My Preferred Drugstore Mascaras for Feminine Eyelashes

Long Fluttery Lashes... aren't they what a lot of us think of when we think of a feminine appearance? Fluttery lashes can do so much to your feminine appearance and thankfully mascara doesn't have to be expensive.

The Importance of a Man's Character

Hello, precious darlings!

Oftentimes, when we speak about our ideal masculine companion, we forget about one of the most important things: his character.

You see, as we fantasize about the degree of masculinity that there will be in his core, his witty sense of humor, or his fine and worldy education, we often forget about his character, which includes his morals, conscience, and good manners.

I don't think it's because we don't place importance on them. I'm sure that every one of us would want to only mate with a good man --  because what's the point of having a man make you laugh, exercising your mind, and arousing your femininity if he's not good to you or doesn't place importance on taking good care of the children you're raising together?

I think that it's something that's so understood as being important that we often forget about conscientiously reminding ourselves:

Discover How Untitled Women Marry Princes

Didn't we all, when we were little girls, dream of finding our prince charming and soul mate?

Shyness as an Asset

 

"Mrs. Kennedy approached me and smiled warmly as she offered her hand. 

 "'It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hill,' she said in a soft, breathy voice. 

"'It's very nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Kennedy,' I said with a smile, as I shook her hand and looked directly into her eyes. She returned my gaze for an instant, then blinked and looked away, giving me the impression that, while she wanted to appear confident, on the inside she was rather shy."

(Hill, 8-9)

I recently had a dear reader ask me if I could comment a bit on shyness and how to go about being feminine and ladylike when one is shy or timid. She wanted to know if being shy hindered her ability to be elegant and feminine.

I am happy to write about this today, because I want all of my shy readers to know that their shyness can be turned into an asset when it comes to trying to become a lady or feminine.

Thanksgiving Sale!

 Happy Thanksgiving, Loves!

Sorry, but this sale is now closed. I don't observe Black Friday either ( ;-) ) so the next sale will be in the holidays!

The Bridal Trousseau or Hope Chest

I consider myself to be a young woman who's modern and who tries to be open-minded, tolerant, and accepting. However, in many ways, I'm extremely old-fashioned. There are certain old traditions that I think are lovely and should be continued and the trousseau or "hope chest" is one of them.

The Truth About Female Competition

Am I the only one who's noticed female competition, or competitiveness between women? It's common and it's been around for centuries, yet it's something that hurts our ability to be feminine and ladylike.

Interview with Lauren of "American Duchess"

Today I'm thankful to publish an interview from Lauren at "American Duchess," who runs both a beautiful historic costume line and a blog by the same name.

Q: Thank you so much, Lauren, for allowing me to interview you today. Can you please tell us a little bit about who you are and your company?

Thanks Nina! Well I'm Lauren, and my blog/company is American Duchess (http://americanduchess.blogspot.com and www.american-duchess.com). Originally I started blogging about my historical costuming pursuits back in about 2009, just to have somewhere to share what I was creating and learning about 18th century clothing, and other periods of dress. After blogging for a few years, my partner, Chris, and I came up with the idea to create a line of 18th century shoes, after I got so frustrated trying to find any that were both comfortable and stylish.

The idea seemed to be a popular one, and after testing out the first style, a dyeable silk latchet shoe called "Georgiana," it seemed like a good idea to continue with creating historical footwear and accessories, and so was born American Duchess Company. I still update the blog every day with project photos, but I'm also able to connect with other costumers the world over, and get their opinions on what products we should develop for the American Duchess store.

Q: What got you interested in making costumes?

I'm not totally sure where it started - I was decidedly "anti-dress" when I was a kid, a total Tom Boy, but then somewhere in there I went to a Renaissance Faire and became enamored of all the beautiful court gowns, and wanted to make one myself. We joke in the costuming world that you either love costuming and can't stop, or it's just not for you at all. If you are "bitten by the costuming bug," then, I suppose like any other hobby, it becomes a way to be creative, a way to relax, meet new people and be social, etc. I really enjoy researching and learning the social history, as well as period sewing techniques, for a costume I want to re-create, so it scratches both the history nerd itch, and the sew-pretty-things-to-wear itch. :-)

Q: What's your favorite period and why?

It is definitely the 18th century, though my initial interest, way back when, was in Elizabethan costuming. Those two periods are just utterly stunning to me. I love the styles, the fabrics, the way the clothing fits, the way it feels when you wear something so over-the-top. I am interested in other periods as well, but not quite as obsessively, haha.

Q: Have you always been fascinated with history?

Yes to this one. It didn't always manifest itself in costume, but I have always been interested in the past. When I was in high school, I was into the 1940s, but never really had the guts to dress up 1940s for school. Later it was the Reformation and King Henry VIII, followed by Elizabethan I. Then it was the 18th century, particularly the French Revolution. I took many an art history course at University, and still enjoy learning through examining art, outside an academic setting. Most of the novels I read are historical fiction, and I'm more than a little addicted to documentaries on historic subjects.

Q: What kind of people usually purchase your costumes?

Most of our customer base consists of individual costumers in the USA, Canada, Australia, and all over Europe. Primarily they are women, to be expected with women's shoes, but occasionally we have a very fashionable man order footwear from us. Recently we've begun to fill orders from production companies and costume houses, and also theaters. The Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and Ford's Theater seem to like us, which is very exciting!

Q: How do you think elegance and your work are connected?

Definitely the clothing of the past clad ladies in elegance more than today. That's not to say that there are not elegant clothes to be had these days, or you can't dress elegantly, just that we are so very, very casual, whereas in the past people "dressed up" far more regularly. Clothing of the past, any period, even in the 1960s, makes the wearer feel a certain way, causes the wearer to stand, walk, sit a certain way, and also sends out messages about social status, marital status, wealth (or not), all kinds of things. When we are historical seamstresses pursue re-creating and wearing clothing from an earlier period, we are seeking to experience in some way how the people of that era lived. As for my company's line of historical shoes, that is just a small part that adds to the overall impression, and helps to achieve the look and feel.

Q: What is something related to costuming that you'd still like to learn?

Gosh, everything! The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know anything. We have a small window into the past, and the further back in time we go, the smaller that window gets. I am always learning about period construction techniques, which leads to learning about period technologies for textile manufacture, which leads to information about social and political forces shaping industry in varying parts of the world. It's all connected, and all fascinating, and I'd like to know as much about it as I can, so I can more accurately understand what it is I am creating and wearing.

Emphasizing the Femininity of Your Race

Living in the United States, it's safe to say that I often run into stereotyping about which women are and are not feminine.

Although Southern belles are known for their femininity, American women as a group are often seen as the least feminine due to the feminist extremists. Although as a general group, we are nowhere near as feminine as women from Asia or Eastern Europe (generally the most feminine women), it doesn't matter.

We need to block out the commentary and continue on our pursuit of femininity. Instead of trying to argue with the negative commentators about it, work to become a lethally feminine American woman and prove them wrong.

Although I think that there are some qualities that all feminine women have in common (receptiveness, acceptance, nurturing qualities, etc.), I don't want to take these qualities too far because I think it's good for feminine women to be unique in their own special ways as well.

Election Week Sale

--TheProperLady.com's Election Week Sale--

Sorry, this sale is now closed.

The next sale will be around THANKSGIVING.

Ladylike Fashion and Beauty Newsletter

DISCONTINUED


 I am very sorry to announce that these newsletters have now been discontinued due to personal health matters.

All who are subscribed will be given the option of a refund or replacement products.

Thank you to all who supported me and subscribed.

Sincerely,
Nina