Symposium Student Bursary Reports:

As a student studying BA(Hons) Theatre Design at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama I am extremely grateful to The Costume Society for being awarded the student bursary to attend the 2009 symposium ‘Virtue & Vice: Morality In Fashion’.

In my final year I plan to specialise in costume design and construction and the symposium has opened up a wealth of knowledge and experience to me which has given me great focus for the year ahead, and indeed, my interests beyond university. Having planned to base my dissertation around the visual representation of female icons through history, focussing particularly on extremes in fashion and the roles of women I felt the topic of ‘Virtue & Vice’ would give me a good starting point for my research and I was not disappointed.
Lectures by Aileen Ribeiro and Penelope Alfrey stood out as being directly related to female representation within art and as Ribeiro pointed out, the majority of artists through history have been male and therefore, paintings generally depict society’s idealistic view of women rather than realistic, which was extremely useful to my research.

However, being able to attend the full weekend of presentations allowed me to draw inspiration from a range of different and unexpected topics. In particular the lectures on the elite fashions of Venetian nuns and the Sisters of Charity and Emma Tarlo’s lecture on Islamic fashions in the west have fuelled my interest in religious dress and iconic fashions adopted by other cultures.
Aside from the lectures I found meeting and talking to other members of the Society an invaluable opportunity. Meeting a wide range of people who all share a similar passion for historical costume was exciting and has made me aware of how many outlets of work there are involving the handling or knowledge of period fashion, which has encouraged me to pursue this interest through my final year. I am also grateful to have been able to speak to people who work in the areas of design as this has given me a great insight into the professional life of a costume designer, as well as learning of ways to access historical costumes for future research purposes. I am now confident that if I ever needed to research a particular period I could find a collection to view and this is down to all those attending the symposium who were so generous with their knowledge, for which I am very thankful.

Finally the visits to Hereford Museum and Hartlebury Castle again highlighted to me the wealth of costume and fashion knowledge that can be gathered from museum collections. I was impressed not only by Hereford’s costume store which I enjoyed viewing, but also by it’s extensive collection of 19th Century fashion plates which are extremely useful from a design perspective.

The whole weekend was a thoroughly worthwhile experience for me; one that I believe I will continually be able to draw inspiration from and I look forward to keeping in contact with the Society.  

I was delighted to win the bursary to attend the Costume Society Symposium 2009, It was, however, with some trepidation that I found myself driving towards Great Malvern. I needn’t have had any reservations. The weekend was a marvelous experience. The topic to be explored was entitled ‘Virtue and Vice: Morality in Fashion’.
Saturday’s session began with keynote speaker, Dr Emma Tarlo delivering a paper on the rise of Islamic Fashion Designers in the West. This is a significant emerging area in fashion that, as a Londoner, I have been very much aware of. To be given a detailed analysis on how these designers consider ‘fashion’ within the confines of Islamic ‘modesty’ was enlightening and very timely.
Currently, I am researching for my Master’s dissertation. I am examining, from an historical perspective, the cultural and economic values of recycled clothing. Mary M Brooks from the Textile Conservation Centre, Southampton University focused on the German and allied research into regenerated protein and cellulose fibres during World War II, contextualizing it with adverts from American Vogue, Italian magazines and quotes. Since hearing her speak, I have spent afternoons in the British Library following up her suggested reading. This has given me insight and depth into an area of recycling of which I was not previously aware.
Penelope Alfrey’s interpretation of Emma Hamilton’s work and her insight into Hamilton’s use of the Indian shawl has enriched my understanding of a garment, which I am currently researching in the Worthing Museum. It is a fitted coat entirely constructed from Paisley shawls, the opposite to the unstructured piece of clothing that Mrs. Hamilton introduced in her performances of the ‘Attitudes’.
The weekend was a continuation of thought-provoking and accomplished speakers, interspersed with two wonderful trips. One to Hartlebury Museum and the other to see the fantastic stored collection of 18th and 19th century clothing in Hereford. Although, densely packed with lectures, awards and a fashion show there was still time to socialize with the speakers and delegates.

The Costume Society Committee introduced me to many people working in both costume and dress history. To meet designer, Jenny Tiramani was a great honour. Her methodology has been very influential in my practical work, which I use to complement my academic study. For any aspiring costume designer or fashion historian I can only say that I had a wonderfully informative weekend and left with lots of cards, emails addresses and many new friends. The pleasure of listening to some this country’s most eminent fashion historians and scholars was a an inspiring privilege.

As a Costume Designer, and final year MA student, the symposium this year was of particular interest to me in my ongoing studies.

What fascinated me from the varied programme of enlightening papers, were the many ways that Dress can be seen as Costume, both on and off the stage. Rosemary Harden's paper on Margot Fonteyn was of particular interest to me in this respect, having worked predominantly as Designer for Ballet since 2003.

In many ways the range of speakers topped and tailed my personal experience of designing as it was watching the wonderful work of John Bright that, as a teenager, powered my drive to do what I do today. He gave a real insight into the industry and Lindsay Evans Robertson's brilliant interview covered everything I ever wanted to ask!

Reflecting on the weekend, and thinking about what was at its core, I have found a new approach to designing. More than one speaker described a 'hands on' with the actor. Starting with real clothes and fitting sessions, they can then get a clear sense of shape, proportion, colour and tone. These sessions work as inspiration and I was surprised by the general consensus that the drawings could be considered of lesser importance in the development work using this method.

As a result, I have found a new way into my thesis work, which I also see now builds on the approach I developed during the Yarwood project. For this alone, my attendance at the Symposium was invaluable and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Society for making it possible and for welcoming me so warmly.

‘Dress and Performance' was the perfect forum to present my research on Norman Hartnell’s dress designs for the stage, a hitherto under-examined aspect of the couturier’s work. Being awarded the Student Bursary meant that I could attend the full range of papers over the course of the weekend.

I was impressed with the combination of extreme professionalism, the organisation of the event and the quality of the speakers. The atmosphere of friendliness, support, and the genuine interest delegates had both in each other’s work and in the work of the talented students was inspiring. As the weekend progressed and we shared meals and coffee breaks, conversations revealed a depth of knowledge and experience in so many of the delegate’s lives, which was quite extraordinary.

As the papers progressed on Saturday links between them developed, creating layers of context for my own paper. Sarah Woodcock discussed the complex factors that ‘govern dance costumes’ such as the effects of harsh lighting, sweat, and extreme movement on the garments and the need to omit beaded decoration at the waist on women’s costumes due to the practical problems of partnering. Did Hartnell consider these issues when he designed costumes for the West End revue in the 1940s? Sarah also showed us examples of sketches, making observations that could equally be applied to Hartnell’s sketched designs, addressing issues such as why designers rarely draw the back of the costume and how Oliver Messel reproduced his designs on similar figures posed in the same positions ‘endlessly’, producing his sketches as ‘blueprints for the designer’, not as works of art.

Rosemary Harden discussed the mutually beneficial relationship between Margot Fonteyn and Christian Dior, which could be usefully compared to similar relationships that Hartnell had with the famous actresses of his day, including Gertrude Lawrence. And Peter Farrer’s paper on the early history of the ADC and the undertaking of women’s roles by the young male students at Cambridge presented me with some historical context for Hartnell’s own female impersonation at Cambridge in the 1920s. The discovery that COSPROP holds some Hartnell gowns for Queen Mary in their collection as ‘important documents’ was also an exciting revelation.

Attending this conference enhanced my knowledge of all aspects of costume design for performance from the perspective of the maker, the academic and the curator. These links made between other speaker’s research and my own and the contacts made with so many knowledgeable and encouraging delegates only served to underline how important attending this symposium was for me. I would like to thank every member who contributes funds to the Society for my Student Bursary, and also to thank Linda Richards as Symposium Co-ordinator and Liz Booty as Student Bursary Co-ordinator. Thanks also to the kind person who covered my travel expenses. Final thanks go to Valerie Cumming, whose recently received personal letter thanking me for my contribution to this year’s symposium underlines for me what a particular special and unique organisation the Costume Society is.

Being awarded a bursary for the symposium meant quite simply that I was able to attend. Writing this short report is such a small thing to give back considering the wonderful weekend I was treated to in Newcastle so I hope I am able to adequately express what I have taken away from the experience and how valuable it is too me.
The symposium was a weekend of highlights from meeting and chatting to those who have worked with the most wonderful of museum collections, written the books and articles that have shaped dress history and inspired me; to visiting the North Country for the first time and seeing the work of the talented young designers and of course enjoying the series of lectures.

Whether using purely archival or object-based approaches or a combination of methodologies the lectures made clear that studying the dress of town and country is a rewarding and effective way of exploring changing cultural and social landscapes and of understanding changing perspectives.
The interaction between town and country lives came across in all the lectures with the only fundamental difference between town and country dress appearing to be the importance of practicality in country clothing.
I applied for the bursary to attend the symposium because this year’s theme of town and country struck a cord with the research for my MA dissertation.
I am looking at a collection of late C20th clothing and accessories that belonged to a married couple Hubert and Winifred Tobitt who after 55 years of marriage died within a month of each other in 1987. They farmed in the heart of the Surrey countryside and had a great love of and involvement with horse racing.
Alongside this country life has been an ongoing interaction with London which is best characterised by the fact that they met through Hubert’s sister who worked with Winifred and her mother at Harrods. Winifred retained her Harrods discount and this connection to Harrods is found in the clothing and accessories that remain in the possession of the family.
There were many parallels to be found between the Tobitt material and the research being presented in the lectures. In particular the study of Frances Farquarson through her wardrobe presented by Christine Rew, this collection is contemporary to the items in the possession of the Tobitt family. Although the social background is very different many of the circumstances surrounding and issues related to its survival resonate within my research.
The connections to my dissertation are not all that I have taken away with me. I felt incredibly welcomed by everyone and discovered that it really is a very small world! Talking to as many people as possible while daunting was incredibly worthwhile and I feel as though I made connections which will continue to help me in my study of dress.

As a PhD student researching nineteenth-century dress at the University of Brighton, I was delighted to receive a student bursary to attend this year’s Costume Society Symposium, ‘Town and Country Style,’ held in Newcastle and County Durham.

I decided to attend the add-on day at Bowes Museum, held the day before the official start of the conference. Although we departed from Newcastle for Bowes in truly miserable weather, by the afternoon the sun had appeared and we enjoyed breathtaking views of the countryside surrounding the museum.
At the museum, we were luckily able to see part of ‘Fine and Fashionable: Lace from the Blackborne Collection,’ the recent exhibition which showcased one of the world’s most important collections of lace. We visited the conservation laboratory and were asked our opinions about treatment and display of objects in the future dress galleries. We also saw several objects from the museum’s excellent collection, including a bright green ‘croquet’ dress from the 1860s which featured an ingenious skirt-lifting mechanism. This piece was of special interest to me, as my research focuses on the development of new textile dyes in the mid-nineteenth-century.

The papers presented on Saturday and Sunday ranged widely across time, but all addressed issues of locality in dress, from Kay Staniland’s discussion of the advertisements and engravings presented to the eighteenth-century Newcastle readership of the Ladies’ Own Memorandum Book to Christine Rew’s presentation of bright (and warm!) mohair ensembles, variety of tartans, and tweed suits in the wardrobe of Frances Farquharson of Invercauld.
The fashion design awards presentation on Saturday afternoon featured a fashion show of work by students at University of Northumbria’s School of Design. Using textiles provided by Barbour and inspired by ‘Tyne and Country’, the students presented innovative ensembles to an enthusiastic audience.
Leaving the town for the country once again on Sunday, we travelled to Beamish Open Air Museum.
We visited the reconstructed 1913 town of Beamish and the nearby colliery village, as well as viewing objects from the museum’s collection. We saw fascinating early twentieth-century trade catalogues and mid- to late-nineteenth century dresses and workwear.
Of particular interest to me were a black and bright purple striped dress trimmed with purple lace and a bright blue faille dress—the museum’s records indicate that the last was a dairymaid’s wedding dress, on which she spent five shillings.

All the conference delegates were very friendly and encouraging, eager to share their knowledge and stories over meals and on coach journeys. Learning of the riches of the Beamish and Bowes collections in mid-nineteenth-century dress was happy news to me and I hope to make a return journey north soon!