Fashion

Remembering Christmas

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In my soon to release sweet holiday romance Remembering Christmas, part of the Rodeo Romance series, I had such a grand time digging through images of vintage and retro western fashions.

The stories include a company that has their own western clothing line. Two books ago, the company added a line of apparel for curvy girls.

And in Remembering Christmas, the company was decided to add a line based on vintage attire.

The hero in this story, Trevor, has a kooky, eccentric aunt (Aunt Marv) who has never gotten rid of a piece of clothing in her adult life. And she often wears the clothes that were stylish decades ago.

But because she is such a clothes hoarder, the company used some of the original western fashions she still had in her closet from the 1940s-1960s.

I truly had a marvelous time browsing through images as I imagined the new styles Aunt Marv’s retro collection might inspire.

Some of my favorite photos are old Levi’s advertisements.

Like this one.

Check out these duds! I actually love the jeans with the buttons and high waist on the right hand side.

 

This outfit is exactly something Marv would wear.

And this one!

I’m kind of glad these outfits are no longer in style. LOL!

At any rate, Lasso Eight, the clothing company in the story, finds plenty to inspire their new line from Marv. In fact, there’s even a scene where Mykah, the heroine, gets talked into modeling at a photoshoot at the hero’s ranch.

 

 

When Mykah finally walked out with Brylee and Kenzie Morgan, Trevor gulped so hard he swallowed the piece of gum he’d just set in his mouth.

Paige and Ashley had mentioned vintage fashions, but he certainly hadn’t expected Mykah to stroll out of the house looking like a cowgirl from the 1940s. She wore a burgundy and blue plaid shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted jeans with two rows of buttons down the front like the shorts she’d worn the day at the boat show. Wide cuffs at the bottom of the jeans drew his attention to a pair of dark burgundy boots before his gaze traveled back up to her face. Her hair was loosely pulled away from her face and fell in thick curls to her shoulders in a style reminiscent of the past. The deep red lipstick she wore made his mouth water for want of her kiss.

He had no idea when Tally had moved beside him, but when she bumped him with her elbow and held out Carter’s burp rag, Trevor almost took it to mop his feverish brow.

“Thought you might need the rag to wipe away the drool, Trev,” Tally whispered as she held Carter, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms.

He watched as Paige, Ashley, and Celia worked to pose Mykah, Brylee, and Kenzie on the corral fence, using the barn as a backdrop. “How’d they talk Mykah into modeling?”

Tally shrugged. “You know how persuasive Paige and Ashley can be. One minute, Mykah was listing all the reasons she’d make a terrible model, and the next, she was choosing an outfit and getting her hair done.”

 

 

Romance swirls like December snowflakes in this sweet holiday romance.

Trevor King runs King Penny Ranch like a well-oiled machine while attempting to keep his spritely octogenarian aunt out of trouble. His personal life is filled with evasive tactics worthy of a military mission in order to avoid the matchmaking efforts of meddling friends. Until Trevor experiences a chance encounter with a beautiful stranger that leaves him reeling. Almost two years pass before they unexpectedly meet again. He feels blindsided by an emotional avalanche . . . and her name is Mykah.

Mykah Wagner has spent years building her career with Creekdale Enterprises while burying memories better forgotten. When the company’s owner sends her to oversee an expansion project at a retirement home in Eastern Washington, Mykah envisions a charming urban location. Instead, she discovers an area teeming with farms, ranches, vineyards, and sagebrush. Desperate to return to her idea of civilization as quickly as possible, Mykah soon finds herself falling in love with the residents, the region, and a rancher who helps her remember all the best things from her past.

Brimming with hope, laughter, and second chances, Remembering Christmas is a captivating and wholesome romance celebrating the joy of falling in love and the wonder of the season.

You can also see more of the visuals that inspired scenes in the story on Pinterest.

 

If you could create your own clothing line, what fashions would inspire you?

Post your answer for a chance to win an autographed copy of Roping Christmas (last year’s Rodeo Romance release) and some swag!

 

The Bustle: A Pain in The Behind

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A bustle was a pad or frame worn under a skirt to support the fullness and drapery at the back of a woman’s skirt. Though the bustle had long occupied a place in a well-dressed woman’s wardrobe, it was clearly the article of clothing that was most vilified, especially by men.

The bustle was also blamed for many women’s health problems, including squeezed or misplaced organs.

Shopkeepers considered bustles a nuisance.  Shops tended to be small and crowded and bustles were thought to take up too much space.

Shopkeepers weren’t the only ones complaining about the size of bustles. An editorial in a Boston newspaper asked why there was no city ordinance prohibiting bustles from protruding more than a foot in length beyond the sidewalk.  

Bustles also confounded soldiers during the Civil War. Enterprising women used bustles as a safe-deposit box to hide jewelry and other valuables from marauders.  Bustles would be ripped apart and stuffed with treasures.  It worked for a while.  But then some soldiers noticed a marked increase in the size and proportions of women’s behinds and grew suspicious. The discovery resulted in the theft of many bustles.

Bustles also caused an uproar with freight agents. Since it was cheaper to ship wire goods than dry goods, merchants listed bustles as wire goods.  Freight agents argued that bustles were made from feathers and wool and had no wire.  Merchants said that bustles superseded hoop skirts, which gave them every right to be billed as wire goods.  This view eventually prevailed, but freight agents weren’t willing to give up so easily; they simply raised the cost of shipping wire goods.   

Bustles came in many shapes and styles. As one Victorian merchant said, “There were more styles of bustles than herrings in a box.” The Washboard bustle was ribbed like a washboard.  The bustle was considered a good deal for the merchant.  For it was almost impossible to sit down without smashing the washboard, thus necessitating another trip to the store to replace it.

There was also the Brooklyn Bridge bustle, also known as the suspension Bridge or Two-Story bustle. As the name suggested, this was a series of bustles that extended down to the knees.

Another type of bustle was the Wind bustle, made of rubber.  This included a rubber hose so that it could be inflated.  This bustle was especially handy should a woman suddenly find herself in water, as it served double-duty as a life preserver.  

Some practical women would wear only bustles they made themselves out of newspapers.

-Wisconsin Historical Society

Mrs. Grover Cleveland is credited for unwittingly causing the demise of the bustle.   The story goes that two Washington newspaper reporters had nothing to report during a hot July. So, they made up a story that President Cleveland’s wife had abandoned the bustle. According to newspaper reports, Mrs. Cleveland later visited a department store and asked to see their bustles.  Supposedly, the merchant told her that since news broke that she had given up bustles, none had sold and had been moved to the basement.

Mrs. Cleveland then turned to her companion and said, “Well, if they say I’ve quit wearing the bustle, then I guess that’s what I need to do.”

 

 

Meet the Brides of Haywire, Texas!

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Coming in May

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iTunes

A Source of Inspiration

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As much as I’d like to regularly get to travel in the West, I only get to visit every few years. So as a writer of contemporary western romance, I look for inspiration in other ways — movies, TV shows, reading other authors’ books. Another way is by reading magazines that focus on various aspects of the West. For instance, in my book Home on the Ranch, the heroine, Ella Garcia, was inspired by Amie and Jolie Sikes, the sister duo behind the junking and repurposed decor empire known as Junk Gypsy. As I watched their TV show, Ella started to form in my head. I sent Amie and Jolie copies of the book dedicated to them when it came out. They were sweet to write me back and send me a Junk Gypsy mug which I drink out of all the time. So when I saw this copy of Cowgirl magazine with them on the cover, I had to pick it up.

Inside was more inspiration for characters’ style choices, whether it be western clothing or jewelry, furniture for their homes, or the homes themselves, as well as articles about western life. There’s even an article in this issue about a cattle drive in Florida, the Great Florida Cattle Drive.

The same can be said of magazines such as Cowboys & Indians. Plus, who can resist Sam Elliott on the cover, right? In this particular issue from a couple of years ago, Elliott talks about his Netflix show The Ranch. There are also articles about camping across the West, Ernest Hemingway’s time in Idaho, and Muscogee/Creek artist Joy Harjo. Even the ads have beautiful imagery of expansive Western vistas, gorgeous Western-style homes and decor, Wrangler jeans (known to be worn by cowboys far and wide), and useful information such as the list prices for ranches that are for sale.

Sometimes all it takes is one image to set a writer’s mind down a path that ends up with a completed novel. I’m a visual person, so I’m continually inspired by the things I see — whether in person on on the glossy pages of a magazine.

Do you all enjoy Western-themed magazines? What are some of your favorites?

Godey’s Lady’s Book and Regina Scott’s New Release

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I will admit to scanning online sites every spring and fall to discover the latest fashions trends. My heroine Beth Wallin in Frontier Matchmaker Bride has a greater passion for fashion, even on the frontier of 1875 Washington Territory. Her go-to source, pictured on the cover of her story, is Godey’s Lady’s Book.

Godey’s was the brainchild of Louis A. Godey, who saw the growing need for a magazine tailored specifically to the lady of the house. He hired a female editor, Sarah J. Hale, herself an author (often remembered for writing “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), who also ensured the rest of the staff was predominantly female. In fact, Godey boasted at having a corps of 150 female colorers who hand-tinted the fashion plates that started every issue.

The early issues of Godey’s carried articles taken from British women’s magazines. The magazine even had its own reporter simply to chronicle royal activities across the Pond. Though Sarah Hale was purportedly a huge fan of Queen Victoria, she wanted more of an American angle for the magazine. She was also a staunch supporter of women’s rights, believing that women needed to be redeemed from their “inferior” position and placed as an equal helpmate to man in every way.

She therefore commissioned articles, essays, stories, and poetry from American writers including Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frances Hodgson Burnett. Male luminaries Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allen Poe, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also contributed. Articles covered health and science, crafts, dancing, horseback riding, home decorating, and recipes. Every issue included two pages of new sheet music for the pianoforte.

And women paid for the privilege of reading it. Subscriptions ran three dollars a year when other popular magazines of the time were only two dollars. The magazine was delivered by post all over the United States, from the gilded mansions on Boston’s Beacon Hill to the rustic ranches of the Texas Hill Country and the log cabins of Seattle.

Despite its broad coverage, Godey’s steered clear of politics. The Civil War was never mentioned in its pages. One source I consulted claimed that readership was cut by a third from its high of 150,000 subscribers during the war, implying that it was because of Godey’s non-political stance. I’m more inclined to believe that the magazine’s subscriptions fell during that time because women were counting pennies as husbands and fathers went off to war.

Regardless, Godey’s popularity led it to become a major force in America. The magazine is credited with popularizing a white wedding gown (after Victoria wore one in England), the use of a Christmas tree to crown that celebration, and the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

It even inspired Beth Wallin to create gowns far above those usually found on the frontier, thanks to a sister-in-law who is a seamstress and her own good taste. This is one of the gowns I pictured for her.

Giveaway

So, do you consider yourself a fashionista? What’s your go-to source?

Answer in the comments to be entered into a drawing for an autographed copy of Beth’s story, Frontier Matchmaker Bride.

The Lawman Meets His Match

Spunky Beth Wallin is determined to find a bride for Deputy Hart McCormick, the man who once spurned her affections.

After tragically losing his sweetheart, Hart vowed never to love again. He might be Beth’s first matchmaking miss, unless they can both admit that she would be his perfect match.

You can find the book on Amazon today: http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Matchmaker-Bride-Bachelors-ebook/dp/B073B2NKQ3/a?tag=pettpist-20

 

 

About the Author

Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first Regency romance novel until she had learned a bit more about writing such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot. After numerous short stories and articles in magazines and trade journals, she got serious about her novel writing. The Regency romance The Unflappable Miss Fairchild was her first novel to be published (March 1998). In 2011, she was delighted to move into Christian romance with the publication of The Irresistible Earl. Her novels have been translated into Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese; and a large number have been issued in hardcover, large print editions. She has twice won the prestigious RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice award for best historical Christian romance of its type, for The Heiress’s Homecoming in 2013 and Would-Be Wilderness Wife in 2015.

Connect with her online at her website or sign up for her newsletter.

My Favorite Small Town Getaway

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Last summer after dropping off our youngest son at college in New Jersey, we visited wineries on the return trip to break up the endless miles. Once home we discovered quite a few wineries in our area. Now I had a goal I could really get behind–visiting local wineries!

I found Valley View, Texas because of a billboard advertising its local winery. What I never expected was to also find a Texas getaway gem in this town of seven hundred fifty-seven people.

The minute I drove into Valley View, my tension drifted away with the warm Texas breeze, and that was even before I had a glass of Firelight Vineyard’s sangria! The town reminded me of my childhood spent at my grandparent’s farm in northeastern Iowa. There was open space, trees, horses and cows. Often all in one front yard. There life doesn’t speed by. Neighbors know each other. Everyone’s friendly and laid back. Whenever I’m there I run into someone who wants to talk. Whether it’s someone at the winery, a local business owner, or an Army/Air Force Veteran. Whenever I hear Josh Gallagher’s “Pick Any Small Town” Valley View’s the one I’d pick.

The last year has been stressful, so for our anniversary, my hubby and I headed to Valley View for a getaway weekend. We wanted to spend time away from email, texts, social media, and other city commitments. For us, when we’re away from the city and in the country, life’s troubles fade away and we focus on what’s important—each other and family. The drive to our B&B, Towering Oaks Haven, took us on a gravel road, once again reminding me of my childhood. The fast-paced-need-to-get-ahead-world disappeared. We spent the weekend wandering around antique stores, shopping at my favorite boutique Rustic Ranch, and becoming reacquainted with each other. We weren’t on our phones constantly. We weren’t worried about spotty internet service. We connected with those around us, rather than those on social media sites. We listened to stories, told some of our own, and were simply in the moment. We ate fantastic gourmet pizza from Lil’ Brick Oven delivered to us at the winery. After that, we listened to the David Alexander Trio while sitting on the Firelight Vineyard’s patio chatting with someone my husband knew from years back and a wonderful couple from Oklahoma.

Life was simpler, personal and connected. And I loved every minute of it.

I remembered why I write stories set in small towns, because of the feelings I rediscovered in Valley View. Because of the way I felt at my grandparents’ farm and in their small town.

I can back rejuvenated and my head spinning with story ideas! A Texas winery owner heroine and a rancher in a small Texas town trying to revitalize the town square. Hmmm. It’s a start.

Now it’s your turn. Tell me about your favorite getaway spot that rejuvenates your body and soul. Enter a comment for a chance to win the wine charms and a wineglass from FIrelight Vineyards.

 

 

Happy National Handbag Day!

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WG Logo 2015-04

Hi everyone, Winnie Griggs here. First an apology – I’m just off of a series of all nighters as I worked to meet my deadline on my latest work in progress (which I made by a hair) and then a weekend of fun at a family reunion. So this post will be a bit shorter than normal.

That being said, when I looked up Oct 10 on my National Day Of calendar, I noticed that in addition to it being Columbus Day this year, it is also National Handbag Day. So I thought it would be fun to share a little bit of handbag trivia with you and then share some pictures of some of my own handbags.

Handbag Fun Facts:

  • In the 15th century it was traditional for a bridegroom to give his bride a purse with embroidered pictures of love stories.
  • Shoulder bags first became popular during WW II
  • The 1923 Hermes Bolide Bag was the first handbag to feature a zipper
  • According to a 2008 study done in England, the average 30 year old woman owns 21 handbags and purchases a new one every 3 months
  • The average weight of a woman’s handbag is over 5 pounds.
  • A Japanese designer created a handbag in 2008 that is wort more than $2 million. It was crafted of platinum and decorated with over 2,000 diamonds.
  • This was topped in 2010 by the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse, valued at almost $4 million

And as promised, here are a few of my favorite purses from my own collection. I’m a big fan of vintage so most of those pictured here were acquired from thrift shops or estate sales

purses-01

purses-03

purses-02

 

I also happen to be a Winnie The Pooh fan – here are two that reflect that, one was a gift from a good friend who knows me well, and the other was a spur of the moment purchase

purses-04

 

So what about you? Do you have a large collection of handbags or just a few? Do you tend toward the large or the small, the designer bags or more utilitarian?

Petticoats & Pistols