I love walking Iris, my 65 lb lab mix, even in the Panama City summertime heat, mainly because I look forward to the swim we take afterwards. I wear shorts, a tank top and Chacos.
My grandmother and great grandmother walked this area, just a couple of miles away, in 1915. They walked because they didn’t have cars, and their horse was used mainly for working the fields.What must it have been like for them, sweltering in this Florida heat in long-sleeved blouses and many layered skirts? How did they manage to survive the heat and humidity without what my little six-year old friend calls “inside air”?
While writing Annie Laura’s Triumph (set in 1915 about the life of my great-grandmother), I learned that there was a revolution of sorts in women’s fashion about that time. Fashion magazines touted a “transition to simplicity.”
What exactly did that mean? Corsets were looser, and skirts were fuller and hemmed above the ankles, “making it easier to move about,” though certainly not any cooler.
Here is a picture of my grandmother and her new baby along with several aunts. This picture was taken in Southport, Florida, 1916. It’s summertime–you can see the corn stalks growing behind them. My grandmother was 16–she wears 3/4 length sleeves, but notice that all of the older women have on long sleeves and long skirts.
I can’t imagine walking down my street in a corset covered by a long-sleeved blouse, a layer of petticoats, and a heavy cotton skirt down to my ankles, no matter how loose the hem might be! I can’t even wear sleeveless maxi dresses in the summer. Way too hot!