Timeless Tuesdays

Because I have a terrible weakness for clothing history and arcana I recently acquired (and by acquired I mean special ordered during my hours moonlighting at our awesome indie bookstore and waited with bated breathe for it to arrive on it's release date) a copy of The Dictionary of Fasion History by Valerie Cumming, C.W. Cunnington, and P.E. Cunnington.  Now this is not a book for everyone: there aren't many pictures and it reads, well, like a dictionary, but is a valuable resource for anyone with a desire to discover interesting words for bizarre pieces of clothing or accessories that mankind has put to use throughout the centuries. Namely me and a few other die hard folks who care more than just about the label or lack thereof.

I thought that I would start devoting a few Tuesdays to explore timeless fashion, whether it is a garment, a designer, or bit of fashion history. Today I'll leave you with a definition from The Dictionary.

                             Nithsdale (F) Period: 1715-1720     
                             A long, hooded riding cloak.  "It
                             is called a nithsdale since Fame
                             adorned a Countess with that name"
                             (1719, D'urfay, Pills to purge
                             Melancholy). The Countess of
                             Nithsdale (1680-1749) had rescued
                             her husband, a supporter of the
                             Jacobite rebellion, from the Tower
                             by disguising him in her cloak and
                             hood in 1715.