{Oh, Those Tiny Edwardians!}

Have you ever come upon the loveliest of antique dresses, the sort that just makes your breath catch and your heart soar, only to look at the unbelievably slim measurements in dismay? "Women were just smaller then," we think. But while there were some women then that were petite, it wasn't any more universal then now. Women come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and that hasn't changed in the last 100 years. I believe you'd be surprised to find most people then were comparable to present sizes.

"But why are the dresses so tiny?" you may ask.

Well, the reason is that most of the antique dresses on the market aren't women's dresses at all, they're girls (age 12-18*). These dresses were worn for a shorter periods of time, as the girls grew out of them quickly. A woman, on the other hand, would be more likely to stay the same size for many years and wear her dress the entire lifespan of the garment. So the teenage girls' dresses stood the test of time better, being less used to begin with.. That's why they are so much more abundantly available. Its not the magic of corsets or something in the water that made the women more waif like, it's simple, normal human growth.  I imagine they hung in the young ladies' closets for many years after they outgrew them, too pretty to be parted with, but too small to wear. They may have sighed over them as frequently as we do.

 There are more womanly sized Edwardian dresses out there, I happen to have a couple in my shop right now, and a couple more in my closet I'm keeping for myself. I hope, whatever your size, you can find the perfect antique dress for you!

 {PS: *be sure to click on the image! It's a girl's dress pattern, and it has a typical size chart for girls ages 12-18. The next time you find a dress with a 22" waist, remember it was probably for a very young girl.}