I was fortunate to be able to visit Death Becomes Her at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibit showcased a century of mourning attire. The gowns on display proved that even ladies in mourning could wear beautiful clothes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Mourning gown worn by Queen Victoria

US Civil War-era wedding dress in half-mourning colors in honor of the fallen

American mourning ensemble circa 1897

Mourning coat by the House of Worth circa 1907

Half-mourning gowns from 1902

At the recent Romance Writers of America (RWA) convention in New York, author Deeanne Gist gave a hands-on, clothes-on workshop on how to dress – and undress – your heroine.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, it took Gist an hour to put on everything that a lady would have worn in the 1860s. The pieces of clothing included stockings, garters, bloomers, chemise, corset, crinoline or hoop skirt, petticoats, a shirtwaist or blouse, skirt, vest and bolero jacket.

The Journal reports that 25 percent of all books sold are historical romances, according to book-industry analyst Bowker.

But getting accurate details on a lady’s under-things takes a lot of work.

“When you’re doing something where they’re undressing in a love scene situation—these are the practical things that you never find in a research book,” bestselling novelist Laura Lee Guhrke tells the Journal. “You want to be accurate.”

Check out the video above for a close-up look at a Victorian lady’s unmentionables.