#not gonna lie a lot of times its also because the skirt waist band is a little loose and it helps kinda pin it in place lol

[tooquirkytolose]

I have a stretchy black belt that cinches me in juuuussst right and it's the mvp of any outfit it gets added to, the heavy lifting this belt does cannot be understated, it's the extra flavor, that extra spice, she is the moment and yes I would die for her

[mysewingadventures]

What did my ancestors actually wear?

I’ve been into historical fashion for a while now and have also been doing a lot of genealogy research about my own family. So while doing research for my costumes, I see all those beautiful gowns and dresses and can’t help but picture my own ancestors wearing them. But now I know better than that and no - they didn’t actually wear the typical western fashion trends of the past centuries.

While the only info I got about my family was from my Silesian grandma and can’t be sure to speak for everyone of my ancestors reaching back until the 1710s (which is how far my research has got me), but apparently, my grandma’s grandma, my great-great-grandma, only wore traditional Silesian costumes, and they were nothing like what I’ve learned from Fashion History.

This is a very new deep-dive for me, I’ve never ventured my way into more traditional folk costumes and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of info about them historically, but I’ve found some things I’d like to share anyways because while learning and knowing about stereotypical garments of a certain time is great, I find it highly interesting to know about my own culture as well.

The majority of my Polish family was from the Częstochowa/Opole area, and I’ve learned that traditional costumes varied even from one town to another, but I’ve found this beautiful postcard drawn by Maria Orłowska-Garbyś showing the Bytom Costume, which looks very similar to the "standard" or most widely spread Silesian costume, the Rozbark Costume.

I’ve found this same picture being labeled as Bytom and Rozbark so I’m gonna go ahead and guess that they were in fact the same costume or very similar, which makes sense as both cities lie very close to each other. So for the purpose of writing this, I’m going to be using them interchangeably (I’m not 100% sure if they’re the same thing though, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt.)

The Silesian folk costume consisted of:

The undergarments:

A linen band with hooks in the front was worn on the bust in order to flatten it. I have no idea what this band might’ve looked like as I’ve searched the internet and found no pictures at all but I’m assuming maybe it’s about the size of regency stays? It’s described as belt/band though so I really have no clue.

Next up, a sort of sleeveless linen or silk shift was worn on top of that called lajbik (once again, unfortunately no pictures anywhere). To that, they sometimes sewed (or just wore on top) a bumpad to widen the hips and make the waist look smaller -

This one’s a classic, we know that one. It appears all the time when studying Historical Fashion that I almost feel like I don’t have to explain it.

Anyways, they would also sometimes sew the skirt to the shift or garter belts.

Let’s talk about the shirt, which would usually be a white blouse with puff sleeves and lace trims and would also have a big lace collar.

The skirt would be ankle length, big and pleated, light colors being used for younger women and darker colors for older women. The pockets were hidden within the pleats on either side and in the front, there would be a slit which was hidden by the apron worn on top of the skirt.

The apron now - the most colorful piece from this garment. It would cover the whole entire front of the skirt and being also pleated at the waist it was made in a very similar way. The typical floral pattern was not always printed silk but oftentimes it was painted on by hand, which is so fascinating to me. I knew this was a practice back in the days but to think that they actually sat down and painted every single flower on their apron is really really cool. This apron was worn over the final piece, a corset-like vest in usually either red, navy or black (and I guess green?), depending on the person’s age and what town they were from. I’ve found a Bytom version in blue and a Rozbark version in green so that might be the only difference between the two, I’m still trying to understand. The neckline and straps were made of a thick, decorative tape. Overall, this vest was a very decorative piece and wasn’t always worn, but then again, this list I wrote down features only one way of "styling" the outfit as there were many more alternatives and ways of wearing it, but I thought I’d devote my research to the most known version.

All of this then came together with a big flower crown and a huge ribbon in the back, as well as a (usually) red bead necklace.

Here you can see the Bytom version on the left and the Rozbark version on the right with all of its pieces labeled in Polish.

I’ve tried my best to translate some of the info from the Polish wikipedia site (the article is "Strój rozbarski", for some reason it’s not letting me add the link), so if you wanna know more about it (and know Polish) you can read that, it’s a much more detailed description!

Enjoy some more pictures I found:

The last picture is also a postcard by Maria Orłowska-Garbyś showing the Opole version of this costume. It looks slightly different with the cap instead of flowers and the sleeves are longer, that’s why I’m mentioning it! And the black and white photo, that’s more likely what people looked like on a daily basis, I’m assuming the more decorative pieces were added for special occasions.

On an unrelated side note, I’ve unfortunately had to stop the work on my stays for a while due to some issues but I’m hoping to be able to get back to it soon! (They’re almost done I wanna get them done asap). That’s also why I haven’t posted in so long, I’m sorry!

[neonstarz]

uuuuuhhhh ok here we go! These are for Fried Egg, Samuel, and I’m incredibly curious about Opal so this is also for them! Number wise, 6,9,26, 32, and 50!! Totally not asking about their fashion sense because I feel like they all are incredibly stylish and I want to be like some of them what noooo ahahah

LOOOOL 69 <3 also ur incredibly valid in wanting to look like some of them i try and give my ocs as much drip as humanly possible

FRIED EGG:

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

Fried Egg was kind of .. absolutely incredibly average in school. She kept her head down and tried to get good grades and not cause trouble. She dropped out when she ran away, though. Albert, the guy who owns the diner, is trying to enroll her in school again though. She liked art class and hated math.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals? 

animals in general don't really love fried egg but bacon is the exception 

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions? 

copy n pasted from another ask: she goes like >:) a lot. she is not a super expressive person tho and like its kind of hard to tell what mood shes in most of the time. she doesn't actively suppress her emotions, when she ran away she promised herself she wouldn't lie about herself and how she felt, but she just naturally isn't very expressive. 

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like? 

she wears a lot of band t shirts and black jeans. that is pretty much her entire wardrobe. she has a few things that Albert bought when she first started living in the diner that are like.. stereotypical cishet girl clothing and while fried egg would not be caught dead wearing them she refuses to throw them out because they were a gift and it makes her happy thinking about how little hesitation Albert had before he just started taking care of her. When she has extra money she’ll shop at hot topic but for the most part she thrifts her clothes. She didn't bring a whole lot of money with her when she ran away and Albert’s diner does not make an insane amount so she is not really rolling in dough. She wears a tank top and pajama pants to sleep! She doesn’t wear makeup, it irritates her skin. Her hair is about waist length and neon yellow ! She has bangs that she lets grow out so they cover her eyes for the most part.

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

KJASDFKLS she already did that so im just gonna. tell you what she brought with her when she ran away. The only clothing she brought was a flannel and pair of jeans, and her emotional support black hoodie. She brought about $200 with her, enough for 2 weeks of food and a bit of public transportation. She brought some beef jerky and those tuna cans that come with crackers and plastic spoons and an apple with her too, just enough food to keep her going for the first few days before she could stop and go shopping. she brought her phone with, after factory resetting it. Although if she had to leave and take one bag of stuff with her NOW she would also bring Egg, some food for Egg, and some creamer packets from the diner. 

SAMUEL:

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

when samuel was at the oakley academy of alchemy he was a very different person. he was very withdrawn and focused on being the perfect kid the perfect student. he didn't love the academy, it was a very conservative school full of other stuffy rich kids trying to be the best. a very competitive environment. he didn’t enjoy any of his language arts classes, but he did like basic/intermediate general alchemy, history of fine arts, and resource collection and identification. samuel dropped out of the university in his 2nd year, when he was 16. 

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

samuel’s SO fuckin good with animals. he has a dog!! an Australian shepherd, named Bo!! animals just naturally trust samuel and like to be around him.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

samuel likes to hum and sing under his breath when he's happy!!! 

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

he likes to wear knit sweaters and those super fancy extravagant old timey white button ups, with the flared sleeves and ruffles on the collar and everything. except he wears them in a cool and gay way not in a like. im part of high society way. he also likes to wear dresses sometimes especially for parties with dancing. he likes how skirts flare out. big brand clothing stores don't exist, people get their clothes from tailors, so he just gets his clothing from the local tailor. he does knit his own sweaters though!!

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

what is it with me and characters who run away god. anyway when samuel ran away he brought a fuck ton of gold, enough food to last a week, his bow and arrow, a photo of his parents (that he later threw in a river because fuck those bitches), his hunting knife, a journal, and a few pencils. i think if he had to get up and leave now tho, he just... wouldn't. he's built a life in the tiny town in the far lands, he’s healing, he's found a family and he’s in love, i don't think he could bring himself to leave. 

OPAL:

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

she was kind of shit in school. she managed to get good enough grades to get into medical school, although she dropped out, but she caused a lot of trouble and tended to get in trouble a lot. she was kind of neutral on school. she liked anatomy classes a lot, especially the ones that involved dissecting cadavers. she didn’t like ela though. 

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?

animals do NOT trust her. vibes are RANCID

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

she has this.. little smirk she does. her expression of emotions is always kind of lowkey though she tries to keep this air of like,,,,, neutrality and kind of stay formal and cool 

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

she dresses SO fucking fancy. her clothes are from like. idk where do rich people shop?? im sexy and poor. she likes what she wears!!! she wears those weird old timey pajamas with the fuckin stripes and embroidered intials to sleep. she wears makeup!! she likes black lipstick and red eyeshadow. her hair’s brown and she has a buzzcut 

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

money <3 she has found that like. really all she needs in life to get what she wants is just insane amounts of money so she would just. bring money.