Civil War Style Icons: The Belle of Washington

I have a secret to share with you that is so enormous, you have to swear not to tell a living soul (although feel free to tell all the non-living souls you want):

I am a nerd.

More specifically, I am a history nerd.

I'm obsessed with things that happened in the past, which have nothing to do with me.

I also love fabulous females.

After my cousin's wedding this weekend, I spent an entire day with my family touring Abraham Lincoln sites. I saw his old house and then I went to a museum dedicated him.

It was fucking awesome.

I not only learned really fascinating facts about our most admired American president, but also about the civil war.

I have a three-part series for you about three fabulous women from the Civil War period.

The first is Kate Chase, the society princess.

Kate was in her early 20s during the civil war, and the daughter of Salmon Chase, the Secretary of Treasure in the Lincoln Administration. Her mother died when she was very young. She had a little sister.

She was tall, thin, and strikingly beautiful. With her delightful wit and dazzling charm, it was often joked that every politician in Washington D.C. had a huge crush on her. Every move she made was detailed in national gossip columns.

Kate absolutely adored her father, acting like his campaign manager any time he ran for office. She was so proud of her dad and thought the world of him. She wrote his speeches, promoted his policies, hosted his social gatherings, and made it her life's ambition to help him reach his dreams.

Kate's only real flaw, however, was her weakness for designer clothes from Paris. She almost bankrupt her generous father by spending obscene amounts of money on tailored gowns.

She soon solved that problem, although in a naive way. At 23, she married the wealthy U.S. Senator William Sprague, who she believed would help her father accomplish his goal of being the next president.

It was the wedding of the 19th century. The who's who of the political world showed up to the jaw-droppingly extravagant affair, to see the glamorous Kate walk down the aisle wearing a tiara of pearls and diamonds that cost more than $50,000 (imagine how much that would be today!).

The only person who did not attend the wedding was President Lincoln's wife, Mary. The First Lady despised Kate and would often throw fits of jealousy, because she was tired of how men fawned over the gorgeous debutante.

Unfortunately, Kate's good fortune did not last. Her marriage proved a bad decision. Her husband was rumored to be resentful of her time and devotion spent on her father's campaigns. He started drinking heavily and physically abused her and slept with other women.

Her father never did achieve of his dream of becoming president and he died during a campaign. A heartbroken Kate spent more years watching her husband humiliate her in public, by prancing around town with every harlot in sight. The two eventually divorced.

When her 25-year-old son committed suicide, the now middle-aged Kate withdrew from society completely. She died in poverty nine years later, in 1899.

Here is an outfit inspired by the dazzling Kate:

What do you think of Kate?