Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Can anyone put me onto a good website for Women's Clothing Styles in 1927? I am trying to get an idea of the clothing Lizzie would have worn in her last year.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Pammie

Hi Pammie, heres a good site that has photos and drawings of the fashions of the 1920s.

http://www.fashion-era.com/1920s/index.htm

But, the question still arises, what would Lizzie have worn? We read that she was stylish, had her clothing made by a seamstress who probably would have kept her up with the current fashions. Would Lizzie, who was then in her sixties, welcome the shorter hemlines after years of trailing long skirts? Or, would she have been more modest about showing her legs?

From the photos I have seen, it appears that older women tended to wear longer skirts that ended mid calf or just above the ankle. Those flapper dresses didn't flatter a curvy or fleshy body and were probably made with a younger woman in mind. And, of course, there is the question of hair. Would Lizzie have cropped her hair or kept her curls? Personally, I think she would have kept her long hair.

You've brought up an interesting question, Susan: Did Lizzie have long hair?

Just from personal experience, to get a bun the size that Lizzie appears to have on the back of her head, you need hair that is at least shoulder length. I'm also thinking from the photos of Abby and the lengths of hair that they had measured, I believe the longest strands were 12 inches. Lizzie's hair may have been even a bit longer, perhaps between the shoulder blades?

Or are you referring to Lizzie's hair in the 20s, Kat? Granted, its not Lizzie, but, wasn't there an illustration of Emma to go along with that newspaper interview later in Emma's life. I seem to recall that she looked to have a hairstyle that was very similar to what she had when she was younger. Would Lizzie have kept to a familiar hairstyle also?

I have found that women tend to hang on to the styles of their younger days when it comes to hair. My grandmother kept her hairstyle from about the 30's and 40's. So did my mother. I grew up in the 1960's, when hair was worn long and straight. I am 60 now and I still have the long straight waist length hair, worn in a long braid. I have no intention of cutting it. When I get older I may wind the long braid into a bun. Clothes tend to get more conservative the older you get...I'm sure Lizzie wore the more conservative styles.