Things 1890s Girls Know To Be True

That's SO '90s!

1. You're always in the market for a good Gibson Girl beauty tutorial.

Charles Dana Gibson / Public Domain / Via en.wikipedia.org

The "Gibson Girl" style, based on the illustrations of Charles Dana Gibson, was characterized by a curvy, athletic silhouette, fashionable sportswear, and curled hair piled high atop her head.

2. ... And you're all about the "New Woman."

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"The New Woman," a term coined by writer Sarah Grand and popularized by Henry James, was used to describe a new "type" of woman, one who was increasingly independent, usually educated and affluent, and who enjoyed more autonomy in the domestic and public spheres.

Shown here is Alice Guy-Blaché, one of the very first women to make and produce films.

3. You look back on your bicycle bloomers and wonder what you were thinking!

brainpickings.org

But you were sure to follow tips like "Don’t be a fright" and "Don’t faint on the road."

4. Of course, you're well aware that, if you're NOT a wealthy, educated white woman in the '90s, life is not great, to put it mildly.

khanacademy.org / Via Scribners

Unsanitary cities, lack of education, attitudes towards immigrants, and cycles of poverty, particularly in cramped, increasingly industrialized urban settings, meant a hard life with no time for leisure.

5. You're increasingly aware that "hysteria" in women is utter B.S.

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"The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was published in 1892.

6. Your power color will always be mauve.

Warner Bros.

The 1890s were known as the "Mauve Decade" for the color's popularity in fashion and decorating.

7. You're all about Art Nouveau.

muchafoundation.org / Via tumblr.com

And you know that art should be included in all aspects of life, including personal style and home décor.

8. You're deathly afraid of vampires.

Universal Pictures

Dracula, by Bram Stoker, was published in 1897.

9. You cheered the first modern Olympic Games. (Especially noted handsome weightlifter Launceston Elliot.)

Public Domain

Toei Animation

Over 300 men from 14 (or so) participating countries competed in the 1896 Athens games.

10. And you know that, the bigger the leg o' mutton sleeves, the closer to god.

Public Domain / Via en.wikipedia.org via vintagevictorian.com

Also a good place to stash sandwiches.

11. ... Or, if you're alternative, you make fun of the giant sleeve trend and wished it would just go away.

Public Domain / Via "Punch: Or the London Charivari" via en.wikipedia.org

Very Hot Topic, circa 1895.

12. You simply hate being called "two-faced."

Disney's The Haunted Mansion / Via mikefenton.net

...Particularly since now you worry that it means others think you're hiding a hideous portrait of yourself as you continue to be young and beautiful and horrible. After all, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1891.

13. Sometimes you wonder whether you put on MORE clothes to go to the beach.

Thiophene_Guy / Creative Commons / Via Flickr: 7726011@N07

Nothing as bothersome as letting the sunlight touch your bare skin, RIGHT LADIES???

14. You spend far too much time playing your "'Round the World with Nellie Bly" board game.

McLoughlin Brothers / Via mortaljourney.com

The board game, released in 1890, commemorated feminist journalist Elizabeth Cochrane (aka Nellie Bly)'s 72-day journey around the world.

15. In keeping with the spirit of the "Naughty Nineties," you've done scandalous things like, say, paint your cheeks with rouge.

Maria Popova / Via brainpickings.org

Cheeky!

16. You certainly take care to "reduce enlarged glands."

artflakes.com

No double chins here, no sir!

17. And you beat those troublesome headaches and bouts of mental exhaustion with a nice glass of Coca-Cola.

The Coca-Cola Co. / The Advertising Archives / Via pinterest.com

Razzmatazz!

Keep making 'em turn heads, '90s girls.

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