Gentlemen’s Fashion in the Early 18th Century Part One by Rosemary Morris

 

To find out more about Rosemary and her books please click on the cover.

I write classic, fact fiction, historical novels set in different eras. At heart I am a historian and enjoy research that brings my characters’ lives and times to life. Three of my published novels, Far Beyond Rubies, Tangled Love and the Captain and the Countess are set in Queen Anne Stuart’s reign, 1702-1714. I am now writing my fourth novel set in her reign.

Throughout the 18^th century the basic details of a gentleman’s suit, a coat, waistcoat, and breeches were the same. However, the details changed. Full dress and undress differed according to the materials they were made from. Hard wearing ones were chosen for undress, less formal wear. Damask. cut velvet and satin, often lavishly trimmed, or embroidered were popular for full dress. At court, gold stuff, silver stuff, brocade, flowered velvet, or embroidered cloth was worn.

Coats were close fitting, with wide skirts that flared from the waist to a little after the knees. The loose-fitting, full sleeves with large cuffs ended above the wrist allowing the sleeves to be gathered into a narrow band edged with a ruffle aka frill.

Neckcloths. The lace edged ends of a simply tied neckcloth made, of linen, lawn or muslin flowed from the throat to halfway down the chest. An alternative was the steinkirk with ends threaded through a buttonhole on the right and fastened with a brooch. 

Waistcoats were tightly fitted at the waist, the skirt stiffened with buckram. Buttons and buttonholes matched those on coats. The lower buttons were unfastened. Bridegrooms wore white waistcoats.

Breeches were made of cloth, velvet, plush or silk knit lined with holland linen, dimity or shagreen silk. Unless they matched the coat, except for leather riding breeches, they were often black.

Stockngs. Hand knitted stockings were either plain or ribbed with clocks either knitted into the design, or hand embroidered with coloured silks, gold, or silver thread. They were made from thread, cotton, yarn, jersey knit, worsted, and silk; and were worn either over the hem or below it, held in place by a garter. Popular colours were red, scarlet, sky blue, brown, black, white, or grey. White stockings were worn at royal weddings.

The Greatcoat, aka Surtout or Cape Coat was a voluminous, knee length overcoat with a flared skirt, and a vent at the back necessary for riding a horse. A small collar, above a wide, flat one, could be pulled up over the ears to keep them warm. The greatcoat was often unfastened from the waist down. They were made from cloth, oilcloth, duffle, frieze, and other materials, and were fully or partially lined

Cloaks were full and gathered at the neck and fastened by a clasp beneath the chin. Sometimes they were worn over the shoulder.

Extract from W. Winthrop of Boston written to his brother in 1706. I desire you to bring me a very good camlet cloak lyined (sic) with what you like except blew (sic). It may be purple or red or striped with those, or another colour (sic), if so worn.

Footwear. According to research shoes with square toes and high square heels were made from black leather, but it is worth noting beaux wore shoes with red heels. Metal buckles were small, square, or oblong. Gold and silver ones were studded with diamonds. Thin, flexible pumps, some made from Spanish leather, had low heels, and were fastened with buckles. Slippers were worn indoors, For riding, hunting, and travelling, and for the military, Jackboots made of heavy black leather reached above the knees. Light Jackboots were shaped close to the leg but had a U-shape at the back to make it easy for the wearer to bend his knees. Half Jackboots were tight fitted to below the knees. They had cuffs in light coloured soft leather turned down over the tops.

 

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

 

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

Colors of Autumn/Writing Colors by S. L. Carlson

I am S. L. Carlson, a proud and grateful BWL Publishing Inc. author. My books can be viewed and purchased by visiting https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l

 

(Autumn in Wisconsin)

I read a recent meme online: “A friend asked me how I was preparing for the fall, and it took me a while to I realized she meant autumn, not the fall of civilization.” This especially cracked me up because I once wrote a dystopia novel, and could easily see from where that thinking had come.

Because of my busy past couple months, I am grateful that this year fall (autumn colors) have come later so I could enjoy them. Some chalk the delay up to climate change. The change in foliage color certainly does have to do with climate and the coming cold. I don’t really care when it arrives, I look forward to hiking and dancing each fall among the crispy colors.

Colors are very much a part of writing description. It helps the reader see what and where we write.

For War Unicorn: The Ring, I’d paid a NY editor to look over the novel before subbing it to BWL. I vividly remember her comment that by the end of the book our hero had no physical description. Yes, it came through that he was an innocent, strong-but-bumbling, country boy, but he had no eye nor hair color. I defended that, thinking that with no description, anyone could relate to him. Wrong. Readers need colors, even if it’s not their own.

And depending on the culture and time, would depend on what a color is. Red River, in the afore-mentioned book, came as a result of blood flowing down the river after a battle. It was named such considering the peasants who lived in the area, and a way to remember their history. There are many other more sophisticated words for red, e.g., cherry, vermillion, crimson, wine, cerise, to name a few. For outdoorsy, tree-loving me, sugar-maple red (especially on a sunny day) is quite spectacular.

If you can’t ramble into the fall woods, and are in need of more descriptive reds, check out paint colors in a store which explodes with the naming of reds, or whites, or greens, or yellows, etc. Post the color swab near your computer to help you visualize the color you are writing about. Also, when you, the author, make up the name of a place (or river), keep in mind the people and culture who would name it.

What colors have you, an author, described? What colors do you, the reader, remember from books, leaving a vivid memory?

S. L. Carlson Blog & Website: https://authorslcarlson.wordpress.com

BWL Inc. Publisher Author Page: https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l

What is a Virtual Writing Conference like? by Diane Bator

 

It's November and I am wading into working on a new book during National Novel Writing Month aka Nanowrimo! This year, I'm working on the second book in my Sugarwood Mysteries - tentatively titled Dead Man's Doll. If you haven't checked out Audra & Drake in book one, now would be a good time! Click on the book cover or here to purchase.

I had the honor during the weekend of October 22-24, to be a moderator and participant in the York Writers Conference held on Zoom and hosted by the Writing Community of York Region (WCYR). If you've never done an entire weekend on Zoom before, I recommend stocking up on essentials—coffee. tea, and water were mandatory for most of us—and remembering to take breaks to stretch and see daylight.

We had many volunteers who’d worked hard to bring in amazing guest speakers, organize meet and greets and breakout room activities, as well as set up a virtual bookstore and SWAG bag. While the initial organizational meetings were a bit daunting, the work we put in made for a weekend with few snags.

We started off Friday evening with an Opening Address by Canadian satirist and author Terry Fallis, who is the award-winning author of eight national bestsellers published by McClelland & Stewart (M&S). Terry spoke about how writers need to not sell themselves short. We are recording history and life for future generations. After a virtual Meet & Greet cocktail party, we broke for the night.

Saturday morning we came back fresh to hear the energetic Sacha Black speak about “Villains & Heroes” and how to make both more realistic and engaging for readers. Based in the UK, Sacha is the author of several books on writing.

We were all eager to learn more about “Agents & Publishers” and Rob Firing of Transatlantic Agency did not disappoint. He spoke about why writers need agents and his work as an agent for both non-fiction authors and speakers.

Andrew Pyper’s inspiring Keynote speech was about an f word we all know well:  Failure. No one is immune, not even award-winning authors! He reminded us that it is “not only important to endure failure but to look forward to more.”

Michelle Fox spoke to the group about the ins and outs of “Digital Marketing.” She covered a lot of information about marketing, software and apps, cross promotion, and paid ads.

Next up was Maria Mutch who discussed “Short Stories” and what makes a good story as well as potential problems. We did a great exercise on observation and what we noticed in a photograph she shared.

Saturday evening, we held an Open Mic session where anyone had the opportunity to read 2-3 minutes of poetry or one of their books. I was thrilled to be asked to have two wonderful writers read a scene from a play I’ve been working on called Secrets That Haunt Them. It was a great motivator to get back to work on finishing it. Several writers read their works, including one lady who used a piece she wrote in the Short Story session earlier that afternoon.

Sunday morning began with Ruth Walker’s session on “Personal Papers.” If you have ever wondered what to do with those ticket stubs, post-it notes, and old journals, this was a great discussion for brainstorming ways to implement them in your prose, non-fiction, and poetry.

Patti M Hall led a great session called “Memoir Mastermind,” which I was frustrated to have to miss most of when my Internet went down. Fortunately, I made it for the last half hour in time to catch some great nuggets in the Q & A, particularly about whether to name people in your memoir and how to capture those thoughts and memories.

Lunch Break – Breakout rooms dealing with what makes a great Opening Sentence. It was fun to talk about the benefits of a strong first line with a small group and even came up with a few of our own.

Derek Newman-Stille led an animated discussion on “Speculative Disability,” which brought up some really great questions regarding creating characters who are disabled and their purpose in the story. I think aside from Andrew Pyper’s speech, this was one of sessions I found the most impactful and eye-opening. For any writer wanting to add a disabled person into their story, it was a good moment to sit back and ask some pointed questions about their motive.

Last lecture of the weekend was J.M. Tibbott’s discussion of “Self-Editing.” She covered a great deal of information, most of which I was familiar with, but I still made a lot of great notes! A good refresher on the process of self-editing never hurts!

After a hearty round of thank yous to volunteers, speakers, moderators, and so on, I turned off my computer and made dinner. Staring at a Zoom screen for the entire weekend was a bit tiring, but I came away with some new insights and ready to dig into my next novel once more. It was wonderful to spend so much time dedicated to something I have a passion for as well as meeting some amazing new-to-me writers.

 Thanks for joining me!

For more information on the Writers Community of York Region and our conference, please go to WCYR. Our next conference is already in the works for 2023!

Happy November,

Diane Bator

Time Sure Flies by Roseanne Dowell

 

Here it is November already. Time sure flies. Last year at this time I posted something I was thankful for every day on Facebook. I decided not to do that this year. It's not that I'm not thankful, I am. Blessed and thankful. And there's so much to be thankful for, my husband, my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, and their spouses, and my great-grandchildren What more could a person ask for?

I have a nice home, not fancy by any means, but I'm not a fancy person and it's comfortable. Lived in and it meets my needs and there's always food on the table. We live a simple life, always have. Our entertainment comes by way of our kids mostly and a few friends whose company we enjoy.  I manage to keep busy between Bible Study, and other church activities. Besides writing, which I've not been doing much of since my characters refuse to talk to me, I enjoy my embroidery machine. 

Lately, I've been doing a lot of table runners for dinners at our church. I'm on the Fellowship committee and I can't tell you how much I enjoy it. I work with a great group of women and we always have a good time. Besides that, I love to cook, and helping to cook for a large group makes it worthwhile. I look forward each month to our dinners. 

I'm sure there's a story there someplace and I'm betting Aunt Beatrice Lulu would be involved in some harebrained scheme. If she'd only talk to me. The only reason I can think of as to why she's giving me the silent treatment is her sister, Ethel started the next story. I'm afraid Aunt Beatrice Lulu is a bit jealous. To make matters worse, Ethel isn't talking to me anymore either. So I sit and stare at blank pages. I'm sure one of these days Aunt Beatrice Lulu will start talking again. It's not like her to remain quiet for too long. She's too much of a busy body. 

But until then, I'll have to be content with my embroidery.  I really love that machine and I found some websites with excellent designs, some of them are even free. Last year I made the kids several gifts from the embroidery machine. Not sure what I'll do this year. Right now, I started on the table runners for the November dinner we'll be doing at church. It takes an hour just to embroider the text and I'm adding a cornucopia to it also. Not sure how long that will take to stitch out. So I usually do two a day. 

If anyone has any ideas for Aunt Beatrice Lulu put them in the comment section. If she uses them, we'll be sure to mention you in the acknowledgments. 

You can find all of my books at BWL

BWL Publishing Inc. New Releases for November, 2021 and Win a Kindle eBook Reader Contest

 

RELEASES COMING NOVEMBER 2021

 

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 Our monthly free download is discontinued for the remainder of 2021 while we run our holiday contest events.  Every Friday from October 15 to December 17, we'll be drawing three winners and each of those winners will receive a copy of all three of our holiday romances.  Those winner's names will then be added to our grand prize drawing folder and on December 17 one name will be drawn from that folder to win the Kindle eBook Reader shown here.