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Cottagecore and the smock20th July 2020
I wrote a few months ago about the popularity of smocking in current women’s fashion. Now I have come to the conclusion that it is also re-entering male fashion, albeit in a very small way, at the moment anyway. This has been helped by ‘cottagecore’, a subcultural online movement, which expresses a yearning for the…
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The smock as protective clothing against outbreaks of disease29th April 2020
As the Covid 19 Pandemic continues across the world, a PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) crisis has developed as frontline workers try to deal with protecting both themselves and others, and prevent further spreading the virus, by using protective clothing. Plague masks are well-known as historical protective wear but during the nineteenth century the smock frock…
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The Rebecca Riots2nd March 2020
During the nineteenth century, when smock frocks were commonly worn by many men, they could also be used by those engaged in ‘criminal’ activity to prevent easy identification and facilitate a disguise of sorts. The Rebecca Riots were a series of protests against tolls charged to use local roads, as well as general poverty and…
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Perhaps appropriate for this time of year, 'The Sq

Perhaps appropriate for this time of year, 'The Squire gives a Harvest Supper', another Tom Browne illustration for the 'Country Life' series of postcards, this one stamped 1907.

#smock #smockfrock #harvestsupper #tombrowne #1907 #postcard #countrylife #caricature #harvestbeer

If in a dilemma about what to wear #wfh, may I sug

If in a dilemma about what to wear #wfh, may I suggest a Liberty Blouse Smock in Astron cotton with corded silk embroidery, in 'many charming & useful colours'. Daily Mirror, 1917.

#smocking #smock #embroidery #1917 #liberty #libertyclothing #fashionhistory #womenswear #housecoat #astroncotton

A carte-de-visite portrait by Frank Gaudrion Morga

A carte-de-visite portrait by Frank Gaudrion Morgan, a chemist and early photographer in Petworth, Sussex. He took up photography in the mid-1850s, with a studio attached to his shop, photographing the Petworth House servants. From the reverse design, this portrait seems to date from the late 1860s, the name 'Batchelor' written on the back, along with 'Shimming', a valley nearby. Mr Batchelor wears an unusual variant of the Sussex smock, with a fall front appearing to button at the collar.

#smocking #smock #smockfrock #sussexsmock #petworth #shimming #victorianphotograph #cdv #late1860s #workwear #workingclothing

This child's dress of dark green silk taffeta uses

This child's dress of dark green silk taffeta uses smocking around the shoulders to help shape and gather in the short puffed sleeves, 1820-5, @mfaboston

#smocking #childrenswear #1820s #fabricmanipulation #fashionhistory #needlework

I feel that this photograph may be a little posed

I feel that this photograph may be a little posed but I do like the details including the clay pipe, the gaiters and, of course, the smock.

#smock #smockfrock #gamekeeper #claypipe #rurallife #workingclothing #pubscene #gaiters

I love Tom Browne's graphic style. An illustrator,

I love Tom Browne's graphic style. An illustrator, painter and cartoonist, who is perhaps most famous for the figure on the Johnnie Walker whiskey label, his influence can be seen in comics such as 'The Beano'. This is a postcard stamped 1906.

#smock #smockfrock #bluesmock #tombrowne #farmersclothing #1906

Smock in action! – mid 19th- century print. #smoc

Smock in action! - mid 19th- century print.

#smock #smocking #smockfrock #19thcenturyclothing #workingclothing #workwear #agriculture #harrowing #menswear

'Honeycomb' stitch, or smocking, was a technique u

'Honeycomb' stitch, or smocking, was a technique used to shape women's and children's dress from the early 19th century. This is the back of an American satin wedding dress from around 1840, the smocking gathering in material at the waistband and sleeves, @mfaboston

#smocking #honeycomb #fabricmanipulation #fashionhistory #needlework #weddingdress #1840 #1840sfashion

The light catching smocking and feather stitch on

The light catching smocking and feather stitch on 19th century smock frock.

#smock #smockfrock #smocking #needlework #embroidery #thankyou500followers

'An English Rustic', postcard from the 'British Ch

'An English Rustic', postcard from the 'British Character Studies' series produced by Raphael Tuck & Sons, post marked 1906.

#smock #smockfrock #englishrustic #raphaeltuck #1906 #workingclothing #ruraldress

The popularity of Kate Greenaway's illustrations d

The popularity of Kate Greenaway's illustrations during the 1880s has often been credited with introducing the fashion for smocking for middle- class children's clothing. In her work, Greenaway drew partly on nostalgia for her own childhood, depicting rural boys and youths in smocks, often coloured, which would have been commonly worn in and around Newark, Nottinghamshire, close to where she grew up. Newark was a centre for smock manufacturing during the mid 19th century.

#twoatastile #kategreenaway #1880s #newark #smock #smockfrock #nostalgia #smocking #childrenswear

A bit of nostalgia for cricket matches, and beer a

A bit of nostalgia for cricket matches, and beer and chat shared around a table. Detail from John Robertson Reid's 'A County Cricket Match', dated 1878, which was painted in Sussex, and shows boys and the older men in Sussex round smock frocks, with little embroidery.
#smock #smockfrock #sussexsmock #1878 #johnrobertsonreid #everydaydress #villagelife

Exquisite honeycomb smocking used by Sarah Burton

Exquisite honeycomb smocking used by Sarah Burton at McQueen to shape a full skirted dress, a look from the bee influenced SS13 collection. From the catwalk, @britishvogue and thanks to @juliomompo.
#smocking #smockeddress #mcqueen #ss13 #beedress #needlework

It's a beautiful spring day here, and the new seri

It's a beautiful spring day here, and the new series of Killing Eve has started, so I thought of this dress by Molly Goddard, as featured in the Guardian's SS20 Fashion Magazine.

#smockeddress #smocking #fashion #tulle #mollygoddard

The watercress seller by John Dempsey, dating from

The watercress seller by John Dempsey, dating from the 1820s. Watercress was cheap and nutrious, here sold on the streets of Salisbury. Although the seller has a natty neckerchief, his smock is plain, cheap, worn and repaired, his livelihood precarious, evidenced by his toe sticking out of his shoe. As a bonus though, a great back view of 1820s dress construction.

#smock #workwear #workingclothing #watercressseller #1820s #salisbury #fashionhistory #johndempsey #streetseller #dressofthepoor

A peaceful bucolic detail of a book cover for 'The

A peaceful bucolic detail of a book cover for 'The Shepeards Calendar' by Edmund Spencer, a poem first published in 1579. This edition was published in 1930, the cover designed by John Nash.

#smock #smockfrock #shepherd #shepheardscalendar #edmundspenser #johnnash #1930 #bookcoverdesign #workingclothing #workwear

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