The American Duchess Podcast: Episode 31: Original Edwardian Clothing with Dr. Robyne Calvert

In our last podcast episode, Lauren and Abby sat down with Dr. Robyne Calvert to discuss all things related to Artistic and Aesthetic Dress, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Margaret MacDonald, the Glasgow School of Art, and Glasgow's own unique spin on clothing during the Edwardian Era.

This week, we get to actually examine the original garments that the Glasgow School of Art Archives brought out for us. Featuring a gorgeous embroidered velvet collar, velvet and fur capelet, and a *stunning* Edwardian Dress that was also a Suffragette Dress, this episode is just brimming with gorgeous embroidered goodness! We still dream fondly of the collars and dress, and so we hope you enjoy this episode!

Again, we want to extend our sincerest thanks to Dr. Robyne Calvert and the Glasgow School of Art Archives for their time and generosity.

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If you'd like to read more about the original garments we looked at, you can find them here:

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Ann Macbeth's Books (Free!)

Embroidered and Laced Leatherwork

School and Fireside Crafts

The Playwork Book

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[cecelia]

Hearing how knowledgeable you all are is great. I never doubted it but it's just so cool hearing you go into the details of if its beaver or rabbit fur was neat!

[Neonatnoon]

I haven't really been inspired to make my own historical dress, but for some reason these collars and this group make me want to pick it up. Thanks for the inspiration!

[d.rabbitwhite]

If this went 5 hours, I'd sit and watch it in its entirety. Thank you.

I've been finding so much online stuff as the pandemic has inspired sites to shout out access to all the things, that I now feel I don't have enough time to go through all the things.

[Fenrisaconite]

I full on GASPED when that green dress was revealed. WOW ❤

[ConstanceCravingnz]

OMG that sage and plum I got a lump i my throat just looking at it! Thank you for bringing these things to us. Also, I reckon that dress is tussah.

[moonargentum]

This is so interesting! Artistic dress is fascinating and I feel like I learned a lot from this, thanks for the amazing insight!

[sidsimpson]

CoCoVid has sent me down glorious rabbit holes about Artistic Dress, etc. This video is amazing and gives so much important information about not just the fashion, but the ideas and the people creating this amazing stuff. So many resources to explore just from this conversation. It is wonderful to hear your exchanges of ideas of how to bring these fashion pieces into wardrobes today. Thank you so much.

[marliesethomas]

I got to study the Thornycroft dress at the Victoria & Albert last December. Finding Robyn's research online was invaluable in helping me prepare!

[susanpolastaples]

When I first saw the dress, I thought of the Suffragette Movement because of the colours. There was also Suffragette jewellery, too.

[marketst]

Wonderful - loved this podcast - the marvellous embroidery and the interrelationship of 'artistic dress' and the suffragettes - dissolving in a way a long held (patriarchal) 'mythology' that fascination and engagement with costume and dress design necessarily precludes 'political' resonances - in fact this highlights the nuanced relationship that many women had with their artistic (whether 'domestic' or 'professional') productions and how they regarded these as a something that intersected psyche and personal expression as much as to do with any outward 'appearances'. Thanks again !

[meamela]

The placement of the pocket was so fascinating! Also so many beautiful garments!

[samanthahayman]

Beautiful textiles, I've been interested in artistic dress and Glasgow school embroidery for years. Great opportunity to see the back side and the inside, all the bits a fellow maker wants to see, but a simple photograph rarely shows.
Regarding the dress pocket, I would say that the position of the pocket adds a lot of weight to the argument that it's a suffrage dress, if you wanted to smuggle pamphlets, or chains or a toffee hammer (for smashing windows), that would be a great location for escaping police checks.

[lenore_nvrmore]

Abby: *so this is an hisroric ‘feminist’ dress..?* I love the smile of slow recognition to amazement, and finally WOW and then: thanks on laurens face it starts slow, yet gains momentum as your realisation is complete. A beautiful smile, as well. (Edited to say: all of your smiles are beautiful...thank you for this video, i am in awe of you all)

[ClueFinderDirtDigger]

I adored every second of this! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing opportunity with us.

[JohnSmith-gnjk]

Did costumes for local theater starting in the 60's. Collected vintage clothes to use as costumes. Hate to tell you this but I costumed entire casts of Victorian shows in original clothes of the times. Still have some of my favorite pieces many in very good condition, but donated most to a couple different theaters several years ago when at that time I just didn't have the time to devote to it .

[sharonfischer]

I am making a dress inspired by this one. It will look very similar but not exactly reproduce all of the construction elements as a trip to Glasgow is out of the question at the moment. I would love to see a back view (and as a researcher imagine it would make sense to have a photo or two of the back for the archive.

[fitzyfitz]

that green dress is the prettiest thing I've ever seen oh my god

[fabmel]

Thank you very much for all the insigths! Love the suffragette dress.

[Siansonea]

Do we have any sense of how much the colors have changed in these pieces since the time they were made? I know these have been carefully conserved for many years, but I also know that many dye types are not terribly durable. Some of the colors on the embroidery for example appear quite vivid, and I just wonder if the surrounding colors were once equally saturated.

[ericalbany]

Shoulder capes were very "In" in the 1910's, in the US they were often circular- as if the woman had her head through a disc