2012 Study Day -The Wartime Woman

On Saturday 19th of May our old friends at Walsall Museum welcomed the Society for our 2012 study day - 'The Wartime Woman'
Despite the rubbish weather and an accident on the motorway (not the fault of anyone we know thankfully) we enjoyed a decent turn out of members old and new. They were treated to three lectures, and ended the day with a demonstration from beautician Kia Gorton, who specialises in period hair and makeup.

We were lucky enough to be allowed to chose a selection of genuine 1940s garments from the museum's wonderful collections, to build a display from. Society member Sheila C. visited the museum's top-secret store last Wednesday, and spent a happy couple of hours digging through the rails and boxes before making her selection. Rather than picking dresses based on their colour or style, Sheila considered the many roles of the war-time woman. In this way she found the dress of the mourning mother, the war-worker enjoying a summer's day, and the teenage girl in her first smart 'office dress', a neat little pale blue-grey number which I have become rather fond of!

The illustrated lecture given by our guest Geraldine Howell on the Utility Scheme was especially interesting, and as soon as the book hits the shelves, I'll let you know! Geraldine has a talent for placing her subject in the wider social context of the war, which made a potentially tricky subject to grasp, more accessible and hugely useful for those wishing to apply their new-found knowledge to Wartime re-enactments.

We finished the day, after tea and little cakes, with a wonderful demonstration from Kia, who works as a freelance make-up artist, and also through 'The Vintage Salon', which is based at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. A volunteer (who had appeared in public for the first time in the 5 years I have known her without eyeliner and with her hair undone.....) was pulled from the audience to act as Kia's modal. Kia explained the techniques used to achieve the various rolled styles of the 40's and also allowed us to arrange Catherine's hair (for it was she) in pincurls. She finished by arranging Catherine's hair in the Victory Roll which forms a 'V' for victory at the back of the head. Catherine wore this style later on when she went to Asda, who thankfully don't seem to be suffering the effects of rationing or the U-Boat blockades.

So that's 2012 done - anyone got a suggestion for next year's study day?

The War-Time Woman: 19th of May 2012

I am happy (and somewhat relieved....) to announce the final line-up for our 1940s study day 'The War-Time Woman'.
1)Sheila Shreeve MBE will present an overview of the period, complete with slides, and with particular reference to Walsall's Hodson Shop Collection.
2)Then I will waffle on about how brilliant 1940s dress patterns are until someone shuts me up - please feel free to bring your patterns along for me to coo over!
3) After lunch our friend Geraldine Howell will be braving the dangers of the M6 to join us and talk about the Utility Scheme, a subject she has studied extensively.
4) And last, but by no means least, one of the nationally renowned and respected make-up artists of 'The Vintage Salon' will be joining us to share her tips and secrets of 40's hair and make-up. The photograph accompanying this post shows the handywork of the Birmingham based company, whose work has featured in magazines including Vogue.

I am also happy to announce that tickets may be reserved at no extra cost to those that have already paid their annual subscription. Any seats remaining after members have booked theirs will be available to the general public for just £10.

Hope to see you there!

'Torchon Lacemaking' by Jan Tregidgo

It's taken a while for me to form an opinion on this book...... it takes about an hour to produce an inch of lace, and I wanted to be sure I'd given it a fair crack!

A couple of years ago I got chatting to a couple of members of the Lace Guild, the U.K's foremost society for lace-makers. At the time I was plodding through Pamela Nottingham's 1970's classic 'Bobbin Lace Making' (out of print), which I wasn't finding very inspiring. The lace-ladies agreed with me that the Nottingham book had a few shortcomings, including dated designs and an odd layout which put working diagrams and written instructions on different pages. They told me that their teacher, a certain Jan Tregidgo, was about to publish her own beginners' book on the subject of Torchon lace, and that they had been taught by Jan using the techniques she described in her book.
The ladies were so nice, and so helpful, I resolved to buy Jan's book.

One redundancy later it took over a year for a second-hand copy to come up on Amazon for the right price (buying textiles books second-hand is my idea of austerity living....that and wild boar terrine from Lidl). Being me I scorned the idea of starting at the beginning, though the introductory chapter on materials and tools is comprehensive, and the first few designs are attractive enough. No, I wanted to start on page 112, a Spanish fan edging with a Dieppe ground. Thanks to Jan's technique of using numerous close-up photographs of the work, in - shock, horror! - coloured threads, I was able to work the lace quickly and easily, and also able to understand and track individual threads and pairs of bobbins through the work. I was also able to flick back through the text and find instructions for the various stitches and techniques I had been too impatient to learn beforehand.

During the duration of the Lace Guild exhibition of 2010, lots of well meaning lace-makers very kindly gave me old pamphlets or photocopied patterns and instructions, but I must admit I remained mostly baffled and in a tangle. Thanks to this book in just a few weeks I have a decent basic knowledge of bobbin-lace stitches, and a pair of bobbins on every pin. If you too would like to know your footside from your spangle, buy this book. I have really enjoyed it and am sure others will too.


Torchon Lacemaking
Jan Tregidgo,
Crowood Press,2010
ISBN 978 1 84797 201

Hardcover, 240 pages

Cover Price £25
Amazon Price new, £19.50, second-hand from about £15.

Society Meeting, 10th of March 2012.

Members of the Society met last Saturday at Walsall Museum, and were treated to some wonderful treasures. We got our hands on a Modernist evening shawl from Sheila S's collection, and Irene took us back to the days of the Raj with a beautiful ivory necklace of miniature elephants. It was the royal-blue robe that Sheila C. bought to share with us that really stole the show. I asked Sheila to provide us with the story of this beautiful garment.

"You kindly asked me to put down a few notes about Miss Eva Holt the owner of the blue dressing gown embroidered with lupins I brought along for the Show and Tell
Alas I do not have a photo of Miss Holt.
Eva Holt lived in the North Wales sea side resort of Penhryn Bay. A maiden lady, she kept house for her father who had his own company making fine furniture. She died in 1984 and my parent-in-law bought her house the following year. The house had not been totally emptied and there were a number of her belongings that gave a taste of her life. There was a Visitors Guide to Penhryn Bay- published sometime in the 1930's with a photograph of the North Wales Banjo Band , based in Penhryn Bay. Miss Holt was their pianist. I love to think of them entertaining the visitors in the Bandstand or in one of the local hotels. She was a very severe looking lady with little round glasses.
Also among her possessions were the brochures, daily programmes and menus of a number of cruises she went on , mainly on the Lancastria . The Lancastria was sunk early in the war and thousands of troops were drowned.
Although she looked severe in her photo I feel she was a lady who enjoyed life and her splendid dressing gown surely proves this."
Sheila Clarke
member
WMCT Soc.




Not only does Sheila have Miss Holt's robe, she also has the roll of silks to go with the embroidery! Similar designs may be found in books of the 1920s and 30s, when there was a fashion for working flower-borders on clothing, accessories and household linens. These books despite their age can be found and picked up quite cheaply. There are a lot of them about, and they were cheaply bound in cardboard so are generally pretty shabby. This cover amuses me.... is he about to shout 'Boo!', plant a kiss on her cheek, - or strangle her?



At the meeting the date and line-up of lectures and workshops planned for our 1940s study day, 'The War-time Woman', was also confirmed. Keep visiting for news and updates!

And the bride wore.......

Oh! It's a leap year...... and although my dear brother has a mortgage, a baby and a greyhound, he has yet to take a trip to the jewellers! Will the patient and long-suffering mother of his child at long last live up to her threats and pop the question?

A lovely fashion plate here from The Delinator of 1900. This was the magazine of styles published by Butterick, which you might choose your wedding dress from when you visited your 'little dressmaker round the corner'. Perhaps you might try your hand at making your own dress, despite some people thinking this invites bad luck!

These dresses show the elegant fashions of the early Twentieth Century, which flattered anyone lucky enough to be tall and slim. The large puffed sleeves of the 1890s have disappeared, and the beginnings of the pouched 'pouter pigeon' bodice can be seen on the bridesmaid's outfit. The flared gored skirt is now cut with curved seamed panels, which hug the hips and swish around the wearer's feet. Terribly romantic, and perfect for the leap year bride.

Don't forget to come and see us at Walsall Museum on the afternoon of the tenth of March - we'll have the kettle on by 2pm!

Fashion Illustration, 1930-1970: From Harper's Bazaar.

With an eye for a bargain, as well as a fondness for beautiful books, the ever alert Sheila Shreeve spotted and snapped up this treat in her local branch of TK Maxx.

It's not a shop one might think about when a tenner is burning a hole in your pocket, but I've also dropped on some lovely costume books in there. They tend to be tucked away near the gifts and photo albums, though occasionally the dust jackets are found to be a bit tatty or torn.

Sheila bought this book for less than half the RRP of £17.99, and describes it as 'lovely, and the illustrations are wonderful'. Still in living memory, a historical review of this period might make some of us rather feel our years, but be in no doubt those who have lived through the years covered by this book have enjoyed elegant, innovative and exciting fashions, and maybe a few stinkers too, though a small price to pay for having the New Look! This would be a great book for any teenagers studying fashion and textiles, as well as coffee-table-book collectors and costume enthusiasts of all ages.

The author, Marnie Fogg, previously lectured at the University of Nottingham. She now lives in Derbyshire.

'Fashion Illustration, 1930-1970: From Harper's Bazaar'
Marnie Fogg
Batsford Ltd, London 2010
ISBN 10-1906388814
Hardcover, 208 pages

Today on Amazon £11.87

The Dress of Mystery!

This sorry-looking poor old thing was found in Wolverhampton's collection, which was transferred to the care of Walsall Museum in 2000. Dating from the mid 1880s it was at first considered for disposal due to its poor condition, and was included in the museum's small handling collection.
In 2009 I took a pattern from it, which at the time didn't seem to me to look.....quite right. I'm no Janet Arnold though, and pressed on, assuming it was down to my shonky draftsmanship. Later, when I put the dress on a dummy to be photographed and sketched, it hung awkwardly. The waistband of the skirt had been altered several times at the front, and seemed rather large for a dress of its age. The side-seams of the bodice swung forward, and the front sagged against the figure.

Then I shoved a cushion up the front of it, and things started to fall into place....

Could this possibly be a purpose-made maternity dress? We'll probably never be 100% certain it is, after all we've all seen photos of rather well-padded matrons corseted into a curvy frock with prominent abdomens, and skinny girls were sometimes driven to 'improve' the front of their dresses with pads which (tut, tut...) might've made them at first glance, appear to be in a delicate condition.

This dress however has slim sleeves, so its owner wasn't a plump lady. The measure across the back and around the neck don't suggest she was underweight either. Being of limited use this dress, if it is indeed a maternity dress, must have been made for a particular occasion. Green silk and 'Cadbury's' purple velvet. It's not a dress to clean the house in. It is rather worn on the inside, so we may assume its owner, or owners, got their money's worth out of it. A dressmakers stamp on the waist-stay shows it was made in Clothier Street, Willenhall, which by strange coincidence is where I grew up!

It was decided at a curatorial meeting to give the dress a safe home in the museum's permanent collection. We thought there was a good chance it was a maternity dress, and they tend to be few and far between. It's not in great condition, and makes a tatty-looking display, but it has something rather interesting to say about the life of a certain Black Country lady, and of other mothers and their babies, over 120 years ago.

More slightly dodgy photos and the pattern for this dress will appear in due course on our resources page.