My final MA Historical Costume project has been a layered exploration of working-class dress in coastal North Yorkshire c.1840–1900, and of material culture related to domestic textile provision and the life cycle of clothing. 

My practical work combines elements of reconstruction and reinterpretation, and both practical and theoretical research has been underpinned by conceptual considerations of place and deep mapping. In my written work, I posit the overlooked acts of making and mending undertaken by the women (and men) of history, as significant acts of place-making. 

The final images for this project are inspired by the iconic photographs taken by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, which have been a constant and crucial reference point throughout. I was grateful to receive the Textile Society Student Bursary and the Costume Society Yarwood Grant to support this research. 

Throughout my MA I have developed skills in extant study, and practiced costume illustration. I have reconstructed 18th century stays and contributed a pair of historically inspired patchwork pockets to Salisbury Museum’s recent exhibition Fashioning Our World. In early 2024, I completed an internship as exhibition assistant at Blandford Fashion Museum, to help install their current exhibition, Our Sporting Heritage.

I am keen to pursue a career researching the dress history of the British Isles. I plan to gain experience in museums, and have a particular interest in historical interpretation and heritage crafts, as well as in using reconstruction as a research methodology.