What makes a garment historically accurate?
One of the questions I ask people to answer with each Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge is how historically accurate their submission is, and the answers have revealed an interesting range of interpretations of what makes a garment historically accurate. I put the question in the facts list because I think it reveals a lot about the intent of a garment, and I hoped it would encourage people to think about historical accuracy and what really is accurate. I don’t actually think all garments need to be historically accurate – there is a time and place for accuracy in a garment. For some of us accuracy is our ultimate goal, others just want to create pretty frocks. For me, as a researcher, sometimes sewing a garment that you know is inaccurate in certain respects can reveal almost as much about a period as sewing a perfectly accurate one would, and so is worthwhile in its own right. I do think it is important to consider what aspects of your item are accurate, and what aren’t, to …