This past weekend I took an 18th century stay fitting Burnley and Trowbridge workshop with the Colonial Williamsburg tailor.
With a few stays that I’ve made for myself, the fit has never been quite right.
Nor have I ever been able to put my finger on the solution.
No wonder! I learned a lot about my unique body shape.
When we first arrived, he had us share a bit about ourselves and tell why we were there.
GOAL TO ACHIEVE PROPER PERIOD IMPRESSION
The consensus of the twelve of us was quite similar, we wanted a pair of stays that fit and were comfortable.
Since stays are the foundation garment for shape and deportment, we want it to achieve the period impression while being comfortable!
TAILOR’S EXPERTISE
Tailoring of the 18th century was an apprenticed trade that required years of study and practice to learn all the techniques, tips and tricks.
Without those years of apprenticeship in tailoring, we benefit from the tailor’s expertise…and that is exactly what this class gives us.
Since the class size is limited to twelve ladies, we each get enough time with the tailor to address our queries.
KINDRED SPIRITS
In the course of taking the class I also met an amazing group of ladies from across the country!
One lady stumbled upon me in the hotel breakfast room the first morning, so that night we did our sewing homework in the hotel lobby where we had tables to spread out and bright lights to work by.
It was great having the company of another classmate to chat with as we sewed scores of basting stitches to be prepared to begin the next session in the morning.
We certainly attracted attention from hotel guests who were utterly fascinated and asked great questions and truly appreciated our work!
They were probably there because of a planned visit to Colonial Williamsburg so this interaction likely continued their little history journey to the past.
This lady and I also had dinner together with two other ladies who remembered me and my daughter from a Colonial Williamsburg Costume Design Center sewing class a few years ago on pockets.
MODELING THE PINK STAYS FROM THE TAILOR SHOP
During class I had a bit of fun in class when I got to be a model!
Since the tailor was looking for a classic shape to model one of the stays, he chose me!
The pink 1770’s stays, which usually hang from the ceiling in the shop, and which I’ve always admired and longed for, were modeled on me!
I forget what his point was, but he shared so much incredible information that I wrote pages of notes for later reference.
We were also given many documented materials to take home.
During fitting time, all the ladies were properly endowed to look great in their basted stays.
MODELING HISTORIC MINIMALLY FLUFFED ASSETS
Finally, my moment came, the tailor laced me up, told me to look in the mirror, and as usual I was disappointed in how I looked.
No matter. The tailor has wonderful solutions for me!
He used me as a teaching moment sharing some great historical information from his research!
Despite my minimally fluffed assets in front, the ladies raved about my back!
They said it looked beautiful with the long lines.
That encouragement was so sweet!
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THIS CLASS
Some of you have asked me how to prepare for a class such as this, which employs only hand stitching.
There were no sewing machines in the 18th century, so only hand sewing is done in class.
While waiting for it to be offered I kept hand sewing all of my 18th century costumes.
The more hand sewing you do, the better prepared you’ll be for the class.
