The Age of the Mantua Maker -- or, why the 18th century?

Hi, I'm Rebecca Olds of Timesmith Dressmaking. I'm a researcher, maker and teacher of historical dress, women's dress, of the 18th century. And to get really specific, a period running from approximately 1675 to about 1790 plus a few years. Why this period? How can I be so specific? Because this was the age of the Mantua Maker, which history would reveal to be almost an aberration in the timeline of the past 1,000 years. Nora Waugh gave a great summary of the revolutionary changes that happened in the 1670s in her book, The Cut of Women's Clothes. There was a bit of a revolt by the women in the French court of Louis XIV. They wanted to ditch the heavily boned bodices that they had been wearing for decades in favor of a looser gown in which the fabric was draped into pleats that molded the figure and then fell in graceful folds into the skirts. A law was passed in France in 1675, allowing women to make women's outerwear independently of tailors. By 1688, Mantua's were fashionable in England. And just a few years later, Edinburgh was granting licenses to women to make these new dresses. So what exactly is a Mantua? Well, here's an early example, British from approximately 1690 that is in the Met Museum in New York City. This style evolved as time went on, but by 1720, two dominant styles had emerged. Both had pleats down the back, but one left them loose and flowing and the other stitched them down, close fitting to the back. These two styles went on to spawn a number of varieties. So here in the last quarter of the 17th century, we have quite suddenly and for the first time, a specialized, skilled trade where women make clothing for women. This trade provided a platform for women to own and run businesses, to be active in commerce, to be key economic players. It was also a trade that was open to women of just about every background and class provided she or her family had the fees to pay for her apprenticeship. How she then got on in her business was tied to her class, her status and her circumstances. But girls and women from a wide range of working and genteel backgrounds took advantage of this new opportunity to invest in their financial futures, to pay their way, even support families. This was a world where women with this skill set were set apart from plain sewing or the basic ability to stitch together an unfitted garment. Mantra makers were the creators and makers of iconic styles that continue to fire our imaginations and inspire our admiration even today. They were artisans and business women navigating social and economic spheres in ways that would be lost and nearly forgotten just a few decades into the 19th century. This was because their ways of working left little mark in the written record and they elicit barely a footnote in the mainstream narratives of our past. But I'm part of a growing body of historians determined to change that. Whether it's an interest in women's history, social history, economic history, a passion for learning through reconstruction, we are seeing an explosion of scholarship that is bringing these 18th century dressmakers out of the shadows, peering into their world and illuminating the role that they played in clothing our ancestresses. I am driven by a desire to figure out not just how to make the clothes the way the Mantua makers did, their cutting, the stitching, the fitting, the order of construction, but to see if it's possible to get a peek into the mindset, to understand the values and priorities of the women who are producing and consuming fashion in this period. I believe this is important because all too often historians looking at clothing from this time period are dismissive of what they perceive as messy sewing, not appreciating there were very good reasons for using methods that are less than perfect to our modern eyes. But speaking of modern times, it's really amazing to compare life then and life now. With rare exceptions, just like us, our great, great, great grandmothers did not have the time or the skills to make their own clothes. Yet unlike us, they weren't buying clothing in stock sizes off the rack. They had clothes made for them. If you could get fabric, you could find a Mantua maker near you, and you could almost certainly afford her services. So women of all ages, most classes, backgrounds and circumstances could wear clothes that were made bespoke for them. And they could have clothing expertly altered, even unpicked and entirely remade by these Mantua makers. More often than not, they knew these women who made and remade their clothes. These dressmakers touched our foremothers lives in a very literal sense. They pinned, poked and prodded, discussed fashions and design ideas. And at the end of the day, they did their best to make our foremothers happy and comfortable. So what was important to these women, both the makers and the wearers? What did they want from their clothing? And how did they go about getting it? In my studies, I've come to appreciate how the skills of a Mantua maker set her apart. Mantua makers weren't just born knowing how to do what they did. They served apprenticeships that involved devoting nearly every waking moment for years of their lives to learning these skills. Anyone today who wants to make clothing like they did, are just like our ancestresses on the other side of a huge skills gap. We haven't been taught those particular skills of cutting shapes on the body. No wonder we struggle to get our heads around how they did what they did. No wonder it seems like a foreign language at times. And it's completely normal to think this is hard, because it is, until someone teaches us. Even a skilled modern dressmaker doesn't have the very specific skills that were used in making garments in this particular era. The obvious route is to try to use modern methods to try and bridge that gap, to at least get the right look, even if by very different means. But when we look at extant garments, as so often is the case, we find things were made the way they were for a reason. And if we truly want to understand period clothing, and understand women of the past, we need to find out how they did it. So how do we bridge that gap? Learn those skills. Here is where I hope my channel can help you. I hope that the research I will be sharing, the tutorials I will be teaching, step by step walking and talking you through projects will help bridge that gap. A theme you're going to see running through many of my videos is trying to find the messages that were left by those mantramakers as to how they made their clothing, and then working with you in improving ways to replicate that process. It's not just stitches and techniques, it's understanding the priorities and goals too. Please don't hesitate to ask questions in the comments section below. If you've wondered about it, someone else will have too. Let me know what you think and what you'd like me to cover. Please also, if you like this video, click like, click subscribe and that little notifications bell so that you'll be notified as soon as a new video is released. So welcome aboard as we delve into the world of 18th century clothing to look at how it was made. I'm really happy to be here, and I hope you are too.