Historic Seamstress - Spadina House

TORONTO, ON- SEPTEMBER 21 - Reproduction of an 1850's work dress, worn at Mackenzie House. The dress is fashioned after a design titled, "Ladies Working Dress" in Godey's Lady Book (vol 58-59), 1859. The two piece semi-fitted outfit would have given a woman comfort of movement and relatively easy to wash and keep clean. A bibbed apron would have been worn as well. A- Sleeves, the lower sleeves button to the upper sleeves so that they could be removed when necessary. B- There are 22 buttons on the costume. C- Gros grain ribbon on the skirt's bottom edge. This is a feature of Victorian dresses that help keep the bottom edge of the skirt clean. The ribbon can easily be replaced when it gets too dirty or worn out. D- A heaven petticoat would have been worn with this 2-piece dress to give it a bell shaped silhouette. E- this dress does have a modern waist band to ensure the garment looks properly when worn. Tracy Gorman sews away above what was the Austin family's garage with a view of their home, Spadina House. On staff with the City of Toronto, Gorman takes care of the 2700 costume pieces at the museums. In her 23 years with the city she has made close to 1000 of those reproduction costume pieces that range from 19th century dresses and jackets to shirt and petticoats to caps and neckerchiefs and cushions and bedspreads. Over the course of a year Gorman, who has Bachelor's degree in Home Economics specializing in Clothing and Textiles from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, will make about 50 new pieces for the collection and perform alterations and repairs to another 20. The scope of her needle isn't limited to costumes, she also makes household textiles as part of museum re-restoration work. Her working includes sourcing historically accurate materials for the costumes. She does this through books on historic costume, researching artifacts from the time period through museum's online catalogues that include images and descriptions and referring to dia (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON- SEPTEMBER 21 - Reproduction of an 1850's work dress, worn at Mackenzie House. The dress is fashioned after a design titled, "Ladies Working Dress" in Godey's Lady Book (vol 58-59), 1859. The two piece semi-fitted outfit would have given a woman comfort of movement and relatively easy to wash and keep clean. A bibbed apron would have been worn as well. A- Sleeves, the lower sleeves button to the upper sleeves so that they could be removed when necessary. B- There are 22 buttons on the costume. C- Gros grain ribbon on the skirt's bottom edge. This is a feature of Victorian dresses that help keep the bottom edge of the skirt clean. The ribbon can easily be replaced when it gets too dirty or worn out. D- A heaven petticoat would have been worn with this 2-piece dress to give it a bell shaped silhouette. E- this dress does have a modern waist band to ensure the garment looks properly when worn. Tracy Gorman sews away above what was the Austin family's garage with a view of their home, Spadina House. On staff with the City of Toronto, Gorman takes care of the 2700 costume pieces at the museums. In her 23 years with the city she has made close to 1000 of those reproduction costume pieces that range from 19th century dresses and jackets to shirt and petticoats to caps and neckerchiefs and cushions and bedspreads. Over the course of a year Gorman, who has Bachelor's degree in Home Economics specializing in Clothing and Textiles from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, will make about 50 new pieces for the collection and perform alterations and repairs to another 20. The scope of her needle isn't limited to costumes, she also makes household textiles as part of museum re-restoration work. Her working includes sourcing historically accurate materials for the costumes. She does this through books on historic costume, researching artifacts from the time period through museum's online catalogues that include images and descriptions and referring to dia (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Historic Seamstress - Spadina House
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Credit:
Steve Russell / Contributor
Editorial #:
645933738
Collection:
Toronto Star
Date created:
21 September, 2016
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Source:
Toronto Star
Object name:
sr_HistoricSeamstress_10
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5472 x 3648 px (46.33 x 30.89 cm) - 300 dpi - 4 MB