They say wisdom comes with the ages, and they have got a point. These days we may think we know everything, but there are a few things that the Victorians knew that we seem to have forgotten.
That is not to say that things used to be better in the good old days. (read my blog post here on why I don’t think the past was better) What I am aiming for is to be selective of the lessons we can learn from the past. Examine them, and see if they still fit in our everyday lives today. Here are five things that used to be commonplace that I think would be beneficial to us in our modern society.
1. Mending Clothes
I’ll start with what I think is the most important one: Mending our clothes. These days clothes are so cheap, when something is worn out, we throw it away and buy a new one. But it’s incredibly wastefull, and in the long run quite expensive.
Let’s give mending our clothes a try again. Learn how to darn your socks if they have holes in them. If a seam is ripped on a pair of pants, just sew it closed again. Learn how to fix those little holes in t-shirts. Your clothes have a longer lifespan and you get to wear your favorite pair of pants a lot longer.
If you don’t know how, try finding an old sewing book, they usually have chapters on mending. Or try to find it on youtube. There are quite a few tutorials. And maybe in the future I’ll do an article on mending myself.
2. Wearing Wool
Wool was a staple in the victorian closet, but unfortunately, it is not worn much today. Wool has gotten a name of being itchy, but that is a bit unfair. It is mostly just coarse wool that itches. A good quality fine wool cloth feels nothing like that itchy woolen sweater you grandma used to knit.
Another misconception about wool is that its hot. It’s not. Wool is insulating. Some people might say: “what’s the difference?”, but the difference is quite important. Insulation not only keeps you warm in colder termeratures, it also keeps you cool in hot weather! I have worn my long woolen pants in the summer, and they are perfectly comfortable. In the victorian days wool compagnies even used to advertise for wearing long woolen underwear to the tropics.
Unfortunately, these days, good quality woolen clothes are hard to find. Most of the “wool” we find in the shops nowadays is acrylic with a little bit of wool mixed trough. Acrylic has quite different properties than wool. Especily, since it is a synthetic fabric, it is less breatable and therefore quite sweaty. For me personally it also irritates the skin more than wool, but that may be a personal thing.
Wool has such lovely properties. It is insulating, slightly water resistant, breatheable, and natural. It is the only animal fabric in which the animal doesn’t have to be hurt in order to get it. It’s a shame pure wool is not as wideliy availible to us anymore.
3. Showering Less
This one is often met with a lot of resistance: “Not showering everyday?! But that is dirty! If you don’t shower, you’ll smell!” But what a lot of people forget is that showering is not the only method of washing. You can shouwer less and still wash yourself daily. Simply use a washcloth.
Before the shower became common in the middle of the 20th century, people still washed. In fact, hygene was quite important for the victorians, who recently discovered the existance of bactera.
So how do we clean ourselves without a shower? You can easily and quickly wash yourself at the sink. Simply use a washcloth, add a little water and a small drop of soap, and wash yourself with that. Rinse out the washcloth, use it to wash off the soap, and dry. It saves a lot of water, so you’ll save money, and you aren’t tempted to stay in the shower for half an hour, so it saves you time in the mornings too.
Now I’m not saying to give up showering completely. Of course not. The shower is a wonderfull invention. I too love a good shower. But maybee try to limit it a little bit. Try a washcloth bath once or twice a week. Give it a try, maybe it will be something for you too.
4. Good Posture
While I try to follow the first few points regularly, (though not always, i’m still human,) on this point I struggle. Good posture was quite important during the 19th century, but somewhere along the 20th century we forgot. Most people these days slouch. I am quite guilty of this. My posture when workling at the computer or the sewing machine is artrocious. I hunch over and my shoulders are nearly touching my ears.
And a lot of people, myself included, are noticing the effects of this bad posture. Back pain is extremely common, as is shoulder and neckpain, and headaces. If the cause of these pains is bad posture, practicing sitting and standing straighter will help a lot, and its free too.
But off course writing that is easier than actually doing it. Mostly because you have to remember to do so all day. Its easy to take a moment to sit up straight and lower your sholders, but to do so constantly requires a lot of practice. When i’m busy I often forget, but I try to have good posture as often as I can.
5. Dancing
The last thing I think we should bring back from the victorian era is dancing. Back in those days, everyone knew how to dance. It was a form of entertainment, of meeting people, and of gentle excersize.
I have been taking ballroom lessons with my boyfriend for two years now, and it is my favorite thing to do together. Because that’s the thing: dancing is an activity for which you actually have to work together. Other things couples might do, watching a movie, going out to dinner etc, are all activities you can do both alone or together. It’s nice to spend that time with someone, but doing something where you actually have to work as a team is something else.
The difference off course it that in the 19th century, everybody could dance. So you could meet lot’s of different people and dance with them. That way it was a good social engagement. People at Victorian dances used to dance with lots of different partners. But these days, because fewer people can actually dance, you mostly just stick to one dance partner. It’s a bit of a shame, because it would be a lot of fun to go to dances and meet new people.
But still, dancing is a nice form of gentle excersize. It gets you up on your feet, moving to music. If you like this idea, try finding a local dance school and sign up with a partner. Learn some steps and try it out.
