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A Podcast all about Smocks18th October 2021
I am thrilled to be part of the British Textile Biennial (@britishtextilebiennial), which is currently on, in person until the end of October, and online. I recorded a podcast with the brilliant Amber Butchart (@amberbutchart) on all things smock. Find it below or on the British Textile Biennial website, if you would like a listen! Please enjoy!
Smock Frock Veterans7th July 2021
A newspaper report in 1895 asked, ‘Where is the Smock-Frock?’, noting that it was a marker of the ‘old, hardy and honest peasantry’. Forty or fifty years ago they were a common sight, but now ‘Old England’s rural garb is rarely seen!’, the railway and education, in particular, having changed rural society, not in a…
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Book Announcement!17th March 2021
I am very excited to announce that my book on smocks will be published on 20th May 2021 by Bloomsbury Academic. A social history of a single garment, my cast list includes Ellen Terry, Georgia O’Keeffe, the WI, body snatchers, navvies, Molly Goddard, John Dryden and many more. For me it is a way to…
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Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, wearing a, b

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, wearing a, by then, classic smock as a toddler in 1922. A children's wear staple, the British royal family continues to dress their young children in similar styles today. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

#smock #smocking #childrenswear #1922 #childrenswearclassic #princephilip

Two men in their smocks and working boots, showing

Two men in their smocks and working boots, showing off some stylish side-parted hair, particularly the man on the left with his front curls. From a slightly battered Carte de Visite taken by a photographer in Landport, in Portsmouth, probably dating from the 1870s.

I am thrilled to be part of the @britishtextilebie

I am thrilled to be part of the @britishtextilebiennial, which is currently on, in person and online. I recorded a podcast with the brilliant @amberbutchart on all things smock. Find it on the British Textile Biennial website, or a streaming platform, if you would like a listen!

https://britishtextilebiennial.co.uk/podcasts/

#smock #smockfrock #smocking #workingclothing #smockasfashion #ruraldress #19thcenturyclothing

A 'Little Sunshine', as this postcard was captione

A 'Little Sunshine', as this postcard was captioned, for a Friday morning. This probably dates from the 1910s when the smock was already a children's wear classic.

#smock #smocking #childrenswear #early20thcenturypostcard #girlssmockeddress

All very welcome to come and join me on Thursday l

All very welcome to come and join me on Thursday lunchtime when I will be giving an online talk for the Textile Society, looking at the smock as part of working-class clothing cultures and menswear. Details below⬇️:

https://www.textilesociety.org.uk/event/deception-and-disguise-smock-narratives

Image: detail of William Powell Frith's epic The Derby Day, 1856-8, Wikimedia Commons.

#smock #smockfrock #workingclothing #workwear #1856 #menswear #dressreform

The ever fabulous smock-loving Ellen Terry, photog

The ever fabulous smock-loving Ellen Terry, photographed wearing a dress with smocked panels, from the the Guy Little Collection, @vamuseum.

#smockeddress #smocking #ellenterry #victorianactress #1890sfashion #buttons

Very much looking forward to being part of this wo

Very much looking forward to being part of this workshop at the end of next week - think there are a handful of places left if anyone would like to join us. Details can be found in the link below ⬇️

https://www.zenzietinker.co.uk/workshops-events/

Repost from @zenzietinkerconservation.

#smock #smocking #needlework #smockfrock #embroidery #childrenswear #smockfashion #smockmaker

The beauty and simplicity of honeycomb smocking, w

The beauty and simplicity of honeycomb smocking, worked on this chiffon dressing gown, probably dating from the late 1930s, @goldstein_museum.

#smocking #honeycomb #fabricmanipulation #1930sclothing #dressinggown #chiffonclothing

A photographer in a Yorkshire studio took this gre

A photographer in a Yorkshire studio took this great portrait sometime in the inter-war period, - we can only speculate about the reason for the photograph. Wearing a smocked garment, with drawn threadwork detailing on the collar and mother of pearl buttons, the sitter finishes her outfit off with a decorative bar brooch.

#smock #smockfashion #barbrooch #interwarfashion #1920sphotography #smockedblouse #yorkshirephotography

I am very pleased to be presenting a short talk on

I am very pleased to be presenting a short talk on the history of smocks as part of the Selvedge World Fair on Saturday, alongside some other fantastic speakers and textile artisans from around the world.

Use code SWF25 to get 25% off Selvedge World Fair tickets which is already on now.

#smock #smocking #smockfrock #workingclothing #19thcenturyclothing #SelvedgeMagazine #SelvedgeWorldFair

Smocks often turn up in small local English museum

Smocks often turn up in small local English museums, displayed as part of quirky bygone customs, this one found on summer holiday travels in Corfe Castle Museum, Dorset.

#smock #smockfrock #childssmock #localmuseum #dorset #19thcenturyclothing #ruralnostalgia

Paying respects in a rarely depicted blue smock an

Paying respects in a rarely depicted blue smock and gaiters in James Hayllar's 'The Old Master' of 1883. Hayllar lived in Wallingford in Oxfordshire. Image Wikimedia Commons.

#smock #smockfrock #bluesmock #jameshayllar #1883 #ruraldress #bestdress #mourning

Looking for an 'after-dinner project'? Teach yours

Looking for an 'after-dinner project'? Teach yourself to smock, which is 'much easier than you think'. The US version of Harper's Bazaar in 1943 advises using striped, dotted or checked material to easily match the gathers for beginners. Thanks to @documenting_fashion for finding the image!

#smock #smocking #homesewing #homedressmaking #1943 #afterdinnerproject #teachyourself

This is definitely more frock than smock and a bit

This is definitely more frock than smock and a bit of an odd one. Drawn by Gunning King for the Illustrated London News in 1885, it is worn by a typically elderly man and entitled 'At his gates'. As Gunning King lived in Petersfield, Hampshire, it may depict one of the plainer smocks, with little embroidery and small panels of smocking, worn in that area.

#smock #smockfrock #smocking #gunningking #victorianart #petersfield #elderlyman #objectofcuriosity #ruralnostalgia

I have posted this photograph of a smock cuff befo

I have posted this photograph of a smock cuff before but it is one of my favourite images, the wear, the repairs, the gradual fraying and undoing, the material embodiment of a man's working life.

#smock #smocking #smockfrock #19thcenturyclothing #workingclothing #workwear #repairs

The country yokel in his characteristic smock froc

The country yokel in his characteristic smock frock became a stock comedy figure in the music hall in the late 19th century, often portrayed as naive and gullible. Here, the front of a song sheet, performed by Albert Chevalier in the 1890s, a performer known for his portrayal of various comic characters, particularly costermongers.

#smock #smockfrock #musichall #albertchevalier #1890s #yokel #illustratedsongsheet #musichallcomedy

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