I’ve been enrolled in a Master of History degree for the past couple of years, studying part-time. It’s a course-work Masters, but there is a requirement for a major research project as well. My proposed project has just been accepted, starting in late February, for completion in October – although I’ve been considering this project for a while so I’ve kinda started already.

The project title is: Remaking as embodied research practice: a comparison of two approaches to remaking an 1884 dress.

This is the 1884 dress – the wedding dress of Sophia Ruth Howe, who married Reuben Roan. The couple married in Armidale (my nearest town) and the dress is in the Armidale Folk Museum.

The dress is included on the Museum’s eHive site, with additional photos.

I first examined this dress back in 2018, when I led a small volunteer team documenting the clothing collection at the Folk Museum. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to study it several times since then, and I’m grateful for the Museum’s permission and support.

I’ll be making two versions of the dress. One will be a replica, in the same size and with fabrics as close as I can find to the originals. I’ll use the same construction techniques as in the garment, and as far as I can, tools from the era. The other version will be a dress in the same style and construction, but sized to fit me – a rather different shape to Sophia! I’ll be using an 1880s measuring and cutting system to create the custom-fit pattern for me – and hoping it works – but that’s all part of the research process!

I already have undergarments, corset and bustle based on 1882 patterns that fit me, and I made a Sophia-sized bustle and fosshape mannequin for the museum to display the dress, so that’s already done, and my focus for the project will be on making the dresses.