Fashion -

Now a days fashions senses have included mini skirts, baggy t-shirts, black leggings, bright coloured belts and the most insulting clothing for a woman to wear in the 1850's, pants. Where has all the maturity gone?

Today, black skinny leg jeans, eye popping fluorescent T-shirts and Bonds Hoodies are considered 'A trend' and ' So hot right now' but what we really need is to bring back the clothes that our great-great-grandmother and our great-great-grandfather kept locked away in a closet.

In Ballarat 1850's women were to wear tent like petticoats which was made to make their waist look smaller. They would of worn corsets which was to shape their upper half, if you were seen out in the public without a corset on it would be an insulting. A bright summer dress was worn over the corset and petticoat, it was accompanied with a hat and a leather belt. Back then, small waists were considered fashionable and the averaged sized waist was only 42 centimetres. This caused great difficulty to pregnant women because there was no room for the baby to grow which leads to deformed babies or miscarriages. But they had no choice but to wear the corset because they would of have to be kept inside for the rest of the pregnancy.

In you were a wealthy man in Ballarat, you would of worn a clean white buttoned down shirt, a vest, long black pants, a silk tie, a coat and a top hat. Wealthy men would of bought the silk ties from China and was shipped all the way to Australia. But if you were a young miner in the Gold Rush, you would have worn silk ties because you didn't have enough money. All that you could afford was a plain buttoned down shirt with a brown vest and pants. Usually they had a hat to protect the suns rays from hitting them.

There was not many women in the mining industry yet there was many brothels where women called 'The Night Ladies' would entertain the men. They wore bright showy dresses which only went down to their knees and on their dress was lace around the neck. They would of wore stockings and black heels.

Back then, fashion was about waist sizes and what you could afford. Now it is all over rated and colourful. Which century would you prefer? I know what I would choose.