SACO — Misconception number one: You should handle Victorian-era textiles with gloved hands. Not so. Gloves, even if they’re thin latex, prevent the hands from navigating delicate material with the requisite tactile sensitivity. Clean, bare hands are best.

Misconception number two: Waistlines on dresses made in the 1800s are tiny, tiny, tiny. Also not so ”“ for the most part. That’s largely an optical illusion, a product of flared collars and cuffs, voluminous skirt cages that encase one’s legs in an imposing bell of swishing fabrics.

Hang around Astrida Schaeffer long enough, and these are the kinds of things one learns.

In fact, that was the idea behind Friday night’s talk at the Saco Museum. Tapped because of her expertise ”“ and because she helped to curate the museum’s current exhibit on 18th and 19th century fashions ”“ Schaeffer took visitors on a chronological tour of eras gone by, told through trains and flounces, necklines and inseams.

The author of “Embellishments: Constructing Victorian Detail,” she’s also the proprietor of Schaeffer Arts, in which she curates exhibitions, designs mannequins for museums, and restores textiles with a loving ”“ and bare ”“ hand.

“What we’re seeing are clothes that have passed multiple tests,” said Schaeffer, passing that hand over a cluster of primly-dressed mannequins. First, she said, the garments that survive from that era were obviously important to the wearers; if they hadn’t been, they wouldn’t have been stored with the kind of care that would preserve such delicate pieces.

Second, they withstood the rigors of regular use. That’s no small feat, because contrary to what many believe, Victorian-era dress was not made to be worn gingerly, with their owners trapped in a stiff, unmoving prison.

Since everything was meticulously fitted to a person’s body, these garments were made to move, as evidenced by the photography that started to emerge midway through the 19th century.

“Photography hits in the 1840s, and so now you have these views into peoples’ lives,” said Schaeffer. “That’s where you see it wasn’t necessarily all Scarlett O’Hara,” a reference to the protagonist of the 1936 novel “Gone With the Wind.”

The exhibit that provided the framework for the discussion, “From the Elegant to the Everyday: 200 Years of Fashion in Northern New England,” was put together largely by Schaeffer, museum director Tara Von Raiselis, and Dyer Library/Saco Museum Executive Director Leslie Rounds. Of the 48 pieces on display, only about 23 came from the Saco Museum’s own archives; to provide a complete narrative, articles were borrowed from institutions such as the Warner House Museum in Portsmouth, N.H., the Portsmouth Historical Society and the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, among others. Other pieces are private donations.

“If we can collaborate with other institutions, it gives us a chance to show a lot more to the public … that they otherwise wouldn’t see,” said Von Raiselis.

Arranging the exhibit was tricky. The best method, said Rounds, was to display everything chronologically ”“ “It could tell a story in unique ways,” she said ”“ which was a challenge, given the flow of the museum’s main gallery space.

But it was also essential, because what a visitor experiences is an evolution of sorts, from the simple, home-made fare of the late 1700s and early 1800s to the more ostentatious styles that became prevalent in the mid-19th century. That’s when machine technology made mass production possible for the first time.

Schaeffer is planning a book on the subject, covering in detail various aspects of her presentation ”“ meant in part to give garment buffs the tools necessary to tease an article’s age out of various clues, including the size and style of the skirt cage, and the types of buttons that served both function and aesthetics.

Perhaps, also, she may be able to squash those misconceptions about tiny waistlines.

“Optical illusion is a big part of Victorian fashion,” she said with a smile.

“From the Elegant to the Everyday: 200 Years of Fashion in Northern New England,” will be on display through May 3.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.