Home > Vintage Handbags, Purses, Clutch Bags & Accessories > 19th CENTURY HANDBAGS - Look - Victorian Bags, Purses and related Accessories CLICK HERE TO BROWSE
Victorian 'Skirt Lifter' in Silver Plate with Chatelaine Loop and Floral Decoration (Sold)
This 19th Century Dress Accessory is a collectable antique from the Victorian era. Ladies would attach the Skirt Lifting device to their belt or chatelaine and employ it to lift their skirts from puddles, mud and curbs. The skirt lifting device simply clips and unclips allowing it to be attached to the fabric of the skirt and be employed to discreetly lift the hem when necessary. Skirt Lifting devices continued to be employed into the Edwardian era but naturally fell out of favour once ladies had the freedom of a short skirt! This skirt lifting clip is in really good order with just a little wear to the silver plate caused by the actual use of the clip. This antique skirt clip measures 6.5 inches and is around 2 inches in width at the widest point. It is quite unusual to find a skirt lifting device decorated with a vase or urn of flowers. I have found a few of these Victorian fashion accessories in the past but they have generally had a butterfly or a roundel decoration and have been made of brass metal.
More information about skirt lifters or 'Pages'
You have to think back to the etiquette and the road conditions of the nineteenth century to understand why a device such as a skirt lifter would be necessary. There were no tarmac surfaces and drainage of the roads was also not as we know it today. Garbage would litter the streets and the full skirted and very costly frocks of that time were easily soiled. You must remember too that washing techniques were basic and garments were often kept for a long while. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century those clever Victorians had come up with a little gadget to hold up the skirt. By inventing the 'Page' or skirt lifting device they helped ladies to preserve the fabric of their delicate frocks and to maintain them in a cleaner condition. The Victorian Skirt lifter was an odd device, scissor like with pivoted arms and a cushioned grip. This grip would be closed and released by the sliding of a device at the top of the skirt lifter. An added bonus of using the cushion grip would mean that hands did not touch the delicate fabric higher up the skirt so again less laundry and wear. In common with all Victorian inventions the skirt lifter was often a patented device and one of the most common patents was the Fyfes Patent.
More information about skirt lifters or 'Pages'
You have to think back to the etiquette and the road conditions of the nineteenth century to understand why a device such as a skirt lifter would be necessary. There were no tarmac surfaces and drainage of the roads was also not as we know it today. Garbage would litter the streets and the full skirted and very costly frocks of that time were easily soiled. You must remember too that washing techniques were basic and garments were often kept for a long while. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century those clever Victorians had come up with a little gadget to hold up the skirt. By inventing the 'Page' or skirt lifting device they helped ladies to preserve the fabric of their delicate frocks and to maintain them in a cleaner condition. The Victorian Skirt lifter was an odd device, scissor like with pivoted arms and a cushioned grip. This grip would be closed and released by the sliding of a device at the top of the skirt lifter. An added bonus of using the cushion grip would mean that hands did not touch the delicate fabric higher up the skirt so again less laundry and wear. In common with all Victorian inventions the skirt lifter was often a patented device and one of the most common patents was the Fyfes Patent.
-1757-p.jpg?v=1cd885d0-aad1-487f-aa3d-0200ad4a487c)
-1757-p.jpg?v=1cd885d0-aad1-487f-aa3d-0200ad4a487c)
-1757-p.jpg?v=1cd885d0-aad1-487f-aa3d-0200ad4a487c)
-1757-p.jpg?v=1cd885d0-aad1-487f-aa3d-0200ad4a487c)