How I Started Collecting Spooky Old Children’s Clothing
Have you ever seen antique children’s clothing in a store or museum? Did you wonder who would be weird enough to collect that stuff? Hello, that’s me!
Or instead, did you wonder at the beauty of the fabric? Touch it and realize you’re interacting with a part of history? Speculate on the lives of the people who once wore it?
Or like me, did you realize it was both beautiful and a little haunted? Did it make you think of Edwardian ghost stories and Victorian sensation novels?
I Blame the Victorian Novelists — And Historic Savage Mill
Around 2021, my interests in Victorian fiction and old horror stories and antiques merged. It was all the fault of Mary Elizabeth Braddon (I wrote about her novel for Medium) and other authors of Victorian sensation novels.
I’d visited the Historic Savage Mill shopping complex in Savage, Maryland, many times before. As you can guess by the name, the complex is built in an old mill that has been restored — but retains its original character. That’s why the buildings have names like New Weave, Old Weave, Carding, and Spinning. The shops and boutiques and art galleries are spread throughout those sprawling connected buildings.
