Rebecca Olds
rebecca@timesmith.co.uk
ORCID No. 0000-0002-5703-9163
I am a dress and textile historian specialising in the materials, cut, construction and socio-economic contexts of women’s clothing in England and Scotland in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Educator / Public Speaker
Independent Researcher
Public Programs Partner
Reconstructor of Historical Dress
Teacher — Historical Sewing & Construction
Historical Interpreter of Garment-Making Skills and Trade Practices
Education
Master of Letters (MLitt) Art History: Dress & Textile Histories: in progress
University of Glasgow - Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Core courses, with results where available once approved by the Exam Board
- Framing Dress and Textile Histories: B2 (72.73%)
- Applying Dress and Textile Histories: B1 (77.27%)
- Research Skills & Methods: A5 (81.82%)
Elective courses, with results where available once approved by the Exam Board
- Fabrics of a Nation (Scottish Textiles): B1 (77.27%)
- Material Cultures: B2 (74.54%)
- Work Placement: A3 (90.91%)
Dissertation: in progress
Bachelor of Arts (Honours): 2.1 awarded 2021
Open University - Milton Keynes, UK
Advanced Diploma in Local History (Merit) | University of Oxford, Department of Continuing Education
An intensive course in a History discipline as preparation for postgraduate studies, this course is delivered by Oxford’s ContED as a collaborative module with 60 credits at applied towards the BA (Hons) awarded by the Open University, covering:
- Critical evaluation of historiography and theory
- Assessment and use of historical evidence (primary and secondary sources, personal testimony)
- Statistics, record linkage, spreadsheets, database design, query and data analysis (practice based)
- Researching, writing and publishing local history
BA (Open) awarded 2016 | Open University - Milton Keynes, UK
Originally enrolled as a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) covering:
- English legal system legal research
- European Community law
- Public law, constitutional law and criminal law
- Commercial transactions (free choice element) covering contracts, finance, consumer protection, agency and distribution agreements
- Law of obligations: contract and tort
- Land law, equity and trusts
Non-accredited courses and workshops relating to historical dress and textiles
18th Century Mantua-Making | July 2023
Five-day workshop constructing a replica of an unpicked extant mantua in the School’s collection, incorporating analysis of visual sources and other extant mantuas dating from c. 1690-1745 and close study of traces of pleats, gathers and stitching still visible in the original.
The School of Historical Dress, London
Teacher: Jenny TiramaniTRC Intensive Textile Course | August 2022
Five-day intensive workshop on textiles, employing a mix of theory and practice in the identification of fibers and techniques of textile production (spinning, dyeing, weaving)
Textile Resource Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
Teacher: Dr Gillian Vogelsang-EastwoodThe Cut & Construction of 18th Century Sacks | June 2022
Workshop incorporating study of period written sources and of extant gowns to inform hands-on making of a quarter scale sack back gown
The School of Historical Dress, London
Teacher: Jenny TiramaniThe Cut & Construction of Women's 18th Century Flat-Cut Bedgowns & Mantuas | May 2022
Workshop incorporating study of period written sources and of extant gowns to inform hands-on making of a quarter scale mantua
The School of Historical Dress, London
Teacher: Jenny TiramaniTo The Making of Your Breeches | November 2021
Workshop teaching measuring, patterning, cutting and fitting using the methods and tools of the 18th century tailor, using breeches as the subject garment
Burnley & Trowbridge Historical Fashion Workshop Series, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Teacher: Neal HurstTo Cut The Perfect Shape | March 2020
Workshop teaching 18th century mantua-making draping methods
Burnley & Trowbridge Historical Fashion Workshop Series, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Teacher: Brooke WelbornIntroduction to Mantua-making: An 18th Century English Gown in Miniature | October 2019 (and repeated in online format November 2020)
Workshop teaching the cut and construction to build an 18th century ‘fitted back’ gown (also known as English gown or nightgown)
Burnley & Trowbridge Historical Fashion Workshop Series, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Teacher: Brooke Welborn18th Century Stays Pattern Drafting | March 2019
Taught using the ‘Arc Method’ as published in “Patterns of Fashion 5” by Janet Arnold, Jenny Tiramani and Luca Costiglioli
The School of Historical Dress, London
Teacher: Luca CostiglioliFibre arts workshops | 2018-2019
Finger (loop) braiding, spinning (wool with wheel and drop spindle; flax with drop spindle)
Weald & Downland Living Museum, Singleton nr Chichester, UK
Professional Experience & Employment
TIMESMITH DRESS HISTORY, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Owner | December 2017 - present
Historical Dressmaking
Hand sewing women’s garments, underpinnings and accessories of the 18th century using research-based cutting, construction and sewing techniques.
Re-creating/re-constructing surviving original garments held in public and private collections.
Public speaking
Giving talks, lectures and demonstrations on a variety of topics connected with 18th century womenswear, from textiles to cut and construction to fashion consumption. I have presented lectures and demonstrations for museums, heritage sites and historical markets, and have been invited to speak at living history festivals and academic conferences.
Workshop teaching
Teaching historical sewing and construction techniques in my home workshop in the UK, in venues provided by groups hiring me to provide instruction, and in online tutorials and demonstrations.
Researching
Examining items in public and private collections and, on request, studying primary source documents and secondary source materials; consulting with other historians (and reading everything I can get my hands on).
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Intern, Tailor Shop | October - December 2021
Immersive experience working in a world-renowned living history museum, gaining insights into interpretative methods and how public programs are developed, all the while working in a dynamic historic setting wearing period clothing and practicing an historic fashion trade.
Responsibilities and activities included:
Interpreting 18th century tailor's trade and practices to the visiting public, providing historical contexts relating to the training, experience and skills of documented individuals and the global trade in textiles and other goods, with a focus on the American Colonies specifically Virginia and its capitol, Williamsburg.
Demonstrating and explaining documented 18th century tailoring techniques and proper use of tools and equipment, and answering ad hoc questions from the public.
Production - assisting, supporting and contributing to ongoing commission work in the Tailor Shop. This work included assisting in the build of a tartan coat and waistcoat in the Scottish style, a 1770s broadcloth coat and neck cloth.
Research - personal study of antique 18th century garments in the Colonial Williamsburg collection and other collections on loan.
Studying patterning, cutting and construction techniques as practised by 18th century tailors.
Selected Projects
HIGHLAND THREADS | 2021 | Collaborative Online Costume Exhibition: www.highlandthreads.co.uk
In the Spring of 2021 at the height of the global coronavirus pandemic, Museums and Heritage Highland brought together 14 museums across the Scottish Highlands to co-curate an online costume exhibition.
I assisted with preparing interpretative materials for two 18th century silk gowns displayed in this exhibition (a fashionable mantua gown originally made 1705-1710 on temporary loan to Historylinks Dornoch, and a 1760s long sack gown aka ‘robe à la française held by Glencoe Folk Museum).
RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Writing and editing website texts in collaboration with the museum curators at both museums, including consultation with the owner of the Dornoch mantua.
Providing input on additional images to be displayed on the website pages for both gowns.
Scripting and narrating detailed audio content about each gown (‘podcasts’), for which I had complete responsibility for content and delivery.
ISABELLA MACTAVISH FRASER WEDDING DRESS | 2018-2020 | Inverness and Edinburgh
In January 1785, Isabella MacTavish married Malcolm Fraser in the Scottish Highlands, wearing a vibrant English Gown of “hard tartan”. This gown is the only known pre-1800 extant example of a woman’s tartan outerwear, having passed down through the family and still owned and worn by direct descendants.
In June 2019 I headed up a team of historical dressmakers to stage a re-creation of this iconic gown as a live public event at the National Museum of Scotland. Our primary aims were to document the unique features of this gown and to demonstrate the skillset of professional mantua-makers in making women’s gowns in the period.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Object Study: Carried out hands-on examination (alongside a past Dress & Textile Histories MLitt graduate and under curatorial supervision) of the original mid-1780s gown including analysis of condition and stitching but focusing on cut, order and method of construction.
Research: Reviewing historical sources relating to garment construction and trade practices of the period in Scotland.
Commission Reproduction Textiles: Finding a tartan mill with the requisite skill, expertise and antique loom to produce a suitable reproduction fabric for use in the re-creation project; going over technical analysis of the original textile with the mill’s owner and analyzing available options for reproduction; making all final decisions regarding wool fleece and yarn characteristics, spinning methods and twist specifications, colour matching and available dye methods. I carried out quality checks over and above those conducted by the mill, taking the decision to reject the first weave on the basis of excessive shrinkage and ultimately approving final weave and arranging transport to the event site. I also sourced undyed herringbone, twill and plain weave linen textiles for use in the linings of the new gown.
Logistics / Project Funding / Project Planning & Management / Team Supervision: Fully costing out the project and preparing business case, identifying key skillsets required and recruiting appropriate people; providing guidance and training, setting standards as to costume and assisting as needed with making/providing suitable clothing, arranging and managing all logistics relating to travel and accommodation.
Museum Liaison & Public Programs: I liaised directly with Exhibition Curator and Adult Learning Officers to develop public program elements in conjunction with major 2019 exhibition entitled “Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland”, integrating project social media and marketing campaigns to convert public interest into high visitor numbers.
Historical Dressmaking: I contributed my sewing skills to the construction of the re-created gown, one of a team of six seamstresses including two who had participated in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Trades programs (Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop).
Costumed Interpretation: I acted as one of three main interpreters through the two-day event, providing information about the original gown, its construction, and the wider contexts of the manufacture, uses and trade in textiles (especially “hard tartan”) in Scotland in the 18th century. I wore full reproduction clothing that I had made myself using documented period shapes, cut and construction.
Education (Speaking and Teaching): I have taken the lead in collating the information about the original gown that was revealed in the process of its re-creation, drafting articles and writing and presenting talks and hands-on sewing workshops to share this “embodied” research.
Invited Speaker
Researching 18th Century Scottish Dress and Textiles: the Value of Recreative Practice as Supplemental to Object Study Methodologies
Early Modern Workshop, Martinmas Term 2023. University of St. Andrews | 11 December 2023.
Invited to present 20-minute paper in a postgraduate forum, considering how reconstructive making practices can address limitations inherent to object study methodologies.
'The ‘Gown in a Week(end)’ Model: Translating Recreative Dressmaking Practice as a Demonstrable Process
Workshop 2. Making Historical Dress Network | 18 September 2023
Invited to contribute 10-minute paper to a panel, analysing my experiences with planning and delivering live in-person demonstrations of historical dressmaking, as a method to capture experiential knowledge and make it comprehensible to other researchers and to the general public.
‘Dressing a Real Fraser Bride: the wedding gown of Isabella MacTavish Fraser and other tartan dresses’
Textiles, Fashion and Costume panel. Outlander Conference Glasgow 2023 | 18-22 July 2023
Invited to present 10-minute paper in the Textiles, Fashion and Costume panel, exploring the use of tartan for Scottish Highland women’s clothing in the 18th century and placing the iconic wedding dress of Isabella MacTavish Fraser in context as an emblematic fusion of fashion and nostalgia.
The Isabella Mactavish Fraser wedding dress and other tartan gowns: lessons from ‘the Isabella project’
Tales of Tartan. Bannockburn House | 25 June 2023
Invited speaker along with Peter Eslea Macdonald. My presentation set out research to date on the use of hard tartan for women’s gowns in eighteenth century Scotland, using archival sources, analysis of visual sources and historiography today, and offering fresh insights into tartan’s characteristics and suitability for women’s clothing by contrasting recreative experiences using reproduction hard tartan in the making of a woman’s English nightgown and a tailored coat in the Scottish style for men.
‘Spitalfields Silk in Scotland: Rebecca Olds in Conversation with Catriona Davidson and Lynne Mahoney
Highland Threads online costume exhibition | 13 May 2021
An illustrated talk exploring the stories of two 18th century gowns made of Spitalfields silk, housed at two Scottish Highland Museums, Glencoe and Historylinks Dornoch. This talk was livestreamed and recorded on Museums & Heritage Highland’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BgoZCtUpNI
‘The Isabella Project: recreating an iconic eighteenth century tartan wedding gown’
Scottish Themed Evening. Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center | Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA | 3 March 2020.
Presentation followed by audience Q&A and examination of the recreated gown made in 2019.
‘The Isabella Project: unpicking an 18th century Scottish wedding dress’
Dressing the National: Two lectures on Scottish dress in the 18th and 19th centuries. Inverness Museum & Art Gallery | Inverness, Scotland | 24 January 2020.
Invited Speaker on a programme including Dr Sally Tuckett, followed by audience Q&A and examination of both the original extant gown of 1785 and the re-created gown made in 2019, which were subsequently displayed together in the Museum for a special 3-week exhibition.
‘The Isabella MacTavish Fraser “Wedding Gown In A Weekend” - The Romance and the Reality’
Study Afternoon: Tartan. National Museums Scotland | Edinburgh, Scotland | 4 October 2019.
Invited Speaker on a programme including Dr Rosie Waine, Peter Eslea Macdonald and Jonathan Faiers, followed by panel Q&A.
Publications
Research article: “A Gentleman’s Wardrobe: Clothes for the Caribbean”, 8 September 2023, The Paxton Trust.
https://paxtonhouse.co.uk/news/a-gentlemans-wardrobe/
Selected Public Collections in which I Have Studied Extant Garments
United Kingdom
Victoria & Albert Museum
(Blythe House, London)
Manchester Art Museum, Gallery of Costume
(Platt Hall, Manchester)
High Life Highland
(Inverness Museum & Art Gallery)
High Life Highland / Highland Folk Museum
(Am Fasgadh, Newtonmore, Scotland)
Glasgow Museums
(Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, Glasgow, Scotland)
Historylinks Dornoch
(Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland)
United States of America
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
(DeWitt Wallace Decorative Art Museum)
CURRENT MEMBERSHIPS
Association of Dress Historians
The Costume Society (UK)
Costume Society of Scotland
The Costume Society of America
Costume & Textile Association
British Society for Eighteenth-century Studies
Economic & Social History Society of Scotland
Dress and Textile Specialists
Royal Historical Society
Scottish History Society
Women’s History Network
Women’s History Scotland
The 1745 Association
Scottish Local History Forum
British Association for Local History
Interpret Europe
VOLUNTEERING
Costume Societies
Southern County Costume Society
Committee Member, January 2023 - present
Membership Officer, January 2024 - present
Social Media Administrator/Moderator
Facebook groups
Founder/Administrator/Moderator:
Active contributor: