Description
Book SynopsisShirts, Shifts and Sheets of Fine Linen explores how the jobs of the seamstress' evolved in scope, and status, between 1600-1900.
In the 17th and early 18th centuries, seamstressing was a trade for women who worked in linen and cotton, making men's shirts, women's chemises, underwear and baby linen; some of these seamstresses were consummate craftswomen, able to sew with stitches almost invisible to the naked eye. Few examples of their work survive, but those that do attest to their skill. However, as the ready-to-wear trade expanded in the 18th century, women who assembled these garments were also known as seamstresses, and by the 1840s, most seamstresses were outworkers for companies or entrepreneurs, paid unbelievably low rates per dozen for the garments they produced, notorious examples of downtrodden, exploited womenfolk.
Drawing on a range of original and hitherto unpublished sources, including business diaries, letters and bills, Shirts, Shifts
Trade Review
Pam Inder has accomplished a monumental feat of scholarship with this comprehensive history of the seamstress. It is an invaluable resource for understanding the lives and economies devoted to what was long considered to be “women's work”. * Jean Druesedow, Kent State University, USA *
Pam Inder’s forensic research shines a spotlight into the corners of the seamstress’s world and gives voice to their lives. * Kate Strasdin, Falmouth University, UK *
An important contribution to the study of female achievement in the provision of simple but essential clothing and household linens. Across three centuries, using original documents and artistic and literary sources, this book offers a fresh perspective on the role of seamstresses in relation to dress history. * Valerie Cumming, Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society, UK *
Table of Contents
List of Plates List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction 1. ‘The Art and Mystery of Simistry’ in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 2. ‘Well-handed Needlewomen’ 3. The Development of Ready-to-Wear 4. ‘Linnen Drapery at Reasonable Rates’ 1720-1820 5. Slops and Slop-sellers 6. ‘Seam and Gusset and Band’ 7. ‘Society came and shuddered’ 8. Bespoke Needlework 9. Real Lives 10. The Seamstress in Art and Literature Conclusion Notes Bibliography Image sources Index
