Aubree's Dressmaking Notebook

History Timeline

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Victorian

1837–1901
  • A cream and tan cotton corset of about 1885 by the Worcester Corset Company, shown on a dress form, with its shaped panels, boning channels and front busk visible.
    Victorian Corsetry

    How Victorian corsets were made and how their shape changed from the 1840s to 1900 - steel boning, metal eyelets, the split busk and steam moulding - plus myths, reform, and what to know before sewing a reproduction.

Edwardian

1901–1914
  • A white cotton day dress of 1903 on a dress form, with a high collar, a bodice pouched over the waist, rows of tucks and lace insertion, and a skirt that flares toward the hem.
    Edwardian Era

    Western fashion from 1901 to about 1914 - the S-bend corset and pouter-pigeon bodice, lingerie dresses and tailor-mades, the straighter silhouette after 1908 - and how to sew Edwardian-style tucks, lace insertion and gored skirts.

1920s

1920–1929
  • A sleeveless pink silk dress of about 1925 by the House of Lucile, hanging straight from the shoulders with no waist shaping, trimmed with cream embroidered bands.
    1920s Flapper Silhouette

    The dropped waist, straight lines and rising hemlines of the 1920s - how the silhouette changed through the decade, Chanel, Lanvin and Patou, beading on chiffon, home sewing, and how to construct a 1920s dress.

1930s

1930–1939
  • A 1930s-style bias-cut ivory satin gown with a cowl neckline on a dress form, the fabric pooling at the hem.
    1930s Bias-Cut Silhouette

    How the 1930s brought back the natural waist and body-skimming curves through the bias cut - Vionnet, Hollywood's influence, the Letty Lynton dress, broad shoulders at the end of the decade - and how to cut and sew a bias gown.

1940s

1940–1949
  • A late-1940s-style suit on a dress form: a fitted cream jacket with a padded peplum over a long, full black pleated skirt.
    The New Look (1947)

    Christian Dior's February 1947 collection - the wartime rationing it broke with, the Bar suit and Corolle line, why it caused protests - and how its padded, boned, full-skirted construction works.

1950s

1950–1959
  • A 1950s-style floral cotton dress on a dress form, with a fitted bodice and a full skirt held out by a petticoat.
    1950s Hourglass Silhouette

    The full-skirted and sheath silhouettes of the 1950s, how they evolved from the New Look to Balenciaga's 1957 chemise, the boom in home sewing and nylon, and how to sew a 1950s-style dress with the right foundations.

1960s

1960–1969
  • A colour-blocked shift dress in red, blue, yellow and white panels outlined in black, in the style of the mid-1960s Mondrian dresses, on a dress form.
    1960s Mod Silhouette

    The 1960s in three silhouettes - ladylike early-decade suits, the mod shift and miniskirt, and the late-decade maxi - with Quant, Courrèges, Cardin and Saint Laurent, new synthetics, and how to sew a 1960s shift dress.

1970s

1970–1979
  • A 1970s-style paisley wrap dress with flared sleeves, tied at the waist, on a dress form.
    1970s Eclectic Silhouette

    A decade of several styles at once - prairie and boho, disco and Halston, Diane von Furstenberg's wrap dress, Annie Hall menswear and punk - with polyester everywhere, and how to sew a wrap dress.

1980s

1980–1989
  • Hands pinning a thick shoulder pad into the shoulder of a grey pinstripe blazer on a dress form.
    1980s Power Dressing

    Big shoulders and body-conscious stretch - power suits as women moved into management, Lycra and aerobics wear, Japanese deconstruction - and how to build a 1980s padded-shoulder jacket and a stretch body-con dress.

1990s

1990–1999
  • A minimalist charcoal satin slip dress with thin straps and a cowl neckline on a dress form.
    1990s Minimalism and Grunge

    Grunge's flannel and thrift-store layers, Marc Jacobs' 1993 Perry Ellis collection, the minimalism of Calvin Klein, Jil Sander and Helmut Lang, the slip dress, and the late-decade boho turn - plus how to sew a bias slip dress.

2000s

2000–2009
  • Low-rise flared jeans sitting on the hips of a dress form, well below the natural waist.
    2000s: Low-Rise and Fast Fashion

    Low-rise jeans and crop tops, the denim decade, velour tracksuits and logo 'It' items, boho chic, celebrity and online shopping, and the rise of fast fashion - plus what it means for sewing low-rise trousers today.

2010s

2010–2019
  • Hands guiding black performance leggings fabric through an overlocker while sewing on a waistband.
    2010s Athleisure Silhouette

    Activewear as everyday clothing, normcore, white trainers and streetwear, Instagram's effect on trends, the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, and the revival of home sewing - plus what it takes to sew activewear.

2020s

2020–2029
  • Hands stitching a visible mend on the knee of grey knit trousers, a dark patch held on with rows of white running stitch.
    2020s: Comfort and Nostalgia

    Fashion so far this decade - pandemic loungewear and the sewing boom, cottagecore, the fast Y2K and 1990s revival, 'quiet luxury', microtrends and ultra-fast fashion, and the growth of mending and secondhand clothing.

Not tied to one era

Cross-era pieces that don't belong to a single point on the timeline above.