Clothes

Were you as surprised as we were to learn that the Cranston mice wear clothes? And were you as nervous as us that the Cranston humans would wear the wrong clothes to Princess Louise's party? The truth is that clothes are serious stuff in this story—they can make or break marriages, and they can also let humans know about mice's secret lives.

Fitting In: The Upstairs Cranstons Take on England

When it comes to clothes, the Upstairs Cranstons know they've got some work to do. Just like today, in the 1800s clothes were one way that people tried to fit in with their new friends.

Now we're all for standing out in a crowd, but the Upstairs Cranstons just want to blend in with the rest of the British folks on this trip. And this means that the Cranstons need to do some shopping:

"They're to have new clothes from the skin out," whispered Louise. "As Mrs. Minturn said, they haven't a stitch that will do. Even corset covers. Everything. Seamstresses will come and sew night and day. The Upstairs Cranstons are going to London, England, and so they will need ball gowns." (4.18)

It seems like getting new duds was a huge affair back in the day—and Louise doesn't take this whole clothes-shopping thing lightly. She says the Cranstons need "new clothes from the skin out." It's almost as if the Cranstons are going to have to change everything about themselves to fit in… Do you think that's cool or kind of a bummer?

Mice are Fashion Mavens

Okay, so while clothes are all about fitting in for the Upstairs Cranstons, they're all about standing out for the mice. Here's the deal: When the mice want to blend in, they go full-on fur—but when they want to show off their personalities, they don some sweet stitches. Their clothing may be a secret, but it also lets us know a wee bit more about our mouse friends:

When we are Upstairs, or out and about, we naturally wear nothing but our fur. We wear clothes only in our quarters, here within the walls. I make most of them myself and was wearing my apron with the frill. Beatrice was wearing her polished cotton, very girlish with the smocking across the bodice. But of course we don't dress like this when we're out someplace where we might be seen. (1.45)

These mice sure do have secrets—and one of those secrets is their clothing. We learn loads about Helena and Beatrice from their garb. For instance, thanks to Helena's apron, we know that she's one hard-working mouse. And Beatrice's "girlish" dress lets us know that she's a girly gal.

With humans and mice trying to look nice whenever they can, we can't help but wonder whether humans and their rodent buddies are more alike than we might expect in this book. Do you agree?