Getting Dressed

A practical demonstration of dressing and
undressing for women of the upper and lower classes in the eighteenth century.

In conjunction with the exhibition Threads of Feeling, dress historian Jenny Tiramani presents a practical demonstration of dressing and undressing for women of the upper and lower classes in the second half of the eighteenth century. Getting Dressed will use reconstructed garments made in September 2010 for a production of Handel’s Orlando at Opera Lille and the Théatre Des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Six or more layers of clothing were required to achieve the fashionable silhouette of a robe à l’anglaise, with each layer performing a different function. The talk will explore the differing properties of the various materials used to construct these layers, from fine cotton muslins to crisp, crunchy silks and corsets spectacularly stiffened with glued linens, buckram,pasteboard, bents, whalebone, wood and metal. There will be some examples of surviving textiles and garments available for the audience to inspect closely and, in some cases, touch.

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