Jennylafleur

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The Approach to Historical Dress

@abbyelyn brought up an interesting subject in her IG post today. Our individual approach to historical dress.

It fascinates me to no end to hear “The Why” behind how others in this hobby approach their work and what their creative process looks like.

I love how many ways there are to come into the hobby, be inspired in historical dress/costuming and produce finished outfits. There isn’t only one approach, and that is a beautiful thing. I think it’s one of the reasons we have so rich and diverse a community.

As for me, it’s changed over the years. I started as a history geek wanting to learn through experience. I love learning about the past, what is different and what is the same in the human experience. Wearing the clothing of any given period gets me closer to understanding what it was really like to live in the past. Clothing is so personal, it’s a way of experiencing and learning history that is like no other ,and I’ve learned so much as a history geek literally walking in another’s shoes and stays. ⠀⠀⠀⠀

Over the years I have come to think of costuming and Historical Dress more as my art form and my creative outlet.

I enjoy researching and trying to put myself in the mind of a period mantua maker or seamstress - the challenge of that is rewarding, but that isn’t the be- all for me. I enjoy aspects of “original practice”, but not for its own sake. It’s a tool to create my artistic vision, one of many in my toolbox. I tend to do enough research to know where the gray areas are, so I can walk into them knowingly. I hand sew when and where I feel like it, I use period patterns but rarely assemble them fully in OP/HA.

Over the years I’ve found what makes me happy as an artist and a seamstress and it’s half HA, half hack, and all creative and personal fulfillment.


My creative process? Now that is another post for another day, as I have all kinds of thoughts on that subject…

What about you? What is your approach to historical dress and costuming? Is it the same as when you started?