Teen Girls Get Vintage Guidance

Modern-day teenagers recently received a lesson on Victorian-era morals through a presentation involving a museum exhibit.

Eve Faulkner, 51, presented her traveling display of Victorian wedding gowns and other 1800s clothing to encourage responsible decisions about premarital sex.

“The cost of premarital sex is too high,” she told a group of girls at Orange High School, quoting statistics about teen pregnancy. “Say ‘no’ because you are worth the wait.”

Vera Melkumyan, 14, agreed: “It’s very important to look at your future, because if you don’t, then your life will end up to be nothing--no future.”

Sponsored by the school’s PTA, the program aims to encourage the teens to stay in school, make wise decisions about relationships and to cherish themselves, said teacher Deborah Lichtman, who works with students at risk of dropping out.

“What we’re trying to convey is that they’re in charge of their own life,” Lichtman said. “So many of them feel that they don’t have a future.”

Faulkner’s collection is on display at the Newland House Museum in Huntington Beach.