The A-Z of Historical and Modern Costume And Dressmaking.
- janegonin
- Aug 3, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
A is for Accuracy.
This is very important characteristic in the field of historical and modern dressmaking. From the measurements that you take from the clients body, to the system you use to create a pattern draft, to putting the garment on for its first fitting, you should develop skills using tools (tape measure, meter rule, T square and drafting curve), mirror and your eye to transform and enhance the original design from 2D to 3D wonder.
A is for Alterations.
An alteration is a feature on a garment that needs to be changed in order to get the garment to fit properly on the body of the wearer.
It can also involve a design feature being changed that might enhance the garment either by removing or adding a feature that will enhance the garment to bring out the best look once it has been tried on by the wearer.
A is for Adrian
A fabulous Hollywood and film designer from the Golden Age of film making, 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s.
B is for Bride and Bridal Fashion.
It is always a pleasure and exciting to be involved in a wedding, whether it is a family member or a private client, the joy of creating a dress for such a special day and the start of a journey of sharing two lives is amazing.
I have been involved with about ten weddings, 7 of which I made the brides dress. They were unique and individual to the lovely women that wore them. Just as it should be.
B is for Bespoke.
Leading on from that is an explanation for the term Bespoke.
A bespoke garment is on that is created specifically for one client, using a design that is original to them and fabrics with designs and textures that are unique.
The garment is made to measure meaning that the client has a series of body measurements taken, from which a pattern is made either in fabric (called draping or paper). Some embellishments including embroidery, beading unusual buttons or other fastenings can really give a final special finish for your client to feel a million dollars in their own outfit.
B is for Bias.
A piece of fabric is a woven item consisting of the warp threads which are run the length of any fabric and are stretched on the loom. The weft threads are the threads that go across the width of the cloth having been load into the shuttle. Fabric cut be cut three ways. The straight of grain is where the pattern piece is placed parallel to the warp or weft. The bias is where a pattern piece is placed at an angle to the straight edge.
It allows the fabric to stretch and drape around the body. Cutting in this way was first introduced to the fashion world in the early 1920’s by a French design called Madeleine Vionnet. She used it in evening wear using silk
fabrics such a s crepe de chine, satin backed crepe and light weight satin. This style became the iconic look of the 1930’s.
B is for Balenciaga.
This is a haute couture fashion house that is named after its founder, Cristobal Balenciaga. He was a Spanish designer whose first fashion was started in 1919. Due to Spanish civil war he was forced to close it and re-open is Paris where it flourished producing some of the iconic shapes of the 50’s and 60’s.
C is for Corsets and crinolines.
These two foundation garments are the most iconic of the historical fashion world.
The corset is an foundation garment worn mostly by women and girls, but occasionally worn by men too.
There is some evidence that the Minoan Crete women in the ancient world, wore tight 'corsets', and the first corsets in Europe of the early medieval period were made of steel. This piece of underwear was first called pair of bodies or stays. They were only made and fitted by men and consisted of two or more layers of stiff fabric and had channels stitched along the length. The channels in early garments were then filled with stiff plant reeds, whalebone, or by the 1830's some cording was introduced.
With the onset of the British industrial revolution in mid 1850's , corsets, as they were now called were made in factories and they were boned with steel spirals.
With the introduction of rubber and elastic at the turn of the 20th century, boning could be reduced in under garments and making them more comfortable to wear.
This feature has continued to be the main characteristic in the design of lingerie and in haute couture fashion with many types of boning now being made in plastic, thus being much lighter.
In theatre, unless the corset needs to be seen on stage, most historical clothing is constructed with boned bodices.
The crinoline was introduced in 1850's and was designed to support the very full skirts of women's costume that had originally been worn with layers of stiffened petticoats in the 1840's.
A product of the Victorian industrial revolution, they were constructed from tapes, calico and piano wires or flexible steel bands. They maximum width was achieved in the 1860's to 1865, when the bustle was introduced. All the fullness was now at the back of the women's body.
C is for Cutter.
This is the title given to the team member in a workroom who is responsible for interpreting the design of any garment in a production, which is being made to measure.
Having talked to the designer, They cut patterns, organise the seamstresses, fit the garment to the actor or client and then organise the alterations and finish of the garment often to a specified deadline.
C is for Chanel.
Gabriela Chanel (or Coco Chanel) was a revolutionary women's designer, who first started as a milliner and then in 1919 begun designing for women.
She freed women from the constraints of the corsets and Edwardian fashions, designing in jersey fabrics and loose fitting garments.
Amongst her many creations she designed the first 'Little black dress' and beautiful light weight tweed suits, and of course the perfume Chanel No. 5.
D is for Designer.
A designer is the first creative mind that will be responsible for the appearance of a production or the couture house seasonal looks. In the entertainment industry, they collaborate with the director, actors and costume supervisor.
The pattern cutter and maker works with the designer to realise their vision and converting the 2D
Drawing to the 3D costume and garment.
The designers I have had the privilege to work with over the years, include Suzannah Buxton, John Bright, Jenny Beavan, Ros Ebutt, Alexandra Bryne, Hugh Durrant,
Chris Oram, Michael Taylor, Simon Higlett, Mike Bartlett, Jonathan Fensom, Paul Farnsworth, Janet Bird and Bunny Christie.
D is for Damask,.
Damask is a beautiful rich fabric that has a self pattern in the weave and is usually one colour, but because of the nature of the weave the pattern has a different textures throughout both sides of the fabric which has a lustre and low level shimmer to it.
It is usually and most beautifully woven in silk and is used in historical costume and modern dress where making a big impression is a must
Sometimes it can be woven in cotton and linen which is often used for furnishing fabrics and the surface then has a matt appearance.
It is believed to have originated in the middle ages in the town of Damascus in Syria.
D is for Drape.
This is a term that can be applied to a feature of historical dress in the late Victorian period from 1873 to 1885. Consisting of regular folds of fabric, at the front of the dress it is called the apron drape and at the back it is the bustle drape.
It can also be a form of separate decoration on the neck or sleeves and the cowl neck of a garment is where the drapes are cut as part of the garment.
D is for Dior.
Christian Dior is one of the most famous haute couture designers of the 20th century, and whose couture house still delivers the most beautiful clothes in the world.
Dior was a Frenchman who came to be most famous for his ‘New Look’ in the late 40’s and 1950’s after the austerity years of world war 2. In complete contrast to the tailored, square shouldered look of the war years, Dior introduced longer, fuller skirts with meters and meters of fabric, soft shoulders, waspy waists and boned bodices for the evening. He also created amazing tailored shapes, the most iconic was the Bar Suit, below.
Ball dress from the show ‘Mrs Harris goes to Paris’,
designed by Lez Brotherston, from an idea by Christian Dior.
E is for Embroidery.
This is a sewing craft that was first used in the middle ages to decorate
Ecclesiastical garments and was a major technique to enhance a garment with one colour or lots of coloured stitches. It uses lots of different styles of stitches to create decoration in the forms of flowers, patterns and scenes from real life, literature or religion. The embroidery could be also applied to household items like boxes and pictures and screens.
It was used for Royal garments too for special occasion garments and of course weddings.
It is associated with women and they skills were built up by creating samplers or practice pieces that could include numbers, the alphabet the sewers name and age.
In the 1860’s the industrial revolution introduced machines that could copy embroidery making it more accessible to fashion of the general public. This continues today with many fashion brands using fabulous designs to enhance their designs.
Traditional embroidery is still practiced by the highly skilled sewers particularly at The Royal School of Embroidery where new works and restoration on older garments continues.
E is for Elastic.
This wonder fabric was invented in 1820 by Thomas Hancock. He used scarps of rubber to create fastenings for gloves, stockings and suspenders. It is now found in many different forms that has made dressing much more comfortable and supportive especially in foundation and lingerie garments, sporting activities, health coverings and supports.
E is for Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973)
The surrealist designer was popular for her alternative and what was considered eccentric designs for women during the 1920’s and 1930’s. She was Italian but had her couture house was in Paris, the centre for haute couture fashion.
She collaborated with Salvador Dali and Jean Couteau to produce fashion with themes of human body, insects, animals and tromp-l'oeil.
She is also credited with introducing zips into fashion and had a fantastic ideas for unusual buttons.
A retrospective exhibition of her work is to be seen at the V&A in London in 2026.
F is for Farthingale.
The Farthingale is a boned foundation garment introduced to this country by Catharine of Aragon from Spain. It is a conical skirt in shape made in cotton calico with rings of wooden cane or reeds, threaded through tapes decreasing in circumference from the hem to the waist. It was designed to support the skirts of dresses which were often quiet heavy as they were pleated round the waist.
The original farthingale was known as the Spanish Farthingale and later when Elizabeth I came to the throne it had developed into a Wheel Farthingale. The latter was like a drum in shape, sitting at the waist and supported by bum roll.
F is for French Seam.
This is a type of seam designed to be used on delicate fabrics as it adds strength, prevents fraying, without becoming bulky.
It could be used on chiffon, voile, organza, georgette and muslin.
Unlike other seams where the right side of the fabric of the pattern pieces are put together, the french seam has the wrong sides put together. The stitching line is sewn approximately 0.5cm away from the 1.5cm stitching line, and into the seam allowance, not garment. The excess fabric is trimmed down to 2mm from the stitching, press the seam open and but then turn the pattern pieces so that the right sides are together. Press flat and machine stitch on the 1.5 cm stitching line. This will enclose the raw edges
and create a tiny but strong seam.
F is for Fabric and Fibres.
Fabric is the substance with which clothing is made from. It is also used for soft furnishings curtains and upholstery both in the domestic and commercial environment.
Fabric is created in thousands of different fibres, different weave and colours and prints.
Our natural fibres are Wool, Cotton, Linen (flax) and Silk.
There are fabrics that are traditional to different countries and ethnic groups which can be very distinctive to their identity and heritage.
For example, we have Scottish tartans from Scotland, Kimonos from Japan, Indian saras from India and leather Lederhosen from German and Switzerland. When one sees any of these fabrics made into garments we can immediately identify the region and cultural that the person choses to associated with.
Over the years there have been the introduction of many new fibres and technology has been developed to also bring us new fabrics for different uses.
Some traditional fabrics can now be imitated using these synthetic fibres much more cheaply than the natural fibres of years gone by. They are also much more easier to care for and clean.
Due to there was a big increase in the use of these synthetic fabrics, such nylon, polyester, acrylic and elastane. The wearing of clothes became much more comfortable (particularly in lingerie and sportswear) and provided more protection against the extreme weather.
However more recently there has been an increase in the promotion of natural fibres, viscose and acetate as fibres to be made into fabrics. The latter are particular popular as they are produced from recycled fibres and are therefore more sustainable than polyester and nylon which are oil based and require huge amounts of water in their production.
Always check the label of any fabrics you buy and try and go for the most sustainable you can afford.
G is for Georgette.
This is a term applied to one of the finer fabrics that exist in dressmaking. The weave is similar to that of a crepe fabric but it is transparent and has a wonderful drape quality. It can be woven from silk fibre, acetate, viscose and polyester. It also comes in a variety of weights and can be woven with a satin side to the fabric which looks fabulous.
I would choose this to recommend to clients looking for a soft elegant, look for evening wear, rather than a chiffon.
G is for Georgian Period.
The Georgian period started after the death of Queen Mary in 1714 who died without issue. The English parliament was determined to keep the crown in the hands of a protestant King and the nearest contender of this religion that could be installed on the throne was George I who was ruler of the Electorate of Hanover. He was the great-grand son of James I of England.
Ther period finished in 1830 with the death of George IV, who was the fourth of the Hanoverian kings. He was followed by his brother William IV, so some historians consider the Georgian period actually finished in 1837, when he died.
With regard to women’s and men’s fashion it was a period of great change influenced by cultural and social changes to life in Britain including the increase of the middle classes, the industrial revolution and the rise of enlightenment thinking. Foreign influence such as the French revolution also contributed to fashion change.
G is for GSM.
GSM Stands for Grammes per square metre. This is the measure that is used by fabric sellers to give an indiction of how much weight in grammes there is in a square metre of that fabric. It is how you can tell when looking at fabrics that are in a similar range just how heavy the fabric is and therefore whether it is suitable for the garment that you will be making.
For example, Habotia is a traditional plain weave fabric that comes in three weights.
Light = 28 GSM. Used for linings.
Medium = 36 GSM. Used for blouse and women’s shirts
Heavy= 65 GSM. Used for dresses or lining heavy weight coats.
G is for Gaultier.
Jean Paul Gaultieris a French couturier whose first fashion collection under his own name was in 1972. Over the years of success he did attract the nick name of ‘enfant terrible’ because of his avant garde designs.
He also attracted huge attention for his cone bra and corsetry for the pop stat Madonna.
He has also produced an off the shelf collection and a wonderful perfume.
Comments