The Staymaker

Tuesday night this week was fun, talking about dressing the 18th lady at Gunnersbury Park Museum, London. Very nice and helpful staff and a very welcoming and jolly audience. I researched at Gunnersbury years ago but since then the museum has had a major restoration and is looking very smart indeed!

Oh, and by the way... a friend, Dr. Annie Grey, the food historian is doing a talk about gin there soon, so visit the website or FB page and have an enjoyable evening!

Time is ticking down fast to my lecture at Blenheim Palace as part of their current fashion exhibition.

On April 15th I will be talking about 'Dressing the 18th Century Woman' and so I thought I would give a sneak peek of two items I will be using on the day.

I was very lucky when a talented friend agreed to carve me an 18th century style stay busk. The decorative elements are taken from various busks in the Norwich Museums collection which he had studied prior to starting carving. (Norwich has a very good and varied collection of stay busks by the way! Did you also know the collection amounts to about 32,000+ items?)

The other item is a 1760s style sack back over a wide hoop. Sadly this gown does not get used or seen that much as not long after I made it, my assistant had to devote all her time to nursing her dying husband. This picture is from before the skirt was fully trimmed and one of only a couple of images I have since it never got photographed for my website.

Conservation of the ensign of Le Généreux for display in ‘Nelson and Norfolk’ and long-term access Help us to raise money for the display and long-term conservation of a textile with an incredible story, a flag given to the city of Norwich in 1800 by Captain Edward Berry and Admiral Lord Nelson.

It is all happening at Blenheim Palace this month. Yesterday saw the beginning of their fashion exhibition, 'A Passion for Fashion, 300 years of style at Blenheim Palace'.

It runs from Saturday 11th February to Sunday 12th March.

Last year I made them a replica 18th century square hoop (like the one shown here) to be included in the exhibition.

Well... first day of teaching my WEA course and already been asked if I will prepare another course to teach next year. They must have liked it!

Today, pics of some more items going to Hampshire to the Jane Austen House Musem at Chawton. Another dress, this time with removable lower sleeves and a scarlet superfine cloak. The cloak is copied from one in Platt Hall, Manchester. The collar and hood are both lined with red silk and so designed that the collar turns up around the neck when the hood is raised. The hood also has a drawstring so that it can be pulled close around the face to exclude nasty cold winds.

After messages relating to the last post it seems an explanation is in order...

Although my work name is The Staymaker, I actually make dresses as well. The title comes from when I made clothing to be worn at Hampton Court Palace by historical interpreters in the King's Apartments after the restoration following the awful fire in the early 1990s. With historical clothing you have to make from the underwear up and so the ladies used to refer to me as the staymaker when I went to fit and make their stays. The name stuck even though I went on to make the petticoats, mantuas and fontanges that they wore as well. And now 27 years later... I still make everything from stays or corsets to the complete outfit.

Today, a Regency style (c. 1810) morning dress which has gone off to it's new home to be used in education sessions at a property in Hampshire. I do not often post private comissions but I was quite taken with this simple yet attractive print dress.

Wishing all who have viewed, liked or commented on this page a very Happy Christmas and all the best of good fortune in the New Year.

Here is a suggestion for a little festive something for the party season! Fashion plate from The Ladies Treasury, January 1883 from my personal collection.

I am sad to post this. Today I have received a very rude response from an American blogger and author concerning use of images from my website without my permission on her blog.

Apparently it is her habit to 'harvest' as she calls it, any images that she wants from a website where there is no 'apparent' copyright disclaimer. These images include ones from museums and businesses.

She has a copyright disclaimer on her blog claiming her ownership of any words or images she uses. Sadly it seems she is very keen to demand people respect her copyright yet refuses to respect other peoples.

Apologies to anyone who has received odd emails from me. My account was hacked but has now been made secure again!

I have been pondering what to post as the '1 week to go till Fashion & Passion', announcement and because of yesterday's snow thought this might be appropriate.

Certainly, other guests at the ball I was at last night were very alarmed by the snow falls and keen to get home and snuggle up. Ah Britain! How great thou art in getting frightened by an inch of snow when other countries cope with several feet of it for months on end!

Image - advert by Booth and Fox, 1879, The Queen, Ladies Newspaper and Court Chronicle, personal archive.

[There was even an eiderdown corset being advertised in 1870 by a different company. I would love to find one of those in a museum one day!]