A surprise talk for Embroiderers

Well, it's every Society's nightmare, isn't it? You've booked your speaker a year before, all is confirmed the day before and then less than an hour before the doors are due to open, a call comes to say the speaker's car has broken down on her way to our Embroiderers' Guild meeting.

By this time, most of the committee had already left home but luckily for us, the one person who could be contacted had the presence of mind to grab some notes on her way out and so it was, that our own Sue Wickson stepped into the breach and gave us a wonderful talk on "19th Century Fashion" ...and she remembered to bring illustrations!

ClothingThe talk focused mainly on women's clothing and covered a period in our social history that was particularly rich in its variety and development. The beginning of the century found us wearing high-waisted dresses in simple muslins, with no petticoats or restricting corsets.

Hats were essential, especially for married women who would always keep their hair covered and would therefore have to change to an indoor hat when required – think of the Jane Austen costume dramas that we so love to watch.

The silhouette changed in the 1830s when petticoats, some padded out with horsehair, were introduced and fashion dictated that six of these extremely heavy garments were a minimum requirement. By the middle of the century the cage crinoline had been invented, although lighter to wear, the problem of gusts of wind blowing the crinoline sideways, meant that long drawers became the essential undergarment.

More activeBy the end of the century concerns over health issues meant that the restrictions of rigid corsets went out of fashion and women also became more active – cycling was popular, which of course was the perfect excuse for the creation of the latest "must have" fashion of divided skirts and baggy knickerbockers called 'bloomers'!

It was interesting to hear how commercial and industrial development also had an influence. We might think our own generation invented the idea of shopping as a hobby, but Regent Street, London, was completed in 1830, Liberty's opened the doors of it's Dress Department in 1884, and fashionable women couldn't get enough of the available printed fabric that became so popular.

We might also think that using "celebrity" faces to sell clothing came along with the invention of computers and Photoshop, but back in the 19th Century, faces of recognisable people of the day would be used in printed fashion plates, as a ploy to make people more than willing to part with their, or more probably their husbands', money.

MachinesThe invention of various machines, from the domestic sewing machine to the multi-headed Schiffli Embroidery machine, meant huge changes in the textile and clothing industry, but unlike today, when our own textile production is being lost to cheap labour in other countries, there was still a requirement for craft handwork in the ceremonial and ecclesiastical sectors, as well as the developing haute couture companies.

This idea of "high-sewing" was introduced by an Englishman, Charles Worth, whose work was produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century, and is still a highly desirable concept over a century later. So, although it wasn't the subject everyone was expecting, last Thursday's talk still turned out to be a fascinating one.

Our next meeting, in March, has been designated a "TICKET ONLY" event, as we are very excited to be welcoming internationally renowned embroiderer and author of many books, Maggie Grey. Please check out our website for more photos and information – click on the link under the photo

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