As part of the National Trust for Scotland’s Wednesday evening lecture series, I’ll be talking about the preparation, skills and techniques that went into re-creating a 1760s long sack gown (robe à la française) modelled on the one painted by Allan Ramsay in his portrait of Katherine Mure of Caldwell.

From analysing colours, researching the properties of pigments versus dyestuffs and sourcing suitable textiles to training volunteer stitchers and working on a live model, join me in crossing the barrier between stitchers and visitors to see what we did and how we did it.

I’ll also talk about the role of re-creative practice and interpretation in supporting the NTS’s mission, making the right kind of impact on visitors, and producing a lasting legacy on which the Georgian House can build in the future.

Book tickets to this in-person talk here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-canvas-to-silk-making-a-mid-18th-century-gown-tickets-903693129477.

The ‘Ramsay and Edinburgh Fashion’ exhibition will still be running on the day of this event, so do come earlier in the day to see it in full.

EXHIBITION DATES: 7 June - 26 November 2024
VENUE: The Georgian House NTS, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4DR, Scotland (UK)

About the exhibition: “This exhibition brings together, for the first time, a collection of Allan Ramsay’s portraits of women from NTS properties in the Edinburgh area. Set against the backdrop of the fashion trades, this exhibition demonstrates how vital it was for a portrait painter to be familiar with dress styles, materials and accessories in the mid-18th century. Fashion was a key signifier of good taste. We move from an early 1739 portrait of a young heiress to a 1769 painting of an Edinburgh society hostess to reveal how Ramsay used clothing to reflect a sitter’s personality. New research lays out the trades involved in fashion – from the milliners to the mantua-makers – along Edinburgh’s High Street, and sets this against the fashion for portraiture in the mid-18th century.”

You can find details about the Georgian House's opening times and ticket prices on the NTS website: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/georgian-house.

Full details of the Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion exhibition are at https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/georgian-house/highlights/ramsay-and-edinburgh-fashion-exhibition.

Making Historical Dress is an AHRC-funded network which explores how picking up a needle and thread can enhance our knowledge of the past. Through recreative methods, it is possible to reverse engineer how garments were constructed, recover lost skills, and test instructions and diagrams. Recreative methods push back against the narratives of professionalised and masculine production, which dominate the archive, and offer a mouthpiece to makers.

Over 2023 to 2025, the Network will hold a variety of in-person and virtual events, as well as a mentorship scheme and opportunities for publication, bringing together scholars, curators, and makers to consider how we can best work together to uncover and share this making knowledge. 

Workshop 2 on 18 September 2023 will explore ways that knowledge about historical dress gained through re-creative making practices can be captured, translated and communicated effectively to wider audiences.

Keynote speakers: Bernadette Banner, Michelle Barker, Samantha Bullat and Ninya Mikhaila

A further 10 speakers including myself will contribute shorter papers within the workshop theme of "Translating Making Knowledge: Communicating Embodied Experience".

My paper is entitled:  The 'Gown in a Week(end)' Model: Translating Historical Dressmaking Practice as a Demonstrable Process

I know you will not want to miss this event!

While it is not possible for non-speakers to attend in person, the good news is that it will be livestreamed on the day if you wish to catch any part of it in person. (Please note: Recordings will be available later of only the portions of the programme where speakers have agreed in advance that their talks can be recorded. Mine will be.)

See the full programme and reserve your place in the virtual audience (Microsoft Teams) here:
https://makinghistoricaldress.dmu.ac.uk/Workshop-Two.html
 

Join me and Peter Eslea Macdonald, tartan historian, for an afternoon talking tartan!

The Bannockburn House Trust is pulling out all the stops for a a special afternoon featuring the stories of extraordinary examples of tartan.

What better place for this discussion than the home of that famous family of tartan weavers - Wilson & Sons of Bannockburn?

About the Event & Speakers:

Our journey into tartan’s past will be presented by Peter MacDonald & Rebecca Olds, experts in the fields of tartan, weaving, and historical dress.

The study of historical tartan garments encompasses many elements from practical life and socioeconomics to the very expression of self and wider culture. Since the 18th century there have been important changes in the way tartan is viewed, utilized, and worn. We'll be exploring the foundation of these changes by examining three special garments from this period.

Our talks will highlight the 1785 wedding gown of Isabella MacTavish Fraser and the extraordinary Glen Affric tartan found in a bog over 40 years ago and recently carbon-dated to the 16th century. Both these remarkable objects will be explored - how they were made and by whom, who wore or used them and why - against the backdrop of political, social and economic changes and expressions of cultural identity, how tartan was viewed and how those views have changed over time.

THE RE-CREATED ISABELLA GOWN MADE IN 2019 WILL BE ON DISPLAY.

Joining me will be Peter MacDonald Tartan Historian to tell us not only about the Wilsons but also about the exciting recent discovery that the Glen Affric tartan (pulled out of a bog about 40 years ago) dates from the 16th century, making it the earliest known example of Scottish tartan. With Peter's guidance, we can begin to re-consider what we thought we knew about Scotland's iconic national textile.

WHERE: Laigh Hall of Bannockburn House, Pirnhall Road (A91), Stirling FK7 8EY, Scotland, UK. This is just off Junction 9 of the M9 motorway between Edinburgh and Stirling.

Prices for the afternoon’s event start at £25.

For full details of the timings and format of the event and to book, visit https://www.bannockburnhouse.scot/our-events/ and click on “Tales of Tartan”.

EVENT INFO:

Traders from all over the country, from custom made pieces to stock off the shelf. Find what you need or want for next years Re-enactment

The Artisan and Reenactors market was conceived to combine a love of history and traditional skills and crafts, to become a beneficial market to Re-enactors, Interpreters, Museums, and Historic houses. The majority of our traders are selling fully researched, museum quality historical replicas, that have all been handmade, making this a truly artisan market. Any trader can advise and commission the project you need for your vision as well as associating it with historic research. We have a massive expanse of knowledge, Passion and Skill under one roof, including Potters, Seamstresses, Bowyers, Fletchers, Blacksmiths, Cloth Merchants and many more.

EVENT INFO:

Traders from all over the country, from custom made pieces to stock off the shelf. Find what you need or want for next years Re-enactment

The Artisan and Reenactors market was conceived to combine a love of history and traditional skills and crafts, to become a beneficial market to Re-enactors, Interpreters, Museums, and Historic houses. The majority of our traders are selling fully researched, museum quality historical replicas, that have all been handmade, making this a truly artisan market. Any trader can advise and commission the project you need for your vision as well as associating it with historic research. We have a massive expanse of knowledge, Passion and Skill under one roof, including Potters, Seamstresses, Bowyers, Fletchers, Blacksmiths, Cloth Merchants and many more.

EVENT INFO:

Traders from all over the country, from custom made pieces to stock off the shelf. Find what you need or want for next years Re-enactment

The Artisan and Reenactors market was conceived to combine a love of history and traditional skills and crafts, to become a beneficial market to Re-enactors, Interpreters, Museums, and Historic houses. The majority of our traders are selling fully researched, museum quality historical replicas, that have all been handmade, making this a truly artisan market. Any trader can advise and commission the project you need for your vision as well as associating it with historic research. We have a massive expanse of knowledge, Passion and Skill under one roof, including Potters, Seamstresses, Bowyers, Fletchers, Blacksmiths, Cloth Merchants and many more.

Rebecca Olds, dress historian, brings to life the stories of two dresses featured in the Highland Threads Exhibition.

About this Event

Rebecca Olds, a dress historian specialising in the cut and construction of women’s clothing during the “long 18th century”, will take us on a journey as we explore the stories of two Spitalfields dresses now housed at two Scottish Highland Museums, Glencoe and Historylinks, Dornoch. Rebecca will give an ‘illustrated talk’ telling us what we know and what we still hope to find out.

Rebecca will be joined by Catriona Davidson, curator at Glencoe Folk Museum and Lynne Mahonney, curator at Historylinks Museum, Dornoch.

Tickets are available HERE.

Pay it forward! While there is no charge to book your place, please consider making a donation to help museums and galleries in the Scottish Highlands through the pandemic closures.

Visit the Highland Threads exhibition here - www.highlandthreads.co.uk

This event starts at 2pm UK/British Summer Time (UCT+). Please check the time difference if you are in another time zone.
For example, this is 6am Pacific (US/Canada) Daylight Time / 9am Eastern (US/Canada) Daylight Time / 3pm Central European Summer Time /
9pm Australian Western Standard Time / 11pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

The photo gallery below shows a few of the official exhibition photos taken by Jim Dunn, as well as a few ‘behind the scenes’ photos taken by conservator, Rachael Thomas, in the process of mounting these gowns for the exhibition.
Yes, this talk will include PEEKS INSIDE these gowns!