Those of you who subscribe to the Chronicle of Higher Education will
perhaps have seen this article in this week's issue:
it begins,
OBSERVER
Dressing Literary History
By AMY LEAL
I don't want to see it, but I have to. On August 10, I will
sheepishly pile into an overcrowded theater to see Becoming Jane,
loosely adapted from Jon Spence's biographical study Becoming Jane
Austen, even though I know Anne Hathaway isn't British and Tom
Lefroy did not tussle with Austen in haystacks. That isn't what
will pain me, though; it will most likely be the costumes.
It is time for me to take my closet out of the closet: I am one of
those Janeites you hear about who likes to make historically
accurate clothing. I have suitcases ready for travels to places
that no longer exist. Georgian bodices, Regency chemises, Victorian
"unmentionables," Edwardian walking skirts. I patronize Amazon
Drygoods: Purveyors of Needed Items for the 19th Century Impression
as much as I do Amazon.com. I own more steel boning than the
Marquis de Sade.
…I make clothing reproductions because I am fascinated with the
"felt life" (to appropriate a Henry James term) of past eras. …
It's an interesting and nicely written piece by a literature
professor, although h-cost List members might find some of her
generalizations irritating for one reason or another, particularly
the comments on corsets.
Here's the url:
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i48/48b00501.htm
But access to the full article is restricted to Chronicle subscribers.
If you don't subscribe and would like to read the article, please
contact me off-list. I'll be planning what to wear to teach my
Shakespeare class--and my Dylan Thomas class!
--Ruth Anne Baumgartner
scholar gypsy and amateur costumer
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