Fashion at the Gallery : a Guild Visit

Sometimes my local Garment Guild has meetings that are more like outings! To close this season we had a tour of a fashion exhibit newly installed at Gallery Stratford.

  This is a pop-up exhibit by the Fashion History Museum, which doesn't currently have a permanent home -- although it will soon have a retail & workshop space open right in our downtown. 

Curator Jonathan Walford gave us a tour & it was so fun to hear the stories behind the French couture pieces in the show, from Worth to Courreges. There were some amazing pieces - Balmain, probable Balenciaga (the original), Karl Lagerfeld, a Dior, Jeanne Lanvin and much more. Even a gown by the Callot Soeurs! We all enjoyed it so much. 

If you are going to be in Stratford before it closes on October 11, try to see it. The other 2 exhibits on are also fascinating - one on jewelry inspired by Canadian women, & one on historical photography. All so beautiful! 

Inspired by Measha Brueggergosman

Weekend Review: Margaret's New Look

 

Margaret's New Look / Katherine Ashenburg
TO: Knopf Canada, c2025.
296 p.

I really wanted to like this book by Canadian author Ashenburg. And there were some great things about it that I enjoyed, and so finished the story. But as a whole I didn't end up loving it, for a couple of reasons. But what is it about? 

Margaret, a curator, is putting on a big show about Dior. The story takes place all during the planning and lead-up to the exhibition's opening. It starts with her at work, heading to a meeting, where we find out about all the characters and the workplace politics that will shape her future. Then we see her at home, where her writer husband and two youngish daughters are introduced. And we hear about her family - especially her father, who never admitted to his Jewish heritage but now it seems pretty obvious to Margaret and her sisters. 

Margaret also has connections with a man who is able to source some Dior pieces for her, through an elderly lady she finally gets to meet, and she discovers that this woman was a petit main in Dior's workshops in her youth. Very convenient for finding out more for her exhibit! 

There were a lot of threads to this story, and unfortunately I didn't find it very successful. The parts about Dior and his controversial history (mostly around WWII, his sister's war, his focus on fashion during the Nazi regime etc) were interesting, but I already knew everything she mentioned, from other history books. The fact dumping really felt like it would have been better served in a nonfiction approach. If a reader was completely new to this history, though, it might feel more compelling. There was a good core to the story, which kept me reading to the end. 

However, I felt that the characters and the plot were clunky and often flat. It was easy to guess how the story was going to unfold (not much mystery there) and the element of Margaret both being very concerned about her father's possible Jewish heritage and at the same time seeming so oblivious to it all was confusing. I didn't feel that that element was clearly explored. 

So a mixed review, I guess - the idea of the novel was interesting and the look at Dior's fashion world was great. But the characters did not catch me; I like to read for characters and great writing, and neither of these was really present in this book. 

Weekend Review: The Atlas of World Embroidery

 

The Atlas of World Embroidery / Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood
Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, c2026.
400 p.

I was lucky to come across this large and expensive book through my library system. It's quite big, full of 300 colour illustrations, and gives a great overview of embroidery from around the world. That is both its strength and weakness - because it covers so much, there is of necessity just a few pages on each style and region. But it gives a great sense of what's out there, and what you may be interested in then researching further. 

I thought it was an enjoyable one to flip through, and with so many images to examine that it was creatively satisfying. I flipped first to Ukraine to see what she'd included, and of course because there are only a couple of pages she could only touch on the basics. But this was in a chapter on Eastern Europe, with other, similar countries covered as well, so you could see the fine differences between countries. But there are so many regional differences with one country as well! 

This book made me hungry to explore more into areas I wasn't as familiar with, and the illustrations just piqued my interest in wanting to know more. I'll have to look up other histories that cover just one style to get more in-depth. This book, however, introduced me to a ton of styles. 

I liked it, found it absorbing, but not sure I'd spend the $60 price tag on it for my own collection - it's more of a browsing kind of book for me. Thank goodness for the public library! 

Weekend Review: Bog Fashion

 

Bog Fashion / Nicole DeRushie
Furulund, Sweden: Chronocopia, c2025.
192 p.

Now this was an unusual sewing book! Thanks to my library, I was able to travel back in time to find out all about Bronze & Iron Age clothing. History, examples, textile facts, plus pattern instructions to recreate tunics, capes, shoes and more. Absolutely fascinating. 

The author is Canadian but based in the UK, and is both a spinner and weaver herself as well as having a Masters in History from a UK university. So her degrees plus her hands-on experience combine to make this a great read. She covers so much about how we even know what we do about textiles from this era (hint: thank the preservative powers of a bog). She talks about important finds and places them in context, so you can understand the development of textiles in various communities in England and Scandinavia over the centuries. Absolutely riveted by this book! 

It's really well organized, covering prehistoric clothing sources, materials, tools and techniques, spinning and weaving, cloth, colours, pins and needles (plants and bone), various stitches that were found to be in use, and then the garments themselves. The projects include how to make a Blackthorn pin or bone needle, wrap garments, tunics, tubular garments, skirt, trousers, shoes, belt, and metal pins like the ones used to hold garments together. Plus a bonus hat at the end -- that one was very unusual. 

Each chapter was intriguing, and included many sketches and photos to show both historical info and her modern re-creations. It was so engrossing, looking at a garment and learning about the weave or fibres that might have been used, and how it may have been dyed or worn. And why certain things were preserved - usually as grave clothing. 

It is very well written, informative and not at all dry. So grounded in practical knowledge, and so full of human life in so many ways. I loved this one! The author includes a bibliography, some of which I've read (including Women's Work, which I also enjoyed).  Any sewist who has an interest in the past will find this book a wonderful read.  

Weekend Review: Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks

 

Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks / Graham Marsh, Paul Trynka & June Marsh
London: Aurum Press, c2002.
128 p.

This visual history lives up to that claim; it's oversized and full of photos, both modern and historical. Lots of info in the photo captions as well as a relatively condensed but interesting text. The only thing that wasn't clear at the outset was that this was a history of denim (primarily jeans) in the US only. It is  a history of denim in the US, with only a few mentions of styles across the pond here and there. 

However, as such it is detailed and comprehensive about the many ways that denim shaped fashion culture in the States, from Levi's rise in California while Lee was bigger elsewhere in the nation, to the use of denim by cowboys, miners, as work outfits of all kinds (even factory coveralls), to the rise of denim as a fashion fabric from Claire McCardell onward. It discusses the many brands that popped up besides the two biggies, and the denim mills that were heavily used, particularly Cone Denim, around since 1891.

In the fashion/catwalk sections, there is discussion of British and European designers who incorporated denim into their new lines. But most of the book does focus solely on the US and the adaptations and changes in the use of denim by American citizens, who took jeans and denim jackets etc. and made them their own, whether as workwear, sportswear, hippie bellbottoms, punk ripped jeans, or sexy designer jeans. As the author said, denim is the only style that was both culture and counterculture at the same time. 

I enjoyed this; from historical pictures to vintage advertisements, to fashion images, the illustrations make the book. There is a wide range, and I appreciated the inclusion of McCardell and some of her denim suits and fancy outfits, as well as the famed Pop-Over dress, in the midst of a very male oriented fashion history. I learned the differences between jean jacket designs - Levi's vs. Lee - and enjoyed examining some details of the sewing and design of various pieces over the years. 

It's a pretty short read in the end, but it somehow covers a lot! Really interesting, I enjoyed this examination of how denim and casual jeans culture shaped a lot of communal identity and fashion directions over the 20th century.  Visually appealing and full of tidbits to keep you reading. 

Weekend Review: Pockets

 

Pockets / Hannah Carlson
NY: Algonquin, c2023.
320 p.

I bought this book quite a while ago, as I love both fashion history and pockets!

It's a look at pockets over the centuries, and the imbalance between men's and women's access to built in pockets. It talks about things like tie-on pockets that women wore under their skirts for many years, transforming into separate handbags when fashions became more Regency - skirts weren't full enough (or even too transparent at times) to use old-fashioned underskirt pockets. And that the appearance of reticules carried in the hand, a visible 'pocket' that was previously considered an undergarment, was a bit scandalous. Or the fact that the appearance of the sober three piece suit for men, superseding frilly frock coats and breeches, can be dated to a specific day, Oct 15, 1666, when King Charles II made it mandatory court wear (made from English wool, not French silk!). 

There are 7 chapters, taking us from medieval Europe to dreams of a Jetson-like utopian future with sleek, pocketless outfits. It's engaging, with good stories folded in to the historical fact. All sorts of pockets are discussed, with the social reactions to fashion changes incorporated into the narrative as well. It's funny, intriguing, enlightening and full of great "dinner party tidbits" to share - like the ones I mentioned above. 

It's a bit academic but very readable, and it includes many illustrations, many in colour. It's a beautifully designed book, with a balance of text & pictures, and it has great quality paper. It's a substantial read in both form and content. Also has a lot of notes and a lengthy bibliography, so lots more to explore from here! Really enjoyed it. 

Weekend Review: Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century

 

Skirts / Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell
NY: St. Martin's, c2022.
254 p.

Women wearing trousers was not the only big fashion story of the 20th century. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell's book looks at the changing fashions in skirts and how they also shaped and reflected social norms for women throughout the decades. 

It covers most of the 20th century, from Fortuny to Versace to Leger's bandage dresses -- talking about the skirts and styles that women wore while they did big, important things, no pants required. She talks about Chanel's influence, about the Wrap Dress, about politicians, sports figures, society icons and others outside of fashion who wore unforgettable dresses and skirts. And about some of the social significance of the choice of these outfits. 

This is a pretty short book, though, and written in a very conversational style, so it has to skim over a lot. There are black & white photos throughout, with a centre section of colour photos that include images beyond the twentieth century -- moving into iconic moments of the 21st, like J Lo in her Versace dress in 2000 or Billy Porter in his tuxedo gown in 2019. In her conclusion, she points out that men are wearing skirts -- is that the future? (this book was published in 2022 but since then the trend of men in skirts seems to have mostly died down.)

I enjoyed this quick tour of skirts, hemlines and important innovations in women's wear over the last century. I mostly wear dresses and skirts myself, so found this one entertaining and relatable. It's great to talk about the garment that most women wore for most of the last century. In one part of the book, she says, "It has become a lazy cliché of costume drama...to put a heroine in pants or breeches to signal that she is sporty, adventurous, rebellious, or somehow 'not like other girls'...But suffragists and soldiers marched in skirts. The heroines of the civil rights movement...took a stand in skirts. ... Even as they were increasingly given the option of wearing pants...women continued to wear skirts, this time by choice." 

This book celebrates that choice and the changing fashions with appreciation and respect. A fun read that doesn't feel like academic writing at all; it will appeal to the general fashion reader, like me! 

Weekend Review: Keeping Up Appearances

 

I'm always interested in fashion history, so I picked up this book from my library and dug right into it. It is exactly what it says: a look at fashion codes between the two World Wars, and how they delineated class. I think it's understood from the title and cover images that it is entirely focused on the UK - but if not, it is definitely 100% England focused. 

With a lot of research (the bibliography is lengthy!) and some fun additions like editorial cartoons of the time that poke fun at fashion topics, this is an interesting read. There were descriptions of the minutiae of dress and how even a glove or a tie had so much cultural meaning. She brings up Rational Dress societies and how they tried to change men's dress habits, with very little success -- menswear seldom changes much, or quickly. There was a photo of a man striding down a street in white knee length shorts and an open shirt, surrounded by men in full suits and hats, giving him a bit of a stink eye. The photo makes you realize how startling it would have been to see that "Rational Dress" outfit in context, and why it wasn't quickly adopted. 

Another thing I appreciated was that the author used novels as part of her research. She quotes some parts of Rosamond Lehmann, Dorothy Whipple and Nancy Mitford, all authors I've read and so these felt resonant to me. I enjoyed the addition of fiction and cartoons into an otherwise quite academic book. I felt that it was a little dry, a little too detailed at times, so these elements helped give it more of a popular read feel. 

Overall I enjoyed this one and it made me very glad that dress restrictions are not quite so particular these days! 

Weekend Review: Vintage Fashion

 

Vintage Fashion / Ottilie Godfrey
London: Arcturus, c2013.
128 p.

I picked up this little book at the library -- I mean, look at that cover! It's so charming. The subtitle of this one is "Classic 20th Century styles and designs", and it does sort of live up to that. It covers the vintage eras of the 20th C., namely the 20s to the 80s. Each chapter covers the highlights, with famous names of the decade, particularly memorable looks and trends (including models), and lots of photos. 

It's entertaining to flip through, even if it is really focused heavily on Europe and North American designers and fashions, and features so many of the models of those eras.

I enjoyed the overview; if you know fashion already, you're going to be familiar with nearly everything in this book, but there were a couple of photos that I hadn't seen before, and it was nice to be able to study some representative examples closely. 

Not a must have, but a fun book to look through from the library. Lots of great details to enjoy, and a bare bones historical tour for those new to the field. 

Weekend Review: Unraveled

 

Unraveled / Maxine Bédat
Portfolio, c2021.
336 p.

Today's book is about fabric in a way, but really more about one specific garment made with one specific fabric -- it uses one pair of jeans as a way to travel through fashion's supply chain and follow a ubiquitous garment beginning to end to reveal so much about the fashion industry today. 

Since it is Fashion Revolution Week this week and also my local Trashion Week, I thought it was a perfect time to talk about this book. 

The author began as an entrepreneur in the fashion world, but realized fairly soon that her attempt to create a responsible brand was stifled by so many suppliers not knowing their own supply chain. So she pivoted to education and work on that end of things. In this book, she is educating readers on the worldwide production of fashion and all the steps in it that are not necessarily following the same regulations. 

From growing the cotton in Texas, to weaving and dyeing in China, to sewing in Bangladesh or Sri Lanka, then shipping from warehouses like Amazon ones in North America, all the way to a pair of jeans being discarded after just a few wears and ending up in landfill or shipped off to African second-hand markets. So many issues to discuss at each step! She does have an American perspective so her examples are grounded in the US, but much it is the same across the world. 

Each chapter takes on one of these steps and discusses the problems jeans can cause. From massive water use to grow monocrops of cotton, to the chemicals (most banned in North America) that are running into the water systems across China, to the terrible working conditions for mainly female seamstresses sewing your clothes (yes, all clothing is handsewn by someone), to demanding warehouse jobs with poor pay and outrageous expectations for employees, to the shopping habits of consumers who will toss something after a wear or two, to the conditions in landfills and the economic and environmental effects of massive piles of used clothing dumped into African markets, it's all here to read and learn. 

I found her style perhaps a touch dry at times, but overall very readable. She brings in personal stories to enlarge on the facts she is sharing (some of them quite shocking) and the central concept of following a pair of jeans along a production path is relatable to most people; she notes that American women own an average of 7 pairs of jeans. I don't really wear jeans, and only have some I thrifted a few years back for when I might need a pair -- but I can see the thousands of pairs out there! I thought this was a great way to make these ideas understandable to general readers. If you've been reading on this topic for a while, you will be familiar with the facts shared here. But it never hurts to get a new perspective, and this one might be a good choice to hand to someone interested in the ideas but who hasn't read everything yet. Jeans are kind of in your face fashion, and so this might hit home in a strong way. This one is worth checking out! 

Weekend Review: Young Originals

Young Originals / Rebecca Jumper Matheson
Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech UP, c2015.
240 p.

This is a book about style, but in a very particular way -- it's all about the creation of a "teen" fashion category, created by American designer Emily Wilkens. 

In the early 40s, Wilkens arose from a career in fashion illustration and designing for children, to become a breakout success in the new area of teenage upscale ready to wear. She started out designing some stage costumes for a play in which the character laments being in between 'children' and 'junior miss' sizes for her clothing - Wilkens realized that this was a real life problem as well and set out to bridge that gap. 

She was very successful, both at designing and at connecting her business to opportunities like boutiques in department stores and lots of promotion. She was very active in the 40s and 50s, but kept working into the 80s, although later on she was more of a health/spa influencer, as I suppose we'd call it now. Her approach was focused on youth and health as the appeal of her clothing and of teens in general. Her aesthetic was the sporty, lean American look, throughout her career. Some of her prescriptive statements in an book aimed at teens that she wrote in the 60s doesn't sit well these days - she says, for example,  ‘All men admire a slender beautiful figure, and there’s no one thing that spoils a girl’s looks, fun and popularity as much as excess weight’. 

This book is really fascinating, however, as a study of a designer that is almost unknown today. It's comprehensive and includes many black and white images as well as a centre insert of some colour images. The author bases her research both in archives (press clippings, designs, etc) as well as on extant Wilkens pieces in various museum collections. The concept of teen fashion is well explored and there was quite a bit of fun information here that was new to me. While this is an academic book, it's written in an engaging manner for the interested reader. I'm glad I found it thanks to my library! 

 

Black Community Quilts at Toronto's Textile Museum

If you are in or near Toronto, make some time to get to the Textile Museum this month! There is a beautiful exhibit on until April 28, called The Secret Codes: African Nova Scotian Quilts, curated by David Woods. There are some gorgeous historical pieces as well as modern quilts, all with lots of context to learn from. 

I stopped in when I was in Toronto recently and really enjoyed it. There was a variety of styles and techniques in the more than 35 quilts on display, and there is always lots more to check out in the Museum shop and textile reuse centre. 

I was drawn in by so many details - stitches, quilting, colour choices, stories - and I love that the exhibit is big enough to have breadth but not so big that you feel overwhelmed. It's a great visit. 

One of my favourites was this one, called Amelda's Prayer. So beautiful! 

But there were so many to enjoy.

This traditional quilt was really interesting to me for the details. All that black edging on the stars is blanket stitch. I don't remember seeing this kind of accent before and love it. 

This was the only real abstract of the show and I thought it was great. 

So many representational quilts as well. All fabulous. 

I really enjoyed this show and wish I could have made it to one of the special events they had in conjunction with it. Oh well -- I did get to enjoy it! Try to get there if you can. 

Vyshyvanka Day and big plans for 2024

Vyshyvanka Day is a relatively recent celebration, held on the 3rd Thursday of May each year. The aim is to celebrate traditional Ukrainian embroidered clothing. The idea of Vyshyvanka Day was suggested in 2006 by Lesia Voroniuk, then a student of Chernivtsi University, and has grown to involve all of Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora across the world. 

I've worn my store bought Vyshyvanka the last couple of years (a gift from my sister). But as I have mentioned previously, I would like to make my own to wear next year! So I'm planning on starting now, to hopefully get it done by next year ;) I won't be making a fully traditional, heavily embroidered one, since I don't have those skills. But I have a few patterns to try out for the base, first, and then I'll choose some less complex embroidery that I want to add. 

Here are a few patterns that I already have in my stash, which might work with some small changes or adaptations. I hope to try them out and see how I like the fit before choosing the one I like best to embroider. 

First is this older pattern, Simplicity 3786. While there are some pintucks in the centre panel, I do like the sleeve and overall silhouette of the view she is wearing.

Simplicity 3786

Next up is this more recent McCalls 8042, which I picked up in a sale just recently. I really like View C but am not quite sure about that neck ruffle bit. Probably would change that!

McCalls 8042

I also have two Indie patterns that have potential -- one is the Love Notions Rhapsody Blouse. This gives a little bit more of a modern shape to the traditional blouse, which I might like.

And the other, which might be the most likely of all of these to be the one I use, is my recently purchased Poppy Blouse by PatternScout. 

There is also the option of making the blouse in the traditional manner, which is just following body measurements and cutting mostly rectangular pieces. There is an example of this in the book Ukrainian Embroidery, by Ann Kmit, which I might follow. Or if I'm lucky enough, I might be able to take a sorochka pattern class with Myroslava Boikiv from Toronto. 

With all of these options, I see some fitting muslins in my future. Then, on to deciding on the embroidery patterns -- and that's the more complicated bit, both the choosing and the stitching! And that's why I'm starting a year ahead :) 

Weekend Review: The Dress Diary of Mrs. Anne Sykes

 

The Dress Diary of Mrs. Ane Sykes / Kate Strasdin
London: Chatto & Windus, c2023.
303 p.

This is a new book I've been eagerly awaiting! I've heard so many interviews with the author on many stitching and sewing podcasts, and first saw a mention of this upcoming book in Threads magazine last year. It's finally out, and my library got a copy :)

If you are interested in history, clothing, textiles, and material culture, you'll love this one. The author was given an unusual scrapbook, which was full of snippets of fabrics from across the lifetime of Mrs. Anne Sykes, stretching from her wedding day in 1838 onwards. These snippets had little annotations, but because Anne Sykes referred to herself in the third person, Strasdin had difficulty finding out who had created this book and the context for it. But in one entry only, Anne Sykes referred to herself in first person, and that helped Strasdin crack the code. 

The book is then made up of chapters describing the scrapbook itself, or sharing the history of some of the textiles included (like the cottons that made Anne Sykes' family's fortunes), and also an explanation of Singapore's colonial society (where Anne and her husband lived for a few years after their marriage). Then, some of the chapters explore the other people who Anne included in her book, especially the ones who show up repeatedly with many swatches. 

Thankfully for a book of this kind, there is also a central section with many colour plates of various fabrics from the original. It was fascinating to see them all, and I found some of them quite striking and not what you'd expect from the mid-1800s -- one in particular looked so art deco I was shocked to see it there. My favourite was the green and red checkerboard on the bottom row below -- striking indeed! I'd buy that fabric today if I saw it out there :) 

This is more of a social history inspired by Mrs. Anne Sykes' diary, than a straightforward story of the scrapbook and Anne Sykes herself. Strasdin takes us on many side journeys into textile and social history while also explaining and outlining how she did her research and found more about the people mentioned in the scrapbook. That was quite a feat as she had just begun when Covid hit and she had to do most of the research online and via email/phone calls to libraries and archives. 

But if you are a history fan, or a dressmaker yourself -- or both -- I think that you'll enjoy this approach. It's very readable and has both the colour plates in the middle and some other images throughout. It's a fascinating way to explore this era in history, through a physical artifact that survived for nearly 200 years somehow, and made its way to the author. Definitely one to look for!

Weekend Review: History of the Paper Pattern Industry

A History of the Paper Pattern Industry / Joy Spanabel Emery
NY: Bloomsbury Academic, c2014.
272 p.

I have owned this book for a long time, and was surprised to realize that I'd never shared it here! I was reminded of it when I recently read Wade Boissoniere's book about patterns from the 50s, and so I pulled this off the shelf and revisited it. 

It's written by Joy Spanabel Emery, who was a professor at the University of Rhode Island. This university has a large pattern collection, which has merged with a few others to create the Commercial Pattern Archive.

This read is a bit of a mixed bag -- interesting to the reader who is already inclined to want to read about this, but a bit dry in style, and really follows the economic ups and downs of pattern companies as its main focus. 

Still, I enjoyed finding out all about the varied companies and their successes, failures and merges. An additional chapter past the 2010 cutoff would be fascinating with all the massive merger/buyouts of pattern companies in the recent past. 

It focuses quite a lot on the early days of patterns, as they were created and became a 'thing' in home dressmaking. As the blurb for the book states, "their history and development has reflected major changes in technology (such as the advent of the sewing machine), retailing and marketing practices (the fashion periodical), and shifts in social and cultural influences."

And this really does sum up the book quite well, although it really should have stated that it is primarily American history, with only a passing mention of some European companies as they relate to the American ones. It does show how patterns changed, from trade secrets to home instruction for professional sewers to more of what we are familiar with today, envelope patterns for home sewists. And there is a section at the end which shows a sample pattern from the 1850s to the 1960s; this is fascinating, showing the covers and the scaled pattern pieces. There are illustrations throughout, which does add to the interest.

It's a good intro, but be aware it's dry, and there are numerous typos, which I find distracting in an academic text. I'd really like to read more a cultural history on sewing patterns in the home sewing world, but this is more focused on industry. So it this a must-have? Probably not, but if you can find one to borrow and read through, I think most avid sewists who are familiar with patterns would be at least a little bit engaged and learn something new!

Weekend Review: Framing Our Past

 

Framing Our Past: Canadian Women's History in the 20th Century /
ed. Sharon Anne Cook, Lorna R. McLean, Kate O'Rourke
Montreal: McGill-Queens UP, c2006.
532 p.

I borrowed this book from my library recently & didn't expect to share it here! I wanted to read it because my undergrad degree was in Canadian history and I enjoy reading women's history, and I recognized some of the contributing authors. But there were some really fascinating pieces in this book that deal with textiles and women's work. 

The book is quite large & heavy - not a bedtime read! But it's really well done. It's a collection of many, many short pieces by academics on a wide variety of topics, broken up into thematic sections. Most are between 3-5 pages; this isn't deep exploration, rather short overviews or essays on many themes. It's easy to skim these a few at a time, and the book goes by quickly despite the number of chapters. And there are a lot of great photos, too!

For sewing readers, there are a good handful of intriguing entries. You can see the entire table of contents at the publisher's book page, but the ones that stood out to me were mainly in the last section, "Earning Their Bread". This had a number of pieces on women using sewing, pattern-making & millinery as a career. These were: 

• Creative Ability and Business Sense: The Millinery Trade in Ontario by Christina Bates 
• Our Mothers' Patterns: Sewing and Dressmaking in the Japanese-Canadian Community by Susan Michi Sirovyak 
• Federica and Angelina: Postwar Italian-Canadian Couturiers in Toronto by Alexandra Palmer
• Fabrications: Clothing, Generations, and Stitching Together the History We Live by Kathryn Church

These were all fascinating in their own way, but it was the piece on Japanese-Canadian sewing that first brought me to this book. It was mentioned in another book I was reading (can't remember which one) which caused me to search out where I could find this article. That was an illuminating article about the preponderance of sewing and dressmaking in the Japanese-Canadian community, and how it helped many women to survive financially, even during the shameful years of Japanese internment during WWII. I learned very little of this kind of domestic-focused history during my studies; much of the women's studies I took focused on non-domestic topics but I am very glad to see things changing and more of the daily life of women being studied and explored. 

The others ranged from the rise and fall of millinery as a good living, a study of two Italian couturiers who had successful high-end shops in Toronto, and a story of an academic daughter reconnecting with her seamstress mother via curating a museum exhibit.

 

There were also a couple of articles of interest to fellow sewists in the first section, "Living Women's Lives", which covers a surprising number of artistic topics, from reading clubs in Winnipeg to specialists in Inuit art, to Alice Peck, May Phillips, and the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, by Ellen Easton McLeod. All of these were must-reads for me; I didn't read all of the articles in the other sections, but did skim most of them. What a great find, and I'm so lucky to be able to access academic books via Interlibrary Loan, because otherwise they are way too expensive to explore! 

If you're also a history buff and are intrigued by elements of women's history like these ones, I recommend this book. The pieces are not overly academic - ie, they are mainly quite readable - and cover a huge range of interest. And the sewing related bits are fascinating!

Weekend Review: Blueprints of Fashion

 

Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1950s / Wade Laboissonniere
Atglen, PA: Schiffer, c1997.
176 p.

This was a fun discovery I made recently via OpenLibrary. It's a history of home sewing patterns, focused on the 50s, created by a man who was a collector and a costumer. It's so pleasing to look through! 

There's text for about half of it, and then images of patterns divided by types of clothing for the second half. It's so great to see all the examples, many of which were patterns I've never seen before. Looking at all the details was entertaining -- although only the front of the pattern envelopes are shown, without many examples of line drawings or pattern information. 

The text consists of some history of how paper patterns were used in schools and in the sewing world in general, specifically in the US. It's really only looking at the US, but still has lots of interesting info. The final bit is a little section on monetary values of patterns, but this book was written in the 90s and that info is now out of date and not very useful other than as historical data. 

I enjoyed reading this, with the details of different pattern brands and how they were marketed and sold to consumers. He goes over which patterns focused on designer knock-offs (the more expensive ones!) and which were more aimed at everyday wear, as well as those made for schools and home ec students. I thought the organization of the book was well done, and I learned about a couple of small, short-lived pattern companies I hadn't known about before. 

A good find and one that will entertain anyone interested in the history of paper patterns, or just in looking at LOTS of full colour pattern envelope images. 

Weekend Review: Worn

 

Worn: A People's History of Clothing / Sofi Thanhauser
NY: Pantheon, c2022.
304 p.

When I recently read and reviewed The Fabric of Civilization recently (which I enjoyed) I also asked readers for suggestions for a similar book that would cover more than European history. Reader M-C recommended this title, and they were spot on with this one. I loved this fascinating book! 

The book is also a history of textiles, but focused more on how textiles both influenced and were influenced by fashion & the norms of varied civilizations. It is sorted into five general sections, organized as: Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool. In each of these areas, Thanhauser delves into the history of each as a fibre, and then moves on to discuss the effects of each on social structures. She talks about colonialism, trade, environmental issues, slavery, poverty, exploitation, and many areas that might not seem obvious at first glance. It feels like she was determined to explore as many of the threads of these stories as possible. 

It was well told, too -- the narrative was easy to follow and compelling to read. She is a writer and essayist, and a professor of writing, so the style and the actual writing are smooth, letting the story shine. She knows how to develop a scene, with memorable detail and lots of human interest. I never felt that I was reading a dry history, but more one that affects us every day, and she is able to show that through the details she highlights. 

And she brings this right up to the present - the exploitation and damage done by many of these textile industries is still going on, from Uyghur slavery to produce cotton in China to laissez-faire use of pesticides affecting migrant workers in Texas. And we all know about the flaws in the fast fashion system. 

This is a great read. It will inform you, and engage you, and you'll learn a lot from it no matter how many of these kinds of books you've already read. I liked the balanced approach, and the wide spread of content covering experiences in all areas of the world. Definitely a great choice for this subject area. 

Weekend Review: Fashion on the Ration

Fashion on the Ration / Julie Summers
NY: Profile, c2015.
240 p. 

This was a fantastic read, a history of (mainly) women's wear in Britain during WWII. If you're interested in fashion history, you'll love it. I was able to get my hands on it thanks to the wonders of Interlibrary Loan. 

It's broken up into a series of themes; clothing rationing and coupons, women's uniforms, CC41 and Utility clothing & the involvement of high fashion designers in making utility clothing acceptable, make do and mend, fashion magazines during the war years, and the idea of beauty as a morale booster. That's just a quick overview. There is so much in this book, and the bibliography and notes are extensive to lead you on to more. 

Unfortunately there are just a few photos included; while they are wonderful I'd have loved to see even more examples of what she was talking about. I enjoyed the fashion images but also the advertising posters and packaging. So fascinating! One of the photos features a Utility dress by Norman Hartnell. I had to look twice because it seemed very familiar to me. Then I realized it's because it's basically Butterick 6450 (which I've made) though most likely without elastic since that was also rationed for the war effort. 

It's very well written -- keeps you reading like it's a novel. Summers goes into personal stories to illustrate her topics, including excerpts from letters. There was one woman who wrote such delightful letters to her husband that I quickly checked the bibliography to see if I could get my hands on them -- sadly they were manuscript only at the Imperial War Museum archives that the author used. These personal elements, newly shared, make the book particularly engaging. There are also excerpts from Vogue and the newspapers about the patriotic duty of dress and beauty at this time, which bring a feel of the contemporary realities for people trying to make sense of the complicated and ever changing coupon system (as an aside, the endpapers are printed as coupon sheets and it's really neat!) 

Coupons didn't go too far, but as she points out, clothing was still relatively expensive then, so you wouldn't be out buying five suits a season anyhow. There were workarounds that came and went; at first overalls didn't take coupons as they were work wear, but eventually even those required coupons. Upholstery fabrics didn't need coupons so there were various outfits made from those choices. She shares a story of an unfortunate woman whose new dress matched the sofa when she went to a friend's for tea. And there was lots of reworking of current clothing to create new items to meet the fashions and the need for new clothing. Of course, the rich were at an advantage because they had so much to begin with; it was the middle classes and poorer who really suffered (although she makes a point that when Utility clothing became widely available, it was often of better quality than poorer classes had ever been able to afford, so sometimes their wardrobes actually improved.) 

There are many more intriguing stories and personal bits in this book; I enjoyed the way she melded fashion history with personal stories and the wider social context as well. The huge changes that the war made to the way women dressed came from clothing shortages but also from the many changes in women's daily lives -- they were wearing uniforms in service, or work wear in factories or as Home Girls, and their need and desire for specific types of clothing evolved. 

Of course I was also interested in the make do and mend parts and the discussion of sewing related info. At this time, not only was Vogue a popular magazine, but it also had the Vogue pattern book which provided sewing patterns since home sewing was still very common. Summers quotes the Vogue pattern book early on in the book, and I could relate! 

In the autumn of 1939, the editor of the Vogue pattern book told women not to moan about the long evenings caused by blackouts, but to make the most of them by dressmaking. She encouraged the beginner to start with easy patterns because 'nothing is more demoralising than failing to produce the finished article.'

This is a great read, highly recommended. Solid history, told in a well organized and engaging narrative, with lots of fabulous fashion and sewing stories rolled in. This was so good I'll be looking for a copy of my own to keep. 

 

Weekend Review: Women's Work

Women's Work / Elizabeth Wayland Barber
NY: Norton, c1994.
334 p.

As I read the book that I talked about last week, I kept thinking about this book, which I read many years ago. I realized I'd never shared it here! So I have reread it, well, skimmed through it again and reread the parts I was most interested in ;) 

It's similar in some ways to the new book I just read, even if the focus is a bit different. Women's Work is really focused on textiles in the historical record, and how work with and on textiles was generally assigned to women. Barber shows that the role of textiles in women's lives was varied, but that one way or another, most women had something to do with the production of textiles in the ancient world and forward. 

She covers Neolithic uses of fibre -- from early thread making to later weaving and tapestry in Classical Greece and beyond. The focus is on mostly European or well-studied cultures like Egypt, middle Europe, and Greece. The range is limited to that historical context and doesn't move into later developments; it really is about the early years of textile work. 

It's the kind of fascinating book I enjoy, taking elements of social history, archeology, mythology, ethnography, and practical experience, and tracing developments using all these tools. It's a trail which follows the curiosity of the author, who herself learned to weave at a young age, which helped her to identify objects and the meaning of varied finds in the historical record. As an academic, she saw the connections which earlier (mostly male) researchers had missed: as she says, "it's hard to see what's not there" unless you know it should be there in the first place. This practical knowledge of weaving and cloth production helped her to interpret Egyptian friezes, understand early migration of technology and people, and identify simple things like why there would be a line of stones in a straight line at a dig (loom weights). 

There is one story she shares at the beginning of the book of trying to replicate a cloth from a shred found in an excavation of an early Celtic settlement -- it was a small piece and as she warped and wove her sample she realized that it was difficult because she'd mixed the process up -- her warp really should have been the weft and if she'd done it that way it would have made sense right away, both numerically and in ease of creation. It was neat to see that hands-on experimentation suddenly brought new understanding of the culture that had made that original scrap.

There are lots of great tidbits in this book, and although it is an older book now, still lots that is entertaining and informative. It makes me want to read a lot more on the subject now that there is so much more being published. Postrel's The Fabric of Civilization, which I just read, takes this story further in time, and focuses on some of the mathematical elements of weaving; The Subversive Stitch by Rozsika Parker, another older read, looks at the role of stitching or embellishing the cloth rather than weaving it but has a similar female focus. And there are many more to look at. However, as one of the original studies of cloth and women's lives, this is still a solid read with a scholarly thoroughness. I'd love to read something like this that focuses on Africa, Asia or South America, all areas that aren't covered here. If anybody knows of a specific title, please share!