Lingerie Embroidery Designs Catalogue by Briggs Transfers - The Underpinnings Museum

#UPMTC: The Walls of Jericho, by Casci Ritchie

This blog post – part of a series documenting the first Underpinnings Museum Twitter conference – details the presentation from Casci Ritchie, entitled The Walls of Jericho: Dressing for the bedroom during the 1930s and 1940s.

This presentation will look at the development of women’s loungewear during the 1930s and 1940s and how clothing helped changed society’s view of the ‘boudoir’. Using key films from the period, magazines and archival garments, the author will pinpoint pivotal moments in the development of ‘loungewear’ and its subsequent direct effects on the way society dressed for bedtime. A compact object study will focus on the dressing gown, reflecting on the garment’s history and role within the ‘boudoir’ from functionality to Hollywood glamour.

Casci Ritchie is an independent researcher who recently graduated from University of Glasgow with an MLitt in Dress and Textile Histories. Casci has studied fashion since she was 17, completing a BA Hons in Fashion Design and an MA in Fashion Bodywear, where she specialised in twentieth-century lingerie research and design development. Her recent dissertation focused on the impact of Hollywood cinema and the women of Glasgow’s clothing during the 1940s. She has continued to develop her passion for historical and contemporary fashion from creation to consumption with a particular interest in Hollywood costume and consumer culture.

We will share each of the conference presentations via its own blog post over the coming weeks. If you’re on Twitter, you can join the discussion via the Underpinnings Museum’s account and the conference hashtag #UPMTC

The header image for this post is the cover of a Lingerie Embroidery Designs Catalogue by Briggs Transfers, from the Underpinnings Museum collections.