The history of thrifting : the Victorian way to fight fast fashion!
The Victorians loved thrift shopping, and it goes back a lot further than the Victorians! Time for a deep dive into the history of the secondhand clothes trade and its role in fashion history. As usual, a lot of the problems of the modern fashion industry (like low-quality fast fashion) are not as old as we think . . .
A Victorian ball gown bodice for Mirah Lapidoth
I finished the Victorian ball gown for Mirah Lapidoth from Daniel Deronda! It was so much fun to make a Victorian bodice for this evening gown, and then wear it to a Victorian Christmas party with my friends from the on-strike cast and crew of Dickens Fair.
Sewing a Victorian evening gown skirt from 1865
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot is a remarkable work of Victorian literature, and the BBC's Daniel Deronda 2002 adaptation is a classic source of inspiration for historical costumers interested in Victorian dress. This Victorian skirt is the first part of making a Victorian gown for one of the characters.
A Victorian hoop skirt with no hoops?!
A Victorian hoop skirt isn't impossible to move in, but this corded petticoat will be much easier! I’ve worn more traditional hoopskirts before and they’re not as bad as they’re made out to be. But even a steel crinoline petticoat is too much for me (my back problems have serious hoop skirt trouble), so I decided to sew a corded petticoat to take the place of a crinoline under my Victorian crinoline dress.
Why Victorian etiquette about dresses is so ridiculous
The Victorians etiquette was complicated, right? Victorian etiquette rules meant the wrong dress was social death? Let's bust some Victorian dress myths, see why we think the Victorians changed clothes 10 times a day, and talk about why Victorian era rules of etiquette seemed so riduculous.
Comparing Victorian fashion magazines to Cosmo
Fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar aren't new, they've existed since Victorian times! But what do they tell us about fashion history, and about what life was like over a hundred years ago? I compared two modern "womens" magazines to two Victorian ones : Godey's Ladies' Book from 1857, and Harper's Bazar from 1897, to see how different fashion magazines and the parts of life they talked about are— or aren't.
A Victorian corset for scoliosis and back pain
While sewing a historical corset for my scoliosis, I dove into how corset myths connect to Victorian medical history, sexism, and disability justice. Spoiler alert : it's a familiar web of ableism, corsetry health scares, questionable Victorian medicine, and so much more. Oh, and in the meantime I drafted, adjusted, and franken-patterned an asymmetrical corset pattern to fit around my scoliosis curvature, avoid back spasms or aggravating my fibromyalgia, and support my shoulders and posture.
Let's chat about Dickens Fair and antiracism
Black Victorians existed. But at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco, the production company doesn't really care. Living history and reenactment events need good inclusion, diversity, anti racism, and accessibility policies, but Red Barn Productions has really shoddy ones. The Londoners of the African Diaspora (the Black cast and crew affinity group, LoAD for short) deserve our support in their push for change.
The SWEETEST Irish Cob horse convinced me to sew a Victorian riding habit
What's a bored historical costumer to do when introduced to an adorable Irish Cob horse? Sew a Victorian riding habit, of course!