First and foremost, a huge
thank you to everyone who attended our virtual "meet & greet" last week, and especially to Kristen of the
Victorian Needle, for co-hosting and making the zoom event possible!
Over the few hours, we were joined by so many friends, new and familiar, from across the country - from New York to California, Michigan to Virginia, and more - it was just amazing to feel so connected, and incredibly touching that so many were able to find time on a busy weekday. While all our in-person events may be put on pause, the spirit and community among costumers and living historians online is as strong and unbreakable as ever.
For today's blog post, I'd like to summarize my part of the meet & greet, provide a list of the books mentioned during the chat, as well as officially reveal my professional announcement.
After introductions, Kristen and I took turns describing our current research and projects. Kristen mentioned several interesting projects, including the start of a historical impression to honor her Latina heritage (which she's recently blogged about, here:
Latina Inspiration), and several, new punch paper acquisitions. If you're interested in learning more about punch paper, she teaches online and in-person classes, and has an instructional booklet with patterns from original pieces in her collection titled:
Pierced, Punched, Perforated; 19th Century Perforated Paper Patterns.
For my current research, I'm focusing on several areas. The first is an extension of the research I did for an article on the Chinese soldiers of the American Civil War, and now looking into the early Chinese-American experience. Chinese immigration dates back the 1500s, and since the very beginnings, these people have faced the unspeakable - legalized discrimination, violence, enslavement, exploitation, exclusion, and expulsion from a country and culture they helped create. In just a few months reading, I've discovered so much about a forgotten people and past, I just know one of my life purposes is to help write them back into the narrative.
Another topic of interest is Orientalism, a complex, cross-cultural exchange, which particularly describes Western imitation of Eastern dress and design. This too could be a life-long study. There are dress scholars and entire literature for seemingly every aspect of orientalist fashion: from the fabrics and textiles themselves, to garments and accessories, and taste and transactions, be it for monetary profit or perceived social and political superiority. There's a whole history to address and undress (bad puns intended); and here are just a few of the books I've worked through, annotating in every margin and copiously applying color-coded sticky notes, of course:
 |
My current projects include research for upcoming presentations on Orientalism in fashion;
Chinese-American History, including that of the Civil War and beyond;
and my senior thesis on costumed interpretation (complete with a new dress for the defense :) |
For those who asked during the live chat, these are the books I mentioned:
- Freedom for Me: A Chinese Yankee by Stacie Haas
- Chinese Yankee by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
- Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Civil War, the Official National Park Service Handbook
- Fashion and Orientalism: Dress, Textiles and Culture from the 17th to the 21st Century by Adam Geczy
- The Victoria & Albert Museum's Textile Collection: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750 by Donald King & Santina Levey
As for my current sewing projects, I'm working on an 1860s dress for my senior thesis, as well as some summer clothes, inspired by vintage fashions. I picked up these Simplicity reprints during a sale, and might draft some shorts or wrap skirt of some sort to match:
And last, but definitely not least, I finally revealed my super secret, special announcement...I'm pretty sure I visibly shaking with nerves the whole time while we were live, but here it is:
From the new name and research directions, there have been a lot of changes and work being done, mostly off the blog. Recent events (and my upcoming graduation) have me thinking about my career, direction, and purpose. While I certainly see both sewing and weaving as part of that future, education and outreach are too, especially through programming that promotes diversity and inclusion in the retelling of history. So if you're interested in being part of this next chapter, and are able to support the creation of future content, please consider becoming a Patron!
Every contribution - be it on
Patreon, or by a "thumbs up" or share on social media, and, of course, by reading this blog - makes a
big difference,
thank you!
