Clothing, 18th Century
My entire historical wardrobe, save for shoes, socks, and the occasional kerchief, is handsewn and self-drafted by me. (I rarely use commercial patterns, finding them generally ill-suited to historical tailoring methods. Working in two dimensions is a poor substitute for drafting directly on a human body.)
An 18th-century working woman’s principal wardrobe staples are the gown and the petticoat, which can be endlessly mixed and matched for a variety of outfits. This is an era of many accessories: hats, caps, mitts, stomachers, kerchiefs, aprons, and even pincushions present opportunities to make a fashion statement.
Clothing, 17th Century & Earlier
Though my 16th- and 17th-century wardrobe is obviously different in kind from its 18th-century counterpart, they both represent the dress of middling Englishwomen (mainland or colonial). I think of one as the nth-great-grandmother of the other. Early modern outfits were composed of gowns, kirtles, and petticoats in various combinations. This was not an era of quite so many accessories, but what did exist is less familiar to a modern eye and therefore slightly more exciting to wear.
Research
Documenting Garment Construction
- Northern European Red Wool Sleeveless Kirtle, c. 1550-1600
- Bodied Petticoat, c. 1560-1630
- Woman’s Suit of Clothes Worn at Plimoth Plantation, c. 1627
- Decoding Cranach’s Muses: The Making of a 1530s German Court Gown
Cultural History & Experimental Archaeology
- The Making of a Traditional Irish Mummer’s Mask
- The Measure of a Mother: Childbirth Charms and Physical Prayer in Early Modern England
- English Midwifery Garb & Supplies c. 1550
- The Mother and the Other: Early Modern Midwifery as Liminal Space
- Period Periods: Menstrual Management in Early Modern England
- Rule, Theatria: A Cheekily Literal Take on “Saturday Morning Cartoons”
- On Paper, In Practice: Traditional and Experimental Archaeology in Conversation (delivered as an address to the Vermont Archaeological Society in September 2026)
- Health & Hygiene in the Continental Army (video link)
- Dressing the 18th-Century Working Woman (video link)
