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Features

Period dramas: fact-checking Bridgerton’s costumes

Book, The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes, against a blue and white fabric backdrop.

Vintage_Dress_Diary_1800x1200 copy

Extracts

16 stunning Victorian textiles from The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes

Secrets from a Victorian Woman’s Wardrobe

The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes

Strasdin's painstaking detective work has uncovered many of the fascinating insights behind the fabric swatches contained in this unusual collection

Snippets of fabric, snippets of biographical detail, snippets of historical evidence - this is a book entirely made up of snippets and I found it irresistible

'[A] questing and poignant social history'

An extraordinarily rich record of middle-class Victorian life, both at home and abroad... [a] fascinating book

This is a wonderful book! The life of a woman, a time and an industry, woven, like cloth, into something unique and beguiling. A treat for the curious reader

Pip Williams, author of The Dictionary of Lost Words

Demonstrates beautifully how clothing is woven into the fabric of our lives, our dreams and our histories.

For the imaginative reader, on closing the book, 'the silks still glisten from the paper'

In this engaging book, Strasdin proves triumphantly that the study of fashion is not a frothy sideshow but can provide a textured account of history... [a] compelling account of 19th-century life seen through women's eyes

Thanks to Strasdin's forensic research...this book opens into a vivid history of expansion and empire. And all wrapped up in 2,184 pieces of cloth

Intriguing and engaging... A fascinating and creative unravelling of Anne's life and times

The story of a singular woman... Kate Strasdin's forensic detective work has finally let Mrs Sykes - and her book - speak again

Judith Flanders, author of THE INVENTION OF MURDER

Teeming with history and detail - a fascinating exploration of how even the smallest scraps of fabric can open up large stories

Strasdin's knowledge is evident in her descriptions of the fabrics displayed in this diary . . . This is too good to miss

This little scrapbook has survived, unrecognized, for nearly 200 years. Only now has it given up its story: the story of a singular woman, and a woman like millions of others. Kate Strasdin's forensic detective work has, finally, let Mrs Sykes, and her book, speak again.

In a book which is both intriguing and engaging Kate Strasdin takes up the challenge to write a biography of a 19th century woman who has left little trace of her existence beyond a scrapbook filled with fabric fragments. Discovery goes hand in hand with disappointment as Stratin searches for Anne's elusive story and we go with her sharing her eureka moments and her frustration in what emerges as a fascinating and creative unravelling of Anne's life and times

"Kate's research is flawless, and the rigour she brings to her writing is matched only by its poetry. In The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes, Kate demonstrates beautifully how clothing is woven into the fabric of our lives, our dreams and our histories. A journey through one woman's fabric scraps reveals the intricate global tales that can be spun from humble beginnings inside a wardrobe."

An evocative and often touching exercise in re-imagining these fragments of fabric into historical life... it is delightful

Strasdin...leads us on a fast-paced journey from industrial England to mercantile Singapore and Shanghai, describing global trade, politics and slavery, reminding us of the significant human cost of cotton production

Kate Strasdin is a dress historian who has been fascinated by old clothes since she was a child. She is a lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University and is a freelance consultant for dress and textile exhibitions. She has appeared on The Great British Sewing Bee as an expert. 
 
In 2016 she was given an anonymous album full of annotated dress swatches that had been kept in a trunk for over fifty years, its original keeper unknown. She spent the next six years unlocking its secrets. 
 
She lives in Devon with her husband and two children.

The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life told through her unique scrapbook. 
 
In 1838, Anne Sykes was given a diary on her wedding day. Using it to collect snippets of fabric, she created a record of her life and times. Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of fashion historian Kate Strasdin who spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within its pages. 
 
Piece by piece, she charts Anne's life and times. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear. 
 
&lsquo;Flawless&rsquo; Amber Butchart 
&lsquo;Fascinating&rsquo; Clare Hunter 
&lsquo;Irresistible&rsquo; The Times

Kate Strasdin

'Very clever and interesting ... I enjoyed the book enormously, such a good idea to focus on the talented people who made and looked after the beautiful clothes, shoes and bags for various Queens. A truly wonderful and fascinating book!'

Lady Anne Glenconner, author of Lady in Waiting

‘Rescuing so many extraordinarily skilled men and women from anonymity, Dressing the Queen is a labour of love and a fascinating testament to the sheer allure of luxury clothing’

‘If what we mean by "sovereign" sometimes eludes words, we know it when we see it. In Dressing the Queen, Kate Strasdin shows us what it takes to dress a queen and why it is done. Sacrifice and splendour; the royal body and the dressmakers' sore bodies, eyes and fingers, this is the world of soft, or 'not so soft' power. With great affection, respect and knowledge Kate Strasdin celebrates the hidden world in which hundreds of people of immense skill and dedication work tirelessly to create stunning visual images of monarchy’

Sarah Fraser, author of The Prince Who Would be King

‘A fascinating glimpse into the lives of the makers behind all the glitter of royalty. An amazing piece of social history’

Daisy Goodwin, author of Diva and creator of Victoria (ITV/PBS)

'As meticulously crafted as a court dress, this endlessly fascinating book shines a light on the unsung heroes of the queen's wardrobe. A must for fans of royal and fashion history’

Tracy Borman, author of Elizabeth's Women

'Illuminating and surprising, Kate Strasdin digs deep to rescue from obscurity the stories of those who have helped create royal, sartorial splendour over recent centuries. Hers is an act not only of restitution but of respect and revelation'

Brilliantly illuminating and utterly fascinating… [a] tour de force book

A fabulous book about the makers, dressers and designers who create and dress the royal women… Strasdin uncovers the behind-the-scenes stories while showcasing incredible talent from across the British Isles

Strasdin rescues from anonymity the stories of the laundry women, corset makers and milliners. The pages positively teem with fascinating, until-now-hidden, detail... Strasdin’s book is as much a social history of our country as a history of fashion

Strasdin does a marvelous job of describing the (often insalubrious) conditions in which her 
subjects toiled and the specific, highly exacting nature of their work.

Two Hundred Years of Makers and Monarchy

'A truly wonderful and fascinating book!' Lady Anne Glenconner 
 
The hidden story of the people who designed, sewed, stitched and steamed the clothes of Britain's queens, from Victoria to the present day. 
 
From tours and walkabouts to the dazzling spectacle of a wedding or Coronation, the clothes worn by royal women have always been a fascination. Starting with Queen Victoria and moving to the modern Elizabethan age, DRESSING THE QUEEN shows the incredible craftmanship and painstaking effort that go into the making of what is known as the ‘Royal Wardrobe’, from handmade boots to Crown Jewels; country tweeds to delicate stockings. 
 
Dress historian Kate Strasdin reveals a tribe of previously unsung women and men. Some may be more renowned – such as designer Norman Hartnell or suitcase-maker Louis Vuitton – but most are ordinary, highly talented working people from across the British Isles. From rural straw plaiters to wartime coat-makers and refugee glovers, their skilled labour is a vital part of our country’s history. 
 
As we see modern princesses sally forth in fantastically arranged ensembles, we can think again of the vanishing trades that once employed millions – and still remain integral to royal life today. 
 
‘A fascinating glimpse into the lives of the makers behind all the glitter of royalty’ Daisy Goodwin 
'A must for fans of royal and fashion history’ Tracy Borman

Kate Strasdin

Books by Kate Strasdin

Articles featuring Kate Strasdin

Period dramas: fact-checking Bridgerton’s costumes

16 stunning Victorian textiles from The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes

Videos

Dress Historian Kate Strasdin Breaks Down Period Costuming in TV & Film

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