Home

Weblog (home)

Knitalong

Pattern of
the Month

On the Needles
(...and Off the Needles)

Stitchcraft

Vintage
Patterns

About the
Idle Hands

« Knitting BAFTAs | Main | River Rock »

Saturday March 15, 2008

Unmentionables

Today was Creative Fibres AGM - which lasted all of 20 minutes. There was bumper attendance, and chatting to everyone proved very jolly, as usual.

In the afternoon, we had a talk by Lee Ault from the Dickens House Museum at Broadstairs. Lee is a well-known speaker and expert on costume and textiles; today she was focusing on underwear, and had brought a hamper full of items to illustrate every era. She started out with the 1920s, before working back and forth through the Victorians and Edwardians, up to the 1960s and 70s, discussing each type of garment in turn. In the 1920s, everything was apparently even more unmentionable than even decades before; underwear was laid out by your maid - and then covered up with purpose-made linens so nothing would not be "on display". This was not a problem for the Victorians, as they did not wear any drawers at all - unhygienic - and to wear drawers was considered very racy - the sign of a loose woman.

Petticoat.jpg

I loved this item - a boudoir jacket. It was made of a kind of gauzy organza, with a fine pink lining, showing through to give a lovely delicate colour and drape. Naturally, it came with a "boudoir cap" to match.

I was very interested in the "new" caged crinoline invented in the 1850s, making the wide skirt fashions much more wearable, as it was so much lighter than the previous bone-hooped petticoats and layers needed to create the right shape. It was very popular despite being the subject of much ridicule, especially Punch magazine. Dress reformers used the idea of the cage as effectively imprisoning women. [One of Lee's talks is entitled "The Caged Lady (Victorian Costume and Social Attitudes)"]. Gradually the fashion shape changed, with the emphasis moving to the rear, with the "crinolinette" and the bustle.


Although, I don't think any if us dated as far back as the Victorians (!), but we have such a spread of ages, that gales of laughter swept round the room at the mention of almost every 20th century item. Each one brought back memories to someone of their Mum or Granny's underwear - or we were reminded of long-forgotten childhood experiences of being forced into archaic vests and liberty bodices. Ray remembers, as a child in Ireland, her Mother having someone come to the house to measure her for bespoke corsetry.

Mavis is constructing her latest jacket from her various pet furs; she has here a combination of rabbit, alpaca, sheltie, and good old sheep.

MavisKnitting.jpg

Posted by Christina at 5:48 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving

Comments