Southern Counties Costume Society
Welcome Text
Welcome
The Southern Counties Costume Society (SCCS) was formed in 1995 to bring together people interested in all aspects of textiles, clothing construction, accessories and ornamentation across the centuries.
The exchange of ideas, knowledge and shared interests is always an enjoyable part of our Society. Period and vintage dress, theatrical costumes, ethnic clothing, button making, re-enactment costumes, conservation and care of textiles, wartime austerity and haute couture have all featured in the Society’s activities in the past.
Membership is widespread and activities are held throughout Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Sussex, Surrey and London. We organise events in person and online, including lectures, study days, visits to museums, stately homes and private collections. We also encourage members to interact and organise their own meet ups at events and exhibitions.
Our regular e-newsletters share news about upcoming events and exhibitions, interesting online content and contributions from our members.
Whilst our interests are serious, the Society is friendly and fun and we welcome new members.
ON INSTAGRAM
There’s just a week to go until our Study Day, “A Celebration of Costume” on 2nd March in Itchen Abbas near Winchester.
Tickets are £25 for members and £30 for non-members who are very welcome to join us. If you haven’t already booked, you can do so via Eventbrite. (Follow the link in our bio.)
We hope you can join us!
#dresshistory #fashionhistory #costumehistory #textileconservation #regencyfashion #gothfashion #18thcenturydress #tudorhistory
Not long now until our Study Day “A Celebration of Costume” on 2nd March in Itchen Abbas near Winchester.
Just to recap our fantastic line up of speakers, we`ll be hearing from Katie Godman-Sinclair on "Regency Goth". Rebecca Olds will be talking about the surprising popularity of Spitalfields silk in 18th Century Scotland. Nikki Miles will explore her research into the clothing of the Verney family in the 17th Century. Finally, our keynote speaker, renowned Early Modern historian Maria Hayward, will be sharing her research into linens and lace worn by Elizabeth I. Truly a celebration of fashion through the centuries!
Tickets are £25 for members and £30 for non-members who are very welcome to join us. If you haven’t already booked, you can do so via Eventbrite. (Link in bio above.)
We hope you can join us!
#dresshistory #fashionhistory #costumehistory #textileconservation #regencyfashion #gothfashion #18thcenturydress #tudorhistory
Tickets are still available for our Study Day, “A Celebration of Costume” on 2nd March in Itchen Abbas near Winchester.
As well as the fantastic speakers that we have lined up (see our previous posts), there’ll be plenty of opportunities to meet and chat, our very own "Repair Shop", a sales table, displays of members` garments.
Tickets are £25 for members and £30 for non-members who are very welcome to join us. If you haven’t already booked, you can do so via Eventbrite. See the link in our bio.
We hope to see you there!
#dresshistory #fashionhistory #costumehistory #textileconservation
We`ve been posting recently to introduce the speakers for our upcoming Study Day coming up soon on 2nd March near Winchester, Hampshire. Last to introduce, but by no means least, is Niki Miles who will be presenting a talk on the clothing of Sir Ralph Verney and his family during the Civil War and Interregnum (1643 - 1653).
An accountant by trade, Niki changed direction and completed an MA in Textiles and Dress at the Textile Conservation Centre in Winchester. She has since completed a Doctorate, has worked as a Costume Project Manager for the National Trust (working with the Verney collection of seventeenth century clothing) and looks after the collection at The School of Historical Dress.
Nikki will be sharing with us her research on the clothing of Sir Ralph Verney, his wife and two of their children, whose clothing tells a fascinating story. The family moved to live in Europe for nine years during the English Civil War, and so had to live with discretion and anonymity. Drawing on the extensive Verney archive, this paper will look at how the clothing worn by the family differed whilst abroad to when in England and whether this came about by choice or necessity. It will also review the practicalities of sourcing, wearing and caring for clothing and textiles in unfamiliar countries.
To join us for this talk and others as part of our Celebration of Fashion, you can book tickets now via Eventbrite. (Link in bio above.)
#fashionhistory #dresshistory #costumehistory #17thcenturydress #EnglishCivilWar
We’re looking forward to our Study Day coming up soon on 2nd March near Winchester, Hampshire. We’re excited this year to be covering a breadth of eras and themes in our “Celebration of Fashion”, and Katie Godman-Sinclair’s talk on “Regency Goths” is set to be a fascinating one.
Katie is Museum Operations Manager at Blandford Fashion Museum and visiting lecturer at Lawrence College. Having studied Creative Writing at the University of Leeds and an MA Fashion Cultures: History and Culture at London College of Fashion, she received the Yarwood Award from the Costume Society to fund her research into women’s fashion in the early 1800s. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4 discussing gothic fashion and has given talks on historical fashion for a range of conferences, museums and heritage organisations. Her book Gothic Fashion: The History was published by Unicorn Publishing Group in October 2022.
Her talk will examine the shift from the neo-classical to the gothic in the early 19th century, and look at the causes for this dramatic change in silhouette including gothic fiction, the industrial revolution and the Napoleonic wars.
To join us for this talk and others as part of our Celebration of Fashion, you can book tickets now via Eventbrite. Visit the link in our bio above.
#fashionhistory #dresshistory #costumehistory #gothfashion #regencyfashion
Celebration of Fashion, 2nd March near Winchester, Hampshire.
Ahead of our Study Day coming up very soon, we’re sharing a bit more information on the exciting line up of speakers who will be joining us.
Rebecca Olds is a freelance dress historian currently writing up her dissertation for Glasgow University’s Dress and Textile Histories masters program. She advocates ‘learning through reconstruction’ as a window through which the lived experiences of people in the past can be understood through their clothing. She is currently researching women’s clothing in eighteenth-century Scotland.
Rebecca’s talk will be on “Fashion in the Scottish Highlands and the demand for London’s Spitalfields silks, in the early 18th century”.
What started as the object study of an antique dress inherited by a woman in Australia turned into a quest to understand why elite Scottish women who rarely left their Highland estates were consuming London fashions in the early 18th century. The surviving gown dates from that early period and is made from a particular style of silk that was at the cutting edge of fashion in London at the time. Rebecca’s research engages with recent scholarship about polite society in Edinburgh in the middle of the 18th century, using family records and letters to extend these findings much further back in time and much further north than previously thought. She will share how this Highland woman’s gown also connects with a growing body of evidence that Highlanders – far from being cut off and ignorant of scientific and technological advancements–were in fact closely engaged with European ideologies and experimentation, as well as with the earliest stages of the Scottish Enlightenment.
To join us for this talk and others as part of our Celebration of Fashion, you can book tickets now via Eventbrite.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-celebration-of-costume-tickets-801806824797
#fashionhistory #dresshistory #costumehistory #georgianfashion #18thcenturydress #scottishhistory #scottishfashion
Celebration of Fashion, 2nd March near Winchester, Hampshire.
Our Study Day on Saturday 2 March at Itchen Abbas near Winchester is fast approaching. Over the next week we’ll be sharing some more information on the speakers who will be joining us.
We’re delighted and very excited to be welcoming as our keynote speaker Maria Hayward, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Southampton. Maria’s research and teaching on the Tudors and Stuarts, with a particular emphasis on textiles and clothing, has led to her being widely published and internationally recognised for her expertise. If you are interested in the clothing of the 16th and 17th centuries, you`re almost bound to have one of her books on your bookshelf!
Maria will focus on Elizabeth I in her talk talk entitled ‘Women’s work, women’s gifts?: The place of smocks, ruffs, veils and head attires in Elizabeth I’s wardrobe’. Drawing on New Years gift rolls, the accounts for the wardrobe of the robes, and the queen’s portraiture, this talk will explore the significance of linen goods and associated items worn by Elizabeth I. In particular how such items were associated with female gift giving at the Elizabethan court and how far the production, trade and care of these items was undertaken by women.
To join us for this talk and others as part of our Celebration of Fashion, you can book tickets now via Eventbrite. Follow the link in our bio. 👆 Open to both members and non-members who are very welcome to come along.
#costumehistory #dresshistory #fashionhistory #tudorhistory
📣 We`d like to invite you to our AGM and Study Day for 2024: A Celebration of Costume. 🎉 We`re looking forward to being back in our old venue in Itchen Abbas, near Winchester. We`ll have five fantastic speakers (more details shared about them here soon), our very own "Repair Shop", a sales table, displays of members` garments, and plenty of time to mingle and catch up. Tickets are £25 for members and £30 for non-members who are very welcome to join us. See link in bio for further info. #dresshistory #fashionhistory #costumehistory #textileconservation #regencyfashion #18thcenturydress #georgianfashion #17thcenturydress
Wishing all of our members and friends a very happy Christmas and festive season. 🎄
Image © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Fashion Plate published in The Young Ladies` Journal, December 1875. Accession number E.321-1955
#costumehistory #fashionhistory #dresshistory #victorianfashion #victorianchristmas #19thcenturyfashion
We`ve been busy planning for 2024! 🗓 The SCCS committee has been meeting recently to finalise plans for 2024 events, and we`re looking forward to sharing with you, including our AGM and study day on 2 March.
If you`re not a member, why not join us in the new year? If you`re a member, why not invite a friend who may be interested? We`re a friendly group and always happy to welcome new members. Just click on the link in the bio.
#dresshistory #fashionhistory #costumehistory
One of the exclusives available to SCCS members on the visit to The School of Historical Dress in London on Saturday 16th September is a look at a preview copy of the new revised Patterns of Fashion 4 on linen c.1540-1660 before it’s publication. @theschoolofhistoricaldress1
As well as a guided tour of the Blue exhibition, additional items from the School collection will be brought out for a close look. So whether your interest is research, making, embroidery, techniques or a general love of historical textiles and dress, there will be something exciting to see.
Members can book via the link in their email or see our private Facebook group. Not a member? You`re welcome to join! (No fee. Link in bio.)
#costumedesign #dresshistory #18thcenturydress #textileconservation #costumehistory #textilehistory #fashionhistory #filmcostume #theatrecostume #patternsoffashion #patternsoffashion4
There are still places available for our next in-person event, which is a return to The School of Historical Dress on Saturday 16th September. @theschoolofhistoricaldress1
We`ll be exploring how original dress and textiles from their collection and elsewhere are used as a primary sources for making informed interpretations for film, theatre, collaborations and events.
Jenny Tiramani will be sharing her extensive knowledge of period textiles and theatre and film costumes, and we`ll view items from the School Collections, including textiles from the renaissance and eighteenth century.
In addition, there will be a guided tour of the current exhibition ‘Blue – stories of wasteless and wasteful clothing told through blue textiles and dress from our collection’.
Why not become and member and join us? There`s no membership fee and we always welcome new members. Link in bio.
Photo courtesy of @timesmith_dress_history
#textilehistory #dresshistory #georgianfashion #18thcenturydress #fashionhistory #costumehistory #costumedesign #textileconservation #filmcostume #theatrecostume
What a fantastic day out yesterday for a group of members who met at the Queen`s Gallery for Style and Society: Dressing the Georgians. A fascinating exhibition with a real mixture of art, artefacts and stunning costume. The sun shone for a walk in the park and a cup of tea afterwards. Looking forward to future meet ups. #textilehistory #dresshistory #costumehistory #fashionhistory #georgianfashion #georgianbritain #18thcenturydress #regencyfashion #styleandsociety @royalcollectiontrust
We wanted to share an exciting project that SCCS member Rebecca is undertaking soon at Paxton House. Along with a fellow dress history student, she will be at the house over five days recreating an iconic 18th Century gown of the type that would have been worn by the house`s mistress in the 1770s. ALthough it`s not in our region, this will be an interesting project to follow.
More information available on the Paxton House website. Event runs from 3-7 April. @paxton_house
#costumehistory #dresshistory #fashionhistory #textilehistory #paxtonhouse
Thanks to everyone who joined our online AGM this evening. Lots of great discussion and exciting plans for 2023. Lovely to see everyone’s faces.
#costumehistory #costumedesign #fashionhistory #dresshistory
Wishing all our followers a very Happy New Year! This has to be one of the best fancy dress costumes for tonight`s celebrations, from the collections of Fashion Museum Bath
RIP Dame Vivienne Westwood
SCCS is saddened to hear of the passing of Dame Vivienne Westwood. One of our most influential British fashion designers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64122181
Earlier this month SCCS members had a Pre-Christmas meet up online and heard from two of our previous bursary recipients.
Emily Gallagher, a PhD candidate at Birkbeck College, talked to us about her project exploring the collecting practices and writings of dress historian Cecil Cunnington. @e.mgallagher
Gabriella Venus, a student on the MA Historical Costume programme at Arts University Bournemouth, shared with us her project to create a female pirate costume inspired by the protagonist Dona St. Columb from Daphne du Maurier’s 1941 novel ‘Frenchman’s Creek’. @gabs_v
Photo credits: Emily Gallagher and Gabriella Venus
#costumehistory #fashionhistory #textilehistory #dresshistory #frenchmanscreek #costumedesign #daphnedumaurier
Introducing our new logo. We incorporated an art deco motif similar to our first logo from many years ago, combined with motifs taken from four centuries of textile designs. We wanted the new logo to reflect the diverse range of interests across all of our members and a little nod to our history. We hope you like it! #costumehistory #fashionhistory #dresshistory #textilehistory
Southern Counties Costume Society wish to express our very great sadness at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this time.
📷 Photograph by Cecil Beaton depicting Queen Elizabeth II on Coronation Day, Buckingham Palace, 1953. V&A Museum, accession number PH.311-1987.