Your Wardrobe Unlock'd

We talk to a dress historian, portrait specialist and photo detective about her work, and present a competition for you!

Janyce Hill of the Vintage Pattern Lending Library tells us all about her ambitious archival project, showing us a few of her patterns.

We intervew Izabela Zebrowska, an amazing costumer and proprietor of Prior Attire. 

 

This month, we talk to Cynthia Barnes, a woman whose passion for historic dance has led to a consuming costuming hobby. Her costuming efforts have crossed a broad range of periods, and her efforts to get the right look have led her to collaborate with other craftsworkers to discover ways to reproduce distant costume accessories, like wheel farthingales and chopines.

In this interview, Cynthia joins us to discuss her latest projects, costuming herself as a man and the fine line between enthusiasm for vintage dance and historic costuming.

Kass McGann has lectured on the subject of historical clothing on three continents, publishing articles on specific items of historic dress as well as how-to guides for reenactors. Unlike many costume historians who describe what clothing of a certain period looks like, Kass seeks to understand how it was made. Her business, Reconstructing History, makes this information available worldwide with an extensive line of historical dressmaker patterns that are exacting in historical detail and include copious notes of interest and simple directions.Kass talks to us this month about where her obsession came from, where she intends to take it, and how she deals with projects that won't behave themselves!

 

This month marks the first anniversary of Marion McNealy's association with Your Wardrobe Unlock'dTM, firstly as Sub-Editor and now as our Editor. It's a role that keeps her busy helping Publisher Catherine Hay to create content and manage the technical side of keeping the site running.

Marion has a rich background in historic costuming through her research into the lives of common German women in the Renaissance era. She joins us to discuss her research as well as to give us a glimpse of how she became involved with online publishing.

 

Vivien Hoffpauir is an artist and designer of boundless energy who has found business success bringing her enthusiasm for "Lolita" style to American women.

This month, she talked to us about her creative influences, her unique and very original twist on traditional 18th century European clothing - and what led her to start up not one, but two commercial fashion labels, including one of the first lines of Lolita clothing sold outside Japan.

 

 

 

As co-owner of the Lord of the Rings Costuming Website and the F-Costume Yahoo Group , Judy Mitchell is a costuming evangelist. In May, she will head up historic costuming activities at this year's CostumeCon in Baltimore, MD. Judy joins us this to discuss her passion for Scandanavian costumes and to give us a preview of what to expect at CostumeCon.

 

 

This month we ask YWU's founder about her own sewing work, why she started YWU and where she sees the site going in the future.

 

This month, we talk to a master of accurate historical costume, German artist Mauritia Kirchner. Her portfolio features a vast selection of the most extraordinary historical reproductions, complete in every detail down to the exquisite hand embroidery and taking an average of six months to complete.

Mauritia agreed to talk to us about her work, her principles, her methods and her dream project.

If you make costumes for yourself, it's important not only to study the past, but to develop a sense of personal style.

One woman who has no trouble combining her own take on the Victorian bustle period with elements of Goth, steampunk and pure fantasy is Kathryn Stelzer of Philadelphia in the United States, known to her friends as Madame Kat.

This month Cathy interviews Danish artist Thomas Sjølander.

You may not recognise his name, but you'll know his work: Thomas did the incredible machine embroidery on the costumes for some of your favourite movies, including Finding Neverland, Phantom of the Opera and most recently, The Duchess.

This month we have the pleasure of having an exclusive interview with Jill Salen, author of the new book "Corsets", which we are reviewing this month.

She shares with us what insprired her to write the book, how she got started and what her next book will be.

This month we interview Linda Sparks, owner of Farthingales LA and Farthingales (Canada).

She talks about how she got started, why she started Farthingales and about her book on corsets coming out in December!

This month we interview Hilary Davidson, a curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London.

 

 

 

 

This month we interview Laura Mellin, aka "The Attack Laurel", about her extreme costuming and embroidery work. As someone who not only embraces but actually carries out Holy Grail projects every day, she's an inspiration to us all at YWU!

British costumier Suzi Clarke has over 35 years' experience working with costume for theatre, including the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal National Theatre, Amsterdam Opera, film, T.V., museums, and for static displays, re-enactors, historical dancers and costumed interpreters.

Friend of both Jean Hunnisett and Janet Arnold, she talks a bit about them and shares some tips with us.

Lorna tells us about her life in sewing, from her first minidresses in the Sixties right through to a very modern bridalwear business!

This month, our interviewee tells us all about her work as a designer and maker of fine historical costumes.

Laurie Tavan's obsession with costuming comes as something of a surprise to many people, including herself. She trained in the life sciences at Cornell University, diving into study of ornithology and marine ecology with great enthusiasm.

Nobody would have expected that just a few years after leaving school for the "real world," she would be on another track entirely, having fallen completely in love with historical costuming. She approached it with her signature single-minded zeal, personifying the concept that "anything worth doing is worth overdoing."

She brings to costuming a potent blend of rigorous historical research and free-spirited artistic drive.

 

YWU attracts costumers and seamstresses from all parts of the world and all walks of life, but also from a wide variety of age groups.

This month our Reader Profile features one of our youngest readers. Shari's learning as fast as she can about the costume she loves and how to make it into a rewarding career...