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Leimomi (she/her)
@thedreamstress

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In my last post I showed you some of Rita de Acosta Lydig's famous shoes, and now here's the lady herself.⁠ ⁠ Rita (1875-1929) was the daughter of Cuban-American steamship executive and a Spanish heiress. At 19 she married Will Stokes, 45, a truly awful (he wrote a book on eugenics so creepy that even other eugenicist fans couldn't stomach it) real-estate developer. When she divorced him in 1900 on the grounds of cruelty she received almost 2 million dollars - reportedly the highest amount granted for a divorce up to that time. ⁠ ⁠ A second marriage, to Major Lydig in 1902, also ended in divorce in 1919, albeit with a less noteworthy settlement and less acrimony. ⁠ ⁠ She spent her fortune on art (amassing a collection of Botticellis) and fashion - including the famous shoes. Her wardrobe became the basis of the Costume Institute at the Met⁠ ⁠ In addition to collecting art she collected noteworthy friends, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, Auguste Rodin, Leo Tolstoy, Sarah Bernhardt, Isabelle Stewart Gardner, Ethel Barrymore and Claude Debussy were all her friends.⁠ ⁠ She also wrote a novel (a society melodrama), supported the suffrage movement, and had rather amazing sisters - but you'll have to read about them separately!⁠ ⁠ 1: Rita de Acosta Lydig by Giovanni Boldini, 1911⁠ 2 & 3: Rita de Acosta Lydig shortly after her marriage to Lydig⁠ 4: Rita photographed by Baron Adolf de Meyer, 1913⁠ 5: Rita de Acosta Lydig by Ignacio Zuloaga, 1912⁠ 6: Mrs. Phil. Lydig (Rita de Acosta) & Mrs. Geo. Ethridge at a suffrage rally, 1915-19⁠ 7: Lydig, 1924, photographed by Genthe, Arnold, 1869-1942⁠ ⁠ #ritadeacosta #edwardianfashion #suffrage #suffragettes #votesforwomen #thedreamstress⁠ #interestingwomen #womenshistory #herstory #extraordinarywomen #womeninhistory #womenmakinghistory