanderingspark
    @wanderingspark Місяць тому +28

    Most people today have no idea how much you can alter your silhouette with just a bunch of gathered fabric; I'm sure that was true of men in the 1790s. I made a circa 1640 English common woman's outfit, similar to Wenceslaus Hollar's kitchen maid. Several people thought I had to be wearing a bum roll under it, but it was just a lot of thick fabric cartridge pleated at the waist.

  • @PokhrajRoy.
    @PokhrajRoy. Місяць тому +197

    0:33 I mean, looking like you had tuberculosis used to be considered fashionable once upon a time and now people have specialised pens to draw freckles on their faces. ‘Distressed’ is the new aesthetic. Anything is possible.

    • @ashextraordinaire
      @ashextraordinaire Місяць тому +25

      Do not get me started on the fake freckles. I was teased my entire childhood (in the 80s) for having freckles on my nose and cheeks, and I was *pissed* that rubbing lemon juice all over them did not, in fact, make them disappear. Now they're a fashion statement!

    • @naolucillerandom5280
      @naolucillerandom5280 Місяць тому +13

      ​@@ashextraordinaire lol me with my eyebrows. I'm telling you, a life of bullying for not plucking or shaving or waxing them, then 2015 rolls around and it's all "omg I love your eyebrows, I have to fill in mine" 😂

    • @ashextraordinaire
      @ashextraordinaire Місяць тому +5

      @@naolucillerandom5280 IT'S INSANE

    • @wednes3day
      @wednes3day Місяць тому +7

      Your traits have been or will be in fashion and out of fashion sometime (like high hairlines in certain parts of the middle ages)

    • @ruthanastacia
      @ruthanastacia 6 днів тому +3

      Remember "heroin chic" in the 1990s? Ugh!

  • @LondonLite02
    @LondonLite02 Місяць тому +35

    It's wild to think of people gossiping about these crazy fashions while the events of the revolution are just happening in the background!

    • @retrogradepink
      @retrogradepink Місяць тому +6

      Yeah, just like modern times!

    • @adaddinsane
      @adaddinsane Місяць тому +3

      Have you seen the world recently?

  • @marikotrue3488
    @marikotrue3488 Місяць тому +14

    I never knew about this trend. Absolutely wild that for at least a few years in the 18th century you could be unmarried and pregnant with "the permission" of fashion, well at least until your due date. Love extra material, possible projects: pockets, belt, corset, head wrap, bag?
    BTW, I appreciated the disclaimer. Anyone's physical condition is NONE of my business but I did think that this video was going in a certain direction🙄.

  • @Rosy.Cusson
    @Rosy.Cusson Місяць тому +48

    Thanks for clarifying at the beginning that it wasn't an announcement. I don't consider it any of my business, but the title did make me curious.

  • @katerinajoan257
    @katerinajoan257 Місяць тому +34

    This was so enjoyable, thank you :).
    I also feel I need to add: there was never a time in my life where I was more hit on than when I was pregnant.

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +14

      💀

    • @wurstbrat.
      @wurstbrat. Місяць тому +6

      Oh no. My first reaction to this video thumbnail was "maybe this would repel men!"
      Back to the drawing board I guess. 😭

    • @anastasiya8314
      @anastasiya8314 3 дні тому +1

      Omg same here!!!! I was about to comment that and then saw this 😂😂😂 and it was by many attractive men too which was even more shocking to me lol

    • @katerinajoan257
      @katerinajoan257 3 дні тому

      @@anastasiya8314 right??

  • @DrinkYourNailPolish
    @DrinkYourNailPolish Місяць тому +171

    I would so fit into that trend b/c I carry all my weight in my midsection- so I look permanently pregnant.

    • @janathompson1204
      @janathompson1204 Місяць тому +8

      Same!

    • @blueocean43
      @blueocean43 Місяць тому +16

      Same, I have some serious bloating issues, and it looks super comfortable for that.

    • @dismurrart6648
      @dismurrart6648 Місяць тому +9

      I feel seen by this comment

    • @JustAshley9685
      @JustAshley9685 Місяць тому +6

      Omg same 😭 I was born in the wrong era 😂

    • @MissMellyDi
      @MissMellyDi Місяць тому +1

      SAME

  • @jennylafleur
    @jennylafleur Місяць тому +41

    What a delightful romp in my favorite fashion transition moment! The 1780s into the 1790s are so wild and wacky!

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +13

      IT'S SO GOOD!! 😭😭😭

    • @ruthanastacia
      @ruthanastacia 6 днів тому

      I like that fashion period, too!

  • @latronqui
    @latronqui Місяць тому +39

    Watching this as I modify my palazzo pants to fit my pregnant belly 😄

    • @symphony_in_plaid4592
      @symphony_in_plaid4592 Місяць тому

      meanwhile I expected to be showing by now because I have a really short torso and I’m not even close 😂

    • @symphony_in_plaid4592
      @symphony_in_plaid4592 Місяць тому +1

      meanwhile I expected to be showing by now because I have a really short torso but I’m not even close 😂

    • @latronqui
      @latronqui Місяць тому

      @@symphony_in_plaid4592 eventually it will show ;)

  • @katharinedonnelly8343
    @katharinedonnelly8343 Місяць тому +77

    Could/should the belly-pad (whether it existed or not) be added to the list of things in women's fashion that takes up space that the patriarchy freaks out over? (See: sleeve supports, crinolines, paniers, etc.) 'Cause gods forbid women take up physical space and start demanding *gasp* equality and equity!

  • @GothCookie
    @GothCookie Місяць тому +8

    To me, empire waistlines are SO gorgeous and graceful!

  • @MariettePeeters
    @MariettePeeters Місяць тому +24

    The underbreath singing of Dinklage, Peter Dinklage into your dog’s head was everything!! 😂❤

    • @sonipitts
      @sonipitts Місяць тому +3

      I mean...he's why so many of us actually watch that hot mess, tbh. 😆

    • @SunnySunshineField
      @SunnySunshineField Місяць тому

      ❤😊

  • @ultimateskillchain
    @ultimateskillchain Місяць тому +8

    I am so glad you addressed the "omg is Abby pregnant" thing early on, because as the intro went on a bit I was assuming the comments were going to be full of that question!
    As always, a wonderfully amusing and informative video :) and I'm so glad you can wear that gown again, because I've always thought it looked lovely on you. And now it still does! It's so funny to me that at one point, petticoats had to be held up by shoulder straps 😂 it's giving "grandpa with high pants and suspenders" and I love it.

  • @serephita
    @serephita Місяць тому +24

    This video was hilarious, I love the references to older clickbait (let's be honest, we haven't evolved that much considering "(insert name) was here" has been found as writing in caves) - and a nice reminder that no, we do not dress for the male gaze. Brava. Also hearing you break out into T Swift at the end had me laughing so hard my cat looked at me like he thought I was dying. Thank you for that!

    • @duceagle6625
      @duceagle6625 Місяць тому +5

      I've recently seen someone sum up people in the past vs. today beautifully: "They were just as smart then as we are now, We are just as stupid now as they were then"

  • @tanakaryuunosuke2641
    @tanakaryuunosuke2641 Місяць тому +23

    I really enjoyed the sewing content together with the research

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +10

      Oh that's great to hear! I'm having a lot of fun with this new style, it's a lot more pre-production and filming work, but it's so much more enjoyable to edit and I also think a better video in the end. So I'm really glad to hear folks are enjoying it! ❤️

    • @tanakaryuunosuke2641
      @tanakaryuunosuke2641 Місяць тому +4

      @@AbbyCox it's certainly worth all the effort!!

    • @jazzeecat
      @jazzeecat Місяць тому +5

      I second that. I loved the mix of sewing project and discussion of research. this was a beautiful video to watch. I really enjoyed. thanks!

  • @pamelaanderson4685
    @pamelaanderson4685 Місяць тому +4

    1965 and 1966 there was the rage of empire dresses, baby doll dresses and tent dresses which we sewed in home economics classes, made with granny prints, checked fabric, paisley prints and MOD prints. The first time I saw myself wearing one in a family photo I thought "oh no I look pregnant!" and I never wore them again. From then on it was hip huggers and crop tops as the bare midriff was the new fashion. For school it was mini skirts and po-boy sweaters with knee high boots, but my favorite was a real leather jumper that was body hugging over a black knit turtleneck and tights.

  • @colbyreader
    @colbyreader Місяць тому +3

    My niece (8) is surrounded by very young moms all the time because their family is very Mormon. She’s always asking women why they aren’t pregnant and telling them god has babies for them. She often pretends she’s pregnant and cares for her little sister as if she was her own. She has no idea how any of this actually works and it scares me because I know how fast men take advantage of that, especially in religious groups.
    All this to say; yes I can very well imagine 8 year olds dressing pregnant and even competing with little dolls.

  • @lokasen9417
    @lokasen9417 Місяць тому +21

    The pad on the belly sounds like a great way to keep the belly warm in winter and during tough period cramps tbh ! Could there have been historical evidence of using any form of padding for that around that period ? It wouldn't be advertised in millinery since that would be done with regular bum pads or DIYed in other ways.
    Maybe it's just my cramps speaking lmao idk

    • @noaccount2494
      @noaccount2494 Місяць тому +6

      I have zero proof of this. But I could imagine an under layer apron being hidden away or a giant tie on pocket, and you can slide a warmed object in or out for such purpose.

  • @CallmeRynn84
    @CallmeRynn84 Місяць тому +14

    I was getting antsy wondering how much fabric was left..... I'm glad you put that update in!

    • @AbbyCox
      @AbbyCox  Місяць тому +10

      Yeah I couldn’t find a place where it flowed in the main body of the video so I decided the very end like a marvel movie would work. 🤣

  • @eldritchyarnbeing3295
    @eldritchyarnbeing3295 Місяць тому +28

    so youre telling me my endometriosis wouldve made me haute couture? at least back then i couldve fashionably been in excruciating pain💅🏼

  • @jessicaarntzen582
    @jessicaarntzen582 Місяць тому +14

    I might be projecting, but it almost sounds like fat shaming. Like these guys had no idea that things got squished in stays. Then, when women stoped wearing them, men lost there friggin' minds that flat tummies weren't the only shape.

    • @codename495
      @codename495 Місяць тому +9

      I imagine any man who had a wife or lover knew perfectly well what was being squashed by stays.

    • @jasminv8653
      @jasminv8653 Місяць тому +5

      ​@@codename495 the wealthier men in western europe? Not necessarily too aware. Lady's maids helping the madame dress and wash herself and they do the deed every once in a while in the dark fully clad in night gowns and whatnot. Easy to fool himself into thinking she's actually stays-shaped whenever upright.
      But everyone else working and living in cramped quarters, already not wearing stays, rather jumps or even plain kirtles still? Yeah. They knew.
      But these gender and fashion related moral panics are always upper crust discussions in the 18th century.

    • @Rosa-kd2cl
      @Rosa-kd2cl Місяць тому +2

      I think many of them didn’t know what women’s bodies naturally looked like. 😂

    • @ruthanastacia
      @ruthanastacia 6 днів тому

      I'm sure that is part of it. I also think that women wearing comfortable clothes that were also stylish made men uneasy at that time. Women were wearing rather hampering clothing up to that point.

    • @gorgo4910
      @gorgo4910 5 днів тому

      She’s literally wearing stays.

  • @ah5721
    @ah5721 Місяць тому +6

    Its funny because in the Renaissance the Arnolfini Portrait makes it look like the bride is pregnant because of the draping

  • @sweetlorikeet
    @sweetlorikeet Місяць тому +3

    I really love how this shows how extremely doable it was to re-work old dresses into the new fashions.

  • @piercedsiren
    @piercedsiren Місяць тому +40

    Listen you're allowed to know Vanguard from Game of Thrones. I know Vanguard from MY HERO ACADEMIA 😂

  • @clevm002
    @clevm002 Місяць тому +7

    Abby I cannot pin point what you have done with your videos recently but they are killing it recently - the way they are shot, the pacing, the scripts - just really good !!

  • @rachelbentley9533
    @rachelbentley9533 Місяць тому +209

    women: hey look it's my organs in my body
    men: women are literally padding to look pregnant!
    women: that's literally just my organs...

    • @ArtByEmilyHare
      @ArtByEmilyHare Місяць тому +16

      Our organs don’t sit outside in our bellies. Not all women have a belly (I do) but this idea that the belly pouch is to protect our organs or our organs are why we have a belly is not true.

    • @janibii_608
      @janibii_608 Місяць тому +9

      @@ArtByEmilyHarethe whole “protecting organs” thing is coming from a good place but I think it misses the point. Because there are people who do just have extra fat on their belly, and that’s okay.

    • @wednes3day
      @wednes3day Місяць тому +3

      ​@@janibii_608and folks without/with less of it also still have organs

  • @dismurrart6648
    @dismurrart6648 Місяць тому +12

    I love the skibidi toilet mention.
    I love looking at ways people are identical across time anf culture.
    One of my favorites is that i saw a list of 700 year old dog names and one was baby.
    Kids have been silly since prehistory.

  • @mheinzle
    @mheinzle Місяць тому +4

    Oooh. That‘s your „viral video“ gown, right? Also, I actually came here to say the same thing as the other commenters: I love you saying „this version of my body“. And I‘ve been using that phrase ever since and I‘m much more accepting of this body now than I ever was before. So thanks!

  • @leviholt4557
    @leviholt4557 Місяць тому +2

    The hesitancy to commit to cutting fabric is a huge part of the crafting process that i wish more channels showed

  • @katherineburtt2502
    @katherineburtt2502 Місяць тому +8

    When you first mentioned that the trend started during the French Revolution I was like “Yeah of course, so they don’t get beheaded.” But then the further it went on it just reminded me more and more of men complaining when high waisted jeans first started coming back into fashion. I wouldn’t be surprised if some guys thought that women were putting tummy padding under their jeans 😅

    • @silentlyjudgingyou
      @silentlyjudgingyou Місяць тому +2

      To be fair I hate the high waisted pants as well. It's been years since I could find something I didn't have to fold the waist band down twice to be comfortable.

    • @katherineburtt2502
      @katherineburtt2502 Місяць тому +2

      @@silentlyjudgingyou I would love if we could have pants that fit everyone’s preferences in stores. I have a long torso so I personally love the high waisted stuff. But I still get annoyed thinking about all the teenage boys that complained that they make girls’ butts looks bad and tummies look bigger.

    • @silentlyjudgingyou
      @silentlyjudgingyou Місяць тому +1

      @@katherineburtt2502 I am a short person with a short torso and I can't breathe in those properly unless I fold them down the lack of choice is terrible. thing is I remember men whining about proper waist lines as well before they vanished that's just what men do

    • @dennisahlarson1584
      @dennisahlarson1584 2 дні тому

      I have a big butt and love high-waisted jeans because they properly cover my butt and I can safely reach up or bend down without exposing my crack. I hated the low rider and hip hugger jeans that were all the rage in my teen years. My butt always felt like it was peeking out when I moved. I wore long shirts or tunics to ensure coverage. I remember complaining while shoppong for jeans, about how all of them were designed for women with 10 inch butts and how us big butted women were being left out of the fashion trend. 😂

  • @katherinec2759
    @katherinec2759 10 днів тому +3

    9:00 Okay, story time. I was 9 when my youngest sister was born. My mom would go shopping for maternity clothes, and the store had these pads that you could wear in the fitting room, so that you could see what a shirt would look like on you at 6 or 9 months pregnant. So you didn't have to only buy clothes for right now, you could buy ahead also. The place where they were hanging looked a lot like the wall in the cartoon.
    I was OBSESSED with putting those on to see what I would look like pregnant. I think it was more because I wanted to be just like my mom than from a fascination with fashion or anything, but I was constantly trying to put those on and see.
    (And now, of course, I'm due with my second any day, and I don't have to imagine. But the cartoon brought back memories for me.)

  • @arwengrune
    @arwengrune Місяць тому +3

    Scraps at the end:
    Makes sense, as back then, they wouldn't have any scraps of the gown either, and so any alterations whould have used the gown or less of it. 👗
    Great vid! Super dress! Need more regency gown sewing!!!!!

  • @PokhrajRoy.
    @PokhrajRoy. Місяць тому +24

    0:11 Gonna tell my kids this was Helena Bonham Carter in ‘Howard’s End’

  • @Moonlily23
    @Moonlily23 Місяць тому +8

    I swear, ever time I see this dress, I'm always just so enamored by this fabric. I'm sure it's a long discontinued Burnley and Trowbridge or the like, But I can always dream 😍

  • @debcarroll8192
    @debcarroll8192 Місяць тому +7

    Your gathers in that petticoat are impeccable!

  • @tjs114
    @tjs114 Місяць тому +12

    At 11:05, how many hours were you on the phone to Nicole hyping yourself up? When you guys lived near each other, she seemed to be your sewing Agony Aunt (points to those that remember that term.)

  • @amyrobertson6075
    @amyrobertson6075 Місяць тому +3

    This is my absolute favorite style of your videos!!! History lesson, with a delightful bit of feminist sass, plus sewing and a pretty reveal at the end.. Just perfect!!

  • @doobat708
    @doobat708 Місяць тому +4

    That blue dress is so cool, looks super wearable in all sorts of situations, great colour, no notes.
    Watching you do this made me think about all the people throughout the centuries who refashioned and remade their older gowns to work for new fashions or new fits.
    This style of gown seems so much more foriving and adjustable to changing shapes than the super fitted style, I hope you get much more wear out of it for much longer!

  • @elfieblue3175
    @elfieblue3175 Місяць тому +3

    That revelation that you had net fabric GAIN... I will take that with me to work today and giggle randomly throughout. Thank you.

  • @Sarakatbee
    @Sarakatbee Місяць тому +8

    I figured there was a little “easier to run for our lives” that made this style appealing as well for some of the nobility, plus France’s economy being a bit up in the air and it being practical to have fashion that required less materials.

  • @AuthenticWe
    @AuthenticWe Місяць тому +2

    Been secretly watching your awesomeness for a few years now, can we stop and say, I see your glow up gurl, this new relaxing lifestyle is working for you, myself I weighed in at 198.8 pounds this morning marking my 201.4 pound loss , it’s the country life and living simply it’s changed everything

  • @jujubesification
    @jujubesification Місяць тому +2

    I love getting to know these things about people in history. It turns the past from "this person beat that person" to people who really lived as complex human beings.

  • @kimberleylow7221
    @kimberleylow7221 Місяць тому +5

    Can creators tell _when_ someone hits the like button? 'Cause, it was immediately upon the non-pregnancy announcement. Well, if unfortunately necessarily, played.
    I wonder if remaking gowns was less stressful when there were multiple people in a household who could make use of the fabric. Someone's 14-year old sister may have ended up with a much nicer dress than she'd anticipated.

  • @jukthewise8776
    @jukthewise8776 Місяць тому +7

    Loved this, the doggie smooches, the frankness, the closing song... You are a sassy lady! We sassy ladies need to unite! 🙂

  • @gracesw9906
    @gracesw9906 Місяць тому +4

    Me: 👀👀👀
    Abby at 1:57 : this is NOT a pregnancy announcement!
    Me: thank you for not leaving us wondering 🥹

  • @moldovanca
    @moldovanca Місяць тому +4

    Finally! A trend for the version of my body that I’ve had since I carried my first (too bad I’m 300 years too late, but oh well). I’m pregnant with my second now and I’ll think of this each time I unapologetically pump the bump! Thanks Abby!

  • @OwnYourDance
    @OwnYourDance Місяць тому +2

    Honestly, I think a lot of women are complimented throughout their pregnancy. The pregnant belly is celebrated! The problem is societies expectation of that same body after the pregnancy, since people expect it to time travel to 'before'.

  • @terriwilliams4938
    @terriwilliams4938 Місяць тому +4

    And...this also reminds me of the trend in the early 90's (when I was pregnant with my oldest children) of the looser, more high-waisted Laura Ashley dresses. I wore them thanks to a good friend who was a seamstress who loaned me a few because I could not afford them and wasn't a confident sewer yet.

  • @astreaward6651
    @astreaward6651 Місяць тому +2

    You channeling Jimmy from his episode critiquing "Vikings" costumes with the "peter dinklage, peter dinklage..." was just *chef's kiss*

  • @Skye_Writer
    @Skye_Writer 18 днів тому +1

    You are SO much braver than me. When I've no longer fit into period pieces I made, I sold them off. I always kept the scraps thinking, "One day, if I ever have to re-tailor this, I can." But when it came down to it, I was so scared of messing it up that I would just sell the dress and make a new one. Only 3-1/2 mins in, and I am on edge FOR you, Abby...

  • @bsd7013
    @bsd7013 6 днів тому +1

    the phrase “this version of my body” kinda changed my life for the better ngl

  • @eliciacheney84
    @eliciacheney84 Місяць тому +6

    Thank you for exploring a fashion trend that has puzzled me for a long time!
    Also, the matching bright red lipstick and earrings are so cute!

  • @taradid409
    @taradid409 Місяць тому +2

    When you mentioned all the daughters wanting to look pregnant I started laughing. Then I also wondered there was a point where we had to hide their pregnancies and now they're not even pregnant but showing something off.

  • @TheStarsOnTheHorizon
    @TheStarsOnTheHorizon Місяць тому +2

    As a fellow stay-wear (I dress in 1770s clothing for work), its all gotta go somewhere. I have more of a pooch in my stays because my fat is redistributed to under the waistline. My coworkers and I get inappropriate comments all the time about being pregnant or are we wearing padding, or how many petticoats are we wearing etc. I can only imagine that shorter stays would make that even more pronounced.

  • @annesheridan6081
    @annesheridan6081 2 дні тому

    Thankyou for this! I have sewn for many years, but the first cut always called for courage, no matter how much preparation had been done before. Once cut, there is no going back!
    I really believed it was me...!
    So grateful, thankyou!

  • @virginiacardinal9563
    @virginiacardinal9563 Місяць тому +1

    I thought of how much the bustle changed during the 1880s, and now wonder if women were able to reuse the fabric in the dress itself, like what Abby was able to do here. Because yes, would they have had scrapped fabric lying around? Did they have enough?
    Interesting to see in your update Abby, how having a visible petticoat, in a different fabric, meant that less fabric was needed for the change and likely helped many a person who did not have any or enough fabric available.

  • @mildlycornfield
    @mildlycornfield Місяць тому +6

    I was cheering you on out loud to make that cut!

  • @naomi.j.m.
    @naomi.j.m. Місяць тому +1

    I love how it turned out, and this was really interesting to learn about! Side note, the blue dress in the beginning was really cute!

  • @lynnwales2937
    @lynnwales2937 Місяць тому +1

    Having a post-babies body that just seems here to stay, I adore high waistlines. It’s comfortable (vs something that bisects the widest part of my body- not comfy).

  • @TheLifeProvided
    @TheLifeProvided 2 дні тому +2

    Was it belly pads?!
    Or was it the fact that with a higher waist, didn't need the corset support that previous dressed needed.....
    And they just realized women weren't as small as they thought....
    😅😂
    (They were calling us fat.😂)
    Loved watching you transform fabric like a butterfly.
    And with such interesting information!
    Great video!!

  • @csil31
    @csil31 Місяць тому +2

    Loved your analysis on this topic and OMG how stressful it must be to cut a handsewn finished garment to start another project!!! Proud of you 🥲 Loved the hair ribbon in the finished look at the end, it suits your current haircut so well!

  • @melodybales2038
    @melodybales2038 2 дні тому

    Seeing you cuddle your dog and sing a little GOT tune was so precious

  • @lemurkatta
    @lemurkatta Місяць тому +1

    "the world turned upside down" was actually not lin manuel miranda originally lmao, it was a broadside ballad published during the English Civil War -- there is a song and a little cartoon to go with it! the English Civil War was like the French Revolution's earlier, more polite and less effective cousin :)

  • @nurmihusa7780
    @nurmihusa7780 Місяць тому +1

    Refreshing an older gown. Abby does historical reenactment in modern drag. You’re so delightful goofy when you reenact things I was kind of expecting you to wear a 1780s outfit while being 1794 lady refashioning her earlier gown. That would’ve been absolutely hysterical. But it was still pretty delightful. You always are.

  • @ftortorici
    @ftortorici 5 днів тому

    Geeze I panic sometimes just cutting fabric to makes something to wear. I applaud you. Fyi, i learned about the vanguard when my husband bought me my first video game right after we got married 14 years ago. And the fabric you reworked it beautiful. Nice work.

  • @FullStyleInc
    @FullStyleInc Місяць тому +2

    I just love how the women of the 1790s didn't let the men take this from them. 💯 Like they stood on business, paid them no mind & said we will not let this go. And meant that. 🔥 In time where you know heads were rolling, that they had that bit of power. I love that for them!! ❤

  • @sharondowling8896
    @sharondowling8896 26 днів тому +2

    The end result is GORGEOUS! You are amazing- your handwork blows me away! And I love the historical receipts- great research is very much appreciated! This
    " version of" yourself is beautiful, by the way!❤❤❤

  • @RorysSpoonieDiaries-fh2gk
    @RorysSpoonieDiaries-fh2gk Місяць тому +2

    Never clicked on a video so fast.
    Unrelated, I ADORE your hair like this Abby!

  • @Sanne78
    @Sanne78 Місяць тому +3

    I've never heard about this so it's been so fun to learn 😄 I love that it also proves that women and girls woll wear fun things just foe them and not to please the male gaze ❤

  • @blancabt
    @blancabt Місяць тому +1

    I love the way you discuss feminism and capitalism through what patriarchy considers a frivolous topic -fashion. Or worse! _Women's_ fashion!