There does not seem to be much information on Youtube regarding the way dressmakers clean their historical clothing, and how often. There's even less information about how someone who wears historical clothes every day keeps up with their garment care.
For this reason, I thought it was important to have this resource available not only to those who might be curious but also for those who are overwhelmed by the mysterious process and perhaps would like to know how to clean their own historical or historically-inspired wardrobes.
This garment covers every single layer of my daily wardrobe; from shift/chemise to corset/stays, to petticoat upon petticoat upon petticoat. I explain my personal process, along with frequency of cleaning. People have had to develop systems for cleaning their clothes all throughout history, and while cleaning historical clothing may seem time-consuming and inconvenient, in reality, the process isn't so much more complicated, it is just different. By creating a routine, it is possible to make cleaning a historical wardrobe systematic and therefore straightforward.
Thank you so much for watching and for your continued support and viewership!
How to make your own dress shields (article): https://historicalsewing.com/how-to-be-a-shield-maiden
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Time Stamps:
0:00 Title Sequence & Why I Made This Video
1:43 Main Points
3:43 Chemise & Shift
5:03 Stockings
6:23 Drawers & Bloomers
6:34 Under Petticoat & Petticoat
7:59 Corsets, Stays, & Jumps
10:12 Chemisettes, Shirtwaists, Garibaldi Shirts, & Corset Covers
10:43 Bum Pads, Hip Improvers, Bum Rolls, etc.
11:09 Outergarments
16:17 Other Ways I Keep My Clothing Clean
17:06 Final Words & End Screen
Music is all lawfully sourced from Epidemic Sound.
Works Cited: (All in the Public Domain or CC)
Laundry/Cleaning Title Sequence Clips:
-https://archive.org/details/Southern1947
-https://archive.org/details/Townandt1950
-https://archive.org/details/Suds_1920
By John Francis Dillon, Attribution 3.0 CC, “Suds”
-https://archive.org/details/CEP188
-https://archive.org/details/TimeSave1936
-https://archive.org/details/industry-on-parade-459-keep-it-clean/industry-on-parade-459-keep-it-clean-10mbps.mp4
-https://archive.org/details/Report_From_The_Aleutians
Outer Garments Examples:
-https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/87041
-https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/86875
-https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/80389
Dress Sheild Ad:
-McBride's Magazine. United States, J.B. Lippincott and Company, 1894. (Pg. 31)
Daily Stockings:
-The Private Soldier; Or Instructions to the Militia, Volunteers,&c. for -Cleaning Their Arms, Accoutrements, and Every Other Requisite Information for the Service. By an Officer. United Kingdom, Lane, Newman,&Company, 1804.
-https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433006770436 Pg. 118
Silk Corset:
-https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/82651
Chemise and Corset:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Corset_us188007.png U. S. patent no. 188007, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Working Class:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/London_labour_and_the_London_poor%3B_a_cyclop%C3%A6dia_of_the_condition_and_earnings_of_those_that_will_work%2C_those_that_cannot_work%2C_and_those_that_will_not_work_%281861%29_%2814577400757%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Senn_amd_Lahde_-_Skovserkone_c._1800.jpg Illustration from Klædedragter i København (Costumes in Copenhagen) published by Johannes Senn and the copper plate engraver G. L. Lahde between 1817-20., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Victorian Perfume:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/W.J._Austen_%283093677550%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/E.W._Hoyt_and_Co._%28Proprietors%29_%283092716079%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Herman_Loeb_and_Co._%283093705976%29.jpg
Shirting Layers:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Chemisette_MET_21.508_CP2.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/A_simple_shirtwaist_%281904%29.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Woman_in_White_Garibaldi_Blouse_Photograph.jpg
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/109271