Dress & Drinks: Uncovering Dressmakers Project
Wednesday, January 28, 2025
2:00 pm Eastern/11:00 am Pacific*
FREE Webinar, Open to All

This month, CSA Dress & Drinks spotlights the emerging Uncovering Dressmakers Project, an initiative created by Sage Foley and Steph Haire to illuminate the lives and labor of nineteenth-century dressmakers. The project grew out of the challenges both scholars faced while cataloguing 19th-century garments at Cosprop and the V&A, where they frequently uncovered makers’ names but little documentation about the women behind them.

Sage and Steph bring complementary training to this work, each holding a Master’s in Dress and Textile Histories from the University of Glasgow. Sage, with a background in costume for theatre and film, is Assistant Curator of the John Bright Collection at Cosprop. Steph, whose interests center on nineteenth-century textiles and female makers, is a cataloguer at the V&A with foundational training in costume design. Together, they are developing an accessible database that will allow users to trace individual dressmakers, connect related objects across collections, and better understand the broader networks of the dressmaking trade.

Sage and Steph will explore the surprising narratives garments can reveal, the tacit skills passed from maker to maker, and the possibilities of collaborative research to surface hidden histories. They’ll share ways for researchers and curators to get involved and to gather early feedback that will help shape the project as it grows.

*Note special time: 2:00 pm (January only)

Click here to register
Registration closes 24 hours prior to the event.
If you missed the deadline, email conversationsondress@costumesocietyamerica.com.

The Uncovering Craft Cocktail (Alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 2 oz gin
• ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
• ¾ oz honey syrup (mix equal parts honey + warm water)
• Ice
• Lemon peel, for garnish

Instructions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup.
2. Shake until chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Source: https://girlandtonic.co/bees-knees/

The Uncovering Craft Tonic (Non Alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 1 oz fresh cucumber juice (or 3–4 slices muddled well)
• ½ oz lime juice
• ½ oz honey syrup (equal parts honey + warm water)
• 3–4 fresh herbs (choose mint, basil, or rosemary)
• 4–5 oz tonic water or sparkling water
• Ice
• Cucumber ribbon or herb sprig for garnish

Instructions

1. In the bottom of a shaker or glass, muddle the herbs lightly to release their aroma.
2. Add cucumber juice, lime juice, and honey syrup. Stir (or shake gently) with ice.
3. Strain into a glass filled with fresh ice.
4. Top with tonic water or sparkling water.
5. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon or a sprig of herbs.

Images
Right to left: Sage Foley, Steph Haire