Edwardian Bettie Bangs

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

This summer my grandmother gifted me with this gorgeous shirt.  At first, I was confused by it.  I thought maybe it was one of those 1970s-80s Edwardian revival shirts because it was in WAY too good a condition to be an original one, surely.

However, when I looked at it closer...... I'm now sure it IS an original early 1900s piece!  Some of my clues were:
- only the straight seams are sewn by machine
- the trim is crocheted right onto the fabric, not sewn on
- the decorative cutwork and embroidery seems to be done by hand
- only buttons and a tie sash are used
- obviously, the look of the shirt is early 1900s

And the determining clue was this:
- the back is much shorter than the front

What? You may be thinking.  Doesn't that just mean someone made it wrong or something?  No, it doesn't!  Somebody made it exactly right!

During this time, the Gibson girl S-bend corset was popular:
Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s
photo credit
You can see how the corset arches her back a lot.  This makes the distance from her shoulder down her back to her waist shorter, and the distance down the front longer.  This explains the length difference of the shirt!

Then, the shirt also had a tie sash to blouse the front of the shirt to create a "pigeon breast" look like this one (the front is rounded and full, as you can also see on the corset picture above):
Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

The mystery was solved!  I'm still so astounded that it's in such good condition.  I'll be taking REALLY good care of it.

I also tried these faux, Bettie Page-style bangs for the first *successful* time.  Though it was still a bit rough (especially after being out in a windy day!) and I will definitely be doing more practice, it does achieve the overall look I want.  I used a hair rat, bobby pins, and loads of hairspray, and I put two vertical victory rolls on the side.  The bangs are also reminiscent of the early 1900s, I thought, so it does some decade-mixing double duty!

And on a funny note, I found that there are two general responses to these bangs on my campus:
Male- (mental response and facial expression) "What is that?"  (verbal response) "Nice hair...?"
Female- "OOOOO!  How cute!"

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

Flashback Summer: Edwardian Bettie Bangs- pigeon breast Gibson girl shirt, victory rolls, early 1900s

(Random note: I referenced this site to figure out the difference between Edwardian and Victorian.  Just something I've been wondering about.)

skirt: handmade
belt: resized by me
shirt and earrings: gift
lipstick: Estee Lauder
shoes: department store (Kohl's?)

7 comments

  1. It's absolutely fantastic! Love all the details about that blouse wonderful and I'm so excited that it was able to get through our days in perfect condition. Love your hair too. You look perfect!

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  2. Hm, I'm pretty if I saw you (or someone dressed like you), I'd run over and squeal with vintage-inspired delight! :) I love the blouse and its authenticity. It's kinda crazy that it's so pristine and perfect after a hundred years.

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    1. Aw, thanks Lisa! That would be a pretty great reaction, ha!

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  3. Wow! This is an amazing blouse and the outfit you put together with it is lovely. I noticed the same reaction to Bettie Bangs on the odd few occasions I've worn them - the boys just want to know how you made that funny thing on your head...

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    1. Thank you! I thought Bettie bangs were more common than they apparently are. Probably if I was in a bigger city it wouldn't get such "What the heck?" reactions, though. 'Round here there isn't such hair diversity!

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  4. What an amazing find! I can't get over how gorgeous this blouse is and all the details! This has to be one of my favorite eras.

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