This past Saturday, we were guests at a very nice wedding for one of our clients that was held at the Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles. The wedding was a period affair, Edwardian to be precise although clothing ranged a bit on either side (not including the outright modern). Karin arrived early just to make sure that there were no last-minute complications (there weren’t, thank god) and otherwise assist. In the meantime, I was pretty much on my own so I decided to walk around and get some pictures.

 

It was a warm day so I decided to take these pictures from a nice, cool shady spot. 🙂

Heritage Square is composed of a series of restored houses that were moved (yes, moved) to the museum site from various sites in Los Angeles and the structures have been restored over the years. It’s come a long way since I first visited the museum in 1994. It’s a wonderful slice of a vanished Los Angeles, a Los Angeles that pre-dates the car, freeway and all it’s attendant growth and development. For a description of the various buildings at Heritage Square, click HERE.

One of the more striking houses was the Hale House which was built in 1887. I was unable to get a good picture of it so I lifted one off the internet 🙂 :

To me, this house is especially striking and especially the brick chimneys (which are all unreinforced masonry). Beautiful to look at but not the most optimal for earthquake county here in California. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture any interior shots on this visit, but I can assure you that those are just as interesting and especially when you look at some of the details as impossibly small, curing stair cases and the like (in an era where building codes were minimal to non-existent).  In many ways, the museum is a living time capsule and well worth a visit for anyone interested in architecture and interior design of the late 19th century.

As for myself, well I was definitely dressed for occasion and keeping cool at the same time:

Here I am dressed in my linen sack suit. Although it’s not too visible, I am also wearing a starched fabric detachable collar which is a lot more comfortable than the much stiffer paper/celluloid variety. Believe it or not, wearing a detachable collar is quite comfortable and it’s now standard for me whenever I am wearing civilian clothing.

Also, because of the heat, I decided to give my new straw boater hat a try. I bought it from Darcy Clothing in the UK (highly recommended) and it presented an interesting wearing challenge. The crown is very low and it almost perches on the top of my head. I was able to create some inner tension by adding a thickness of cotton fabric inside of the hatband but I would be careful wearing this on a windy day. Otherwise, after wearing the boater for a few hours, I forgot about the low crown and it was quite comfortable. It’s a look that I highly recommend for summer and in fact is very appropriate for the late 19th Century.

And finally, the selfie…it seems to be de rigueur these days. 🙂

OK, that was extremely silly…in future posts, there will be more about the wedding dress and wedding itself so stay tuned. 🙂