Recently I was interviewed about my new position as a McKenzie Fellow at the University of Melbourne and about the research project on baleen and fashion that I will be undertaking there.
I also chatted more about historical reconstruction and how valuable it is to understand the dress and making practices of the past.
If you’d like to read the interview please click here.
What a brilliant blog, I have just discovered you through this article and can’t wait to read more of your content.
I’m just starting a draft of a pair of bespoke Jacobean stays, it’s my first attempt at that era (I normally make Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian corsetry and clothing).
It’s lovely to know others in Melbourne l also have such a passion for historical clothing and it’s intricacies, and wonders.
I will use synthetic whalebone in the Jacobean piece, as opposed to the steels I use for 19thC corsets and bodices, so it’s a new experience for me.
Your work is amazing, and I ‘envy’ that you get to deal with historical clothing/reconstructions, how I’d love to do similar; 56 years of an all consuming obsession for it, I would be thrilled to study and explore the field in depth, before I pop my clogs. Lol.
Im hooked.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the blog. Yes I’m very lucky to be doing this as a job, I hope I can continue as long as possible!
So awesome to hear that you’re going to make some Jacobean stays! I hope you find my tutorial on the 1603 bodies of Elizabeth I useful. The synthetic whalebone is great, quite easy to work with. I just use some sandpaper to file down the edges once I’ve cut them. If yo’re having trouble getting hold of the good German synthetic stuff, cable ties from Bunnings work well too! 🙂
As ever Sarah, a really insightful and enjoyable piece – and a fantasic example of how to engage with a wider public audience. Keep ’em coming!
Thanks much Helen! ☺️