Using the Process of Reproduction to Extract Tacit Knowledge from Historic Garments

Abstract

This project consisted of two integrated objectives. The first objective was to develop a method to study the sewing skills and tacit knowledge required to make historic garments. The second was to determine what changes in tacit knowledge and sewing skills were required by seamstresses during the 1910s and 1920s, a period where the custom-made clothing industry rapidly declined, and the ready-to-wear industry reached maturation. These two goals were achieved by studying two dresses, one from the 1910s and one from the 1920s, in a six-step process. First the primary garments, along with ten additional comparison garments, were thoroughly documented, inside and out. Then the primary garments were compared to the additional garment to establish that they were constructed in a typical manner for their time. Next a series of experiments were performed, in the form of drafting patterns and making toiles and fashion-fabric technique samples of the primary garments. This information was analyzed using a material culture framework. Next, fashion-fabric reproductions of the primary garments were constructed while keeping notes and a detailed log of every physical and mental part of the process. Last, the log data and notes were analyzed to highlight changes, challenges, and the unexpected. This study found that there was some loss in sewing skills needed to construct garments between the 1910s and the 1920s, however, most of the tacit knowledge required remained unchanged. The method used was deemed to be overall effective but could benefit from further adjustments and refinement.