Textile Stories: The Fabric of
Everyday Life
A Study Day held at the
University of Chester
Saturday 15th June 2013
Carol Edwards and Pat Barlow, both MA students
in English at the University of Chester, compiled this report of the Textile Stories Study Day.
Carol’s account of the morning sessions:
This free event attracted an almost exclusively female audience, only
one man was present. The first presentation was called ‘The Lightfoot
Letters’:
Maria Walker, a textile
artist, and Angela Topping, a poet, talked about their collaborative work and
an amazing coincidence. Maria had bought, on a whim, a bundle of old letters
with the idea of using the stamps and parts of the writing in her work.
However, having read them she became too intrigued to dismantle them. The
letters were to a young woman, Frances Lightfoot, who was living away from her
family home in the 1920s. Maria began to use the narratives in the letters,
along with her own artefacts and old family photographs, in her displays. When
she met Angela Topping, who was equally intrigued by the use of words in art,
they began to share ideas and combine their work. Here is where the coincidence
arises - it transpired that Frances Lightfoot was Angela’s paternal aunt, so
Angela had the delight of reading letters written by her grandparents and her
father, who was twelve at the time. We were able to see (and feel) some of
Maria’s work and listen to Angela read poetry inspired by her family.
 |
| Maria Walker (left) and Angela Topping and a display of textiles and publications relating to their collaborative project The Lightfoot Letters |
Next was ‘Down Memory Lane: Yorkshire’s Heritage Examined through
Clothing’ by Lynne Webster and David Backhouse (the aforementioned solitary
male) from the Yorkshire Fashion Archive in Leeds. The Archive collects
twentieth-century clothing and focuses on telling the stories behind the
garments. Lynne talked about the donation of 23 garments from one donor,
Michael Hyman.
The clothes were hand- knitted by his maternal grandmother for his
mother, and they were astonishing. Examples were passed around the audience for
close inspection because it was only then that you could tell they had been
knitted: there was a light-as-air dress that looked like lace; jackets and
dresses that appeared to be made of woven material, all beautifully lined. The
garments were knitted without patterns - Michael’s grandmother would copy
clothing she saw in the posh department stores in Leeds. Her history was no
less astonishing than her knitting, because her family, being Jewish, had been
forced to leave Russia in 1904.
 |
| Lynne Webster and David Backhouse from the Yorkshire Fashion Archive displaying a hand-knitted dress. |
 |
| A display of some of the costumes held at the Grosvenor Museum |
The response of the audience to these presentations was interesting.
There were a few technical or academic questions, but the comments mainly
reflected family memories that had been provoked by the talks or by the
exhibits - although not even the oldest among us could cast our minds as far
back as the nineteenth century!
 |
| Kate Harland explaining the story behind one of the garments |
Several people talked about clothes made for them by their mothers. In
my case, my mother always knitted for the family (not to the standard of the
Hyman garments) but, once she had bought a knitting machine to speed the
process up, my father took over and we were inundated with more jumpers,
cardigans, scarves, mittens and even balaclavas, than we could ever need.
Pat’s report on the afternoon sessions:
The next talk, ‘All that
Glitters…: The 5th Marquis of Anglesey's Clothes and Costumes' was
given by Viv Gardner (Emeritus Professor of Theatre Studies at Manchester
University)
 |
| Theatre Costume worn by the Fifth Marquis of Anglesey |
She discussed the remarkable
wardrobe of the 5th Marquis of Anglesey. Prof. Gardner pointed out
that the 'everyday' of the 5th Marquis was that of an Edwardian
aristocrat, not that of ordinary folk.
Succeeding to his title in 1898, within six years he had frittered away
a vast fortune on clothes, furs, jewellery, cars, theatricals, etc.; extraordinary
profligacy even by the standards of the Edwardian aristocracy. Much audience laughter at personal items from
the estate sale catalogue illustrating the Marquis's exotic tastes!
There were some moving
details in this tale of eccentric extravagance: the Marquis regarded a shilling
tiepin from a loyal servant with as much affection as grander jewels and
friends clubbed together to buy back his coronation robes to spare him the
ignominy of attending the coronation without these essential glad rags! Sadly, the only surviving garment is a
decorative waistcoat bought by the music hall star and male impersonator, Vesta
Tilley.
 |
| The Marquis's waistcoat, later owned by Vesta Tilley |
The Q&A session raised
interesting speculation about the Marquis's sexuality, given his obsession with
theatricals and love of dressing up in outrageous costumes, not to mention his
skill at needlepoint and the annulment of a brief marriage to his cousin. Viv
Gardner maintains there is no conclusive evidence for homosexuality but perhaps
his fractured and isolated childhood (his mother took her own life when 'Toppy'
was two), and early continental upbringing, made him appear 'un-English' and
unmanly in his tastes.
The next talk was given by Amber
Regis (University of Sheffield) and Deborah Wynne (University of Chester), ‘Reading
Miss Havisham's Dress: Screening Great
Expectations’, a fascinating presentation on screen representations of the
character, Miss Havisham. The spectre of
the ageing, jilted bride whose life literally stopped on her wedding day, and
who never removed her decaying bridal clothes, is iconic.
 |
| Martita Hunt as Miss Havisham in David Lean's 1945 film version of Great Expectations |
 |
| Helen Bonham Carter as Miss Haversham in the 2012 adaptation directed by Mike Newell |
An audience poll revealed
that most had heard of Miss Havisham, even those who had not read the
novel. After reading Dickens' graphic
description of the character we learnt that the earliest illustration came
fifty years after publication, so that all subsequent cinematic interpretations
of Miss Havisham were forced to re-imagine her appearance and each reflected
the spirit of its age. From the optimism
of the 1945 post war version ('getting rid of a gruesome past') where even in
the black and white images there is a sense of her 'fadedness' to the 1998
'updating' of the story for a new audience in which the Kent marshes are
replaced by swamps and alligators in California (this seemed an eccentric
interpretation with bizarre directorial deviation from the original!).
 |
| Ann Bancroft as Miss Dinsmoor/Miss Havisham in Alfonso Cuarón's film, Great Expecations (1998) |
Members of the audience noted
that the two most recent TV and film adaptations (2011 and 2012) cast actresses
who portray a decaying beauty more aesthetically acceptable for the 21st
century. They were surprised that, after doing the sums, Dickens' Miss Havisham
was all of 37! In all representations it is the decomposing of the finery which
symbolises the mental decline of the woman.
 |
| Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham in the 2011 BBC TV adaptation of Great Expectations |
The final presentation,
‘Christening Gowns and Family Identity’ was given by Sarah Heaton and Gina Hill
(both from the University of Chester). It
focussed on another garment related to 'rites of passage', in this instance
christening gowns. Sarah and Gina
outlined the interesting history of christening gowns and the tradition of
passing them down through many generations of a family. In England this began
when Queen Victoria herself commissioned a gown using the same silk and Honiton
lace as in her own wedding dress; this gown was used fifty different times and
a reproduction made for continued use, although there are examples recorded as
early as 1730.
 |
|
The Royal Christening Gown Image Source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/royal-baby--roots-of-historic-victorian-christening-gown-140212982.html#5x4TL34
|
Both speakers related their
own experience of dressing their daughters for, in one instance a traditional
church baptism, and, in the other, a modern naming ceremony. In one case a family heirloom gown was
unearthed, in the other a new dress bought for the occasion, yet both
emphasised the importance of the ritual in linking the generations; the fabric
of the gowns bonded the families and their memories together - the fabric of
family history indeed.
This subject clearly touched
a chord with the audience, many of whom began to share their own stories.
Indeed, throughout the afternoon the comments and questions generated by the
presentations showed how thought provoking and entertaining they were.
Some comments from
participants at the Textile Stories Study
Day:
‘A
really inspiring day, I have not been to anything like this before! Informative
and unusual.’
‘Excellent
speakers – well organised. Warm friendly environment – lovely room. Really
enjoyed the day.’
‘Excellent
day. Superb range of talks, esp. the Havisham and Leeds
archive knitted garments. Very inspirational.’
‘A
wonderful day very interesting. Very inspired by the talks and it was great to
look at some lovely pieces of work. Thank you to Deborah and the team.’
‘Very
enjoyable day, good variety of subjects. Lovely to see so much is being done to
record and make accessible the everyday history of people’s lives through their
clothes.’
‘Well
balanced and very informative. A really interesting day for me. The Lightfoot
Letters stood out, the Havisham dress a close second. More please.’
‘All thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the Miss
Havisham lecture. Very interesting take on the character of women and their
place in film.’
‘A
very enjoyable event with a diverse interpretation on the subject of textile –
the fact pieces were brought in for various talks really added to the
experience – especially being able to touch and handle historical costumes from
the Grosvenor Museum. The 5th Marquis of Anglesey talk was
particularly enlightening, as it was from a theatrical perspective. The Miss
Havisham talk was interesting as it included many non “traditional”
interpretations or reworkings.’
‘Been
a fantastic day thank you – Look forward to the next one.’
‘Enjoyed
the day, it’s been very educational and inspirational to develop my creative
processes further. It was great meeting others at this event. Great!!!’
‘Lovely
day, full of interest & variety. Very pleased that I could enjoy (and have
access) as an ordinary person, with a strong interest in textiles, “old things”
& social history. Look forward to more.’
‘I
have thoroughly enjoyed my day and have enjoyed the varied and informative
subjects. Good to know that efforts are being made to preserve more recent
trends in textiles and designs. Gained inspiration for my own work!’
‘This
was a nice combination of talks. Interesting to hear of link between age of
film and dress given to Miss Havisham. Link between people and clothing is
good. To get updates on research is interesting.’
‘Excellent
range and diversity of talks. Raised a number of interesting points – how we
read, value textiles & I hope there are more of these days. Would happily
pay!’
‘I
have enjoyed the variety of the programme. I particularly enjoyed hearing about
the Marquis of Anglesey. I was also interested in the combination of poetry and
textiles in the first talk and hearing about the history of the Jewish family and
the knitted garments.’
‘I
have really enjoyed today. Is such a big topic – I didn’t know what to expect,
coming, as I do, from an interest in the retail side of the textile
story, but also how textiles have been so important in fashion and class. I was
particularly interested in the Yorkshire Fashion Archive – as fashion is
everchanging and its production & place of production changes. Great!
Thank you.’
‘A
fascinating and varied day, with lots of stories to think about. Enjoyed the
contrast between the “everyday” clothes & esp liked being able to handle
the textiles. Very encouraging to hear about so many different aspects of
research. Thanks v. much for a lovely day.’
‘Wonderful
day – really enjoyed the day – varied and interesting. I especially liked being
able to see, and in some cases touch the fabrics. I hope you’ll organise
another one.’
‘Thankyou
for a most interesting and thought provoking day. One slight improvement could
be in the presentation of costume items – a larger display table & rails so
we could see the items more clearly.’
‘It
was a lovely event – relaxed yet informative. The presentations were wide
ranging & of a high quality. Very thought provoking!’
‘A
very interesting day! Enjoyed the range of speakers and approaches.’
