Picts or it Didn't Happen

Oh boy, just got the programme for the ANZAMEMS conference in December this year, and it is so surreal to see my name on the list.

First paper, let's go!

Programme – ANZAMEMS Conference: ‘Possibilities’ Programme The current provisional programme can be downloaded here: as a list as a table Schedule overview Tuesday 2 December ANZAMEMS Early Career Seminar, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Applications are now open. National Gallery of Victoria Tour. Booking required through Registration Portal. State Library of....

https://pictsoritdidnthappen.com/2025/04/02/ten-top-tips-for-researching-irish-dress-history/

Ten top tips for researching Irish dress history Welcome or welcome back, dear reader. I am in the midst of madly preparing for ten days of medieval camping shenanigans, and so have limited time to committ, but am determined to continue my regula…

It could not be contained...

Salty Literature Review: 16th Century Irish Dress Any person seeking to learn about the history of Irish dress will immediately be pushed in the direction of two books: any of the multiple versions of Old Irish and Highland Dress by Henry Foster M…

New blog post is live!

This is not an SCA blog It’s almost a given fact that every crafty person participating in the SCA will have a blog of some form. With our modern tendency to create in isolation, we feel a desperate need to reach out and …

The final edition of Timely Fashions: the FitzWilliam Book of Hours is up! This one is taking a look at elite dress of both men and women

Read via the link below

https://pictsoritdidnthappen.com/2025/03/11/timely-fashions-the-fitzwilliam-book-of-hours-part-four-elite-dress/

Part three, looking at servants' dress is up

I've kept it short and sweet this week as I'm fending off a nasty cold - next week will be elite dress and then moving on to other Books of Hours

Timely Fashions: The FitzWilliam Book of Hours Part Three: Servants’ Dress Via ILLUMINATED: Manuscripts in the making Welcome or welcome back, dear reader, This week’s edition will be a little shorter than the others, and once more focused on m…

Timely Fashions: Peasant Mens' Dress in the FitzWilliam Book of Hours is now live!

I'm stepping outside my comfort zone of womens' dress for the first time, read below and stay tuned for the next edition on servants' dress...

Timely Fashions: The FitzWilliam Book of Hours Part Two: Peasant Mens’ Dress Detail, folio 4r, April Welcome or welcome back, dear reader, Today I am stepping outside of my usual comfort zone of women’s dress to examine the clothing of men in t…

Timely Fashions: Peasant Womens' Dress in the FitzWilliam Book of Hours is now live!

The first edition of my blog series on clothing in 16th century books of hours is now up, read below and stay tuned for the next edition on peasant menswear...

Timely Fashions: The FitzWilliam Book of Hours Part One: Peasant Womens’ Dress The subtitle of this post is something of a misnomer – the term ‘peasant’ is often vague and doesn’t help in trying to split up the lower strata of 16th centur…

Timely Fashions: Dress in 16th Century Books of Hours

I'm releasing a series of posts looking at the clothing of common people in Books of Hours from the 16th century. These prayer books often feature calendar sections depicting farm workers undertaking agricultural labour throughout the different seasons and are a fantastic resource for the dress of everyday people.

Consider subscribing to my blog to read the latest edition as soon as it comes out

Kate

https://pictsoritdidnthappen.com/2025/02/11/timely-fashions-dress-in-16th-century-books-of-hours/

G'day and welcome - my name is Kate and I'm an experimental archaeologist, dress historian and all round textile nerd. I spin, sew, weave and dye my way through history in order to better understand how our ancestors did things and reconnect with their materiality.

My broad area of research is north-western European textiles and dress, from prehistory through to the medieval period, but I have a particular interest in the dress of regional populations within the British Isles, especially the "wild" Irish of the 16th century.

I grew up in the cold and misty Southern Highlands of New South Wales with a fascination for dress and fashion, surrounded by craft - quilting, homemade dresses and an avid knitting mother willing to translate Pictish symbols into patterns for hats fostered my passion, and through some slight detours into palaeontology, geoscience and even psychology I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in archaeology and English (there was no other way to do Celtic studies...)

I am passionate about allowing people to reconnect with their ancestors and recognise the people before us as people through what is for me the most intimate form of connection - the literal clothes on their backs.

Textile and dress research have been rapidly growing and developing for decades now, and yet the common understanding is still vague. There are still claims that we know nothing about prehistoric British clothing, or there's little evidence for Irish historic dress, and it is my heartfelt purpose to prove that wrong. There is material available, the issue is a lack of scholarship or initiative. Too often throughout my research I have been gently told to give up because I wouldn't find anything, but I come from a long line of stubborn Scots women - I don't take being told to give up well, and spite is quite the motivator.

If you are interested in recreating historic textiles, fibre crafts, research, making clothing both beautiful and boggy, and have an all-round love of learning, I've a feeling you'll like it here.

Cheers

Kate