Phoebe, the heroine in Lovers Ransom, spends a good part of the book in what was considered men’s clothing. A few people have questioned my choice to dress her, and a lot of my heroines, in jeans in my books as it wasn’t the norm.
Which is true – but then the late 1800s in Australia, dealing with the horrible North Queensland heat wasn’t the norm for many of the people in my books either. Most of my heroines also didn’t behave in the norm, spending most of their time working, or on the run from some scandal, rather than gracing ballrooms and taking tea.
As for the habit of them wearing jeans – here is a little history about a fabric so many of us now love (as I did in my younger years)
Denim was invented in the 17th Century in France.
In 1873, Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss created the fabric that we know today as denim. This fabric was transformed into durable and sturdy work pants for men that did labour-intensive jobs. In the early days, jeans were fitted with deep pockets and copper rivets to prevent rips.
