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 * Sunday Times *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 * Ysenda Maxtone Graham, The Times *’[A] questing and poignant social history’ * Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer *An extraordinarily rich record of middle-class Victorian life, both at home and abroad… [a] fascinating book * Guardian *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. * Amber Butchart *For the imaginative reader, on closing the book, ‘the silks still glisten from the paper’ * Mail Plus *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 * Daily Mirror *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 * BBC History Magazine *Intriguing and engaging… A fascinating and creative unravelling of Anne’s life and times

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.

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