Open Mon – Sat, 9:30am – 5pm | Wheatland Tours 10am – 3pm
On 23 April 1791, James Buchanan was born to James and Elizabeth Speer Buchanan. Though Buchanan didn’t celebrate with balloons and streamers, he did have a few known favorites that he may have enjoyed on his birthday. Favorite Way to Spend the Day A publication from the Daily Democrat and News on 20 December 1859 […]
Read MoreOver the next few weeks, we will look at some dinnerware objects on our Instagram page. Today’s blog post will reveal what it may have been like to be a dinner guest at Wheatland. Small Guest Lists Meals at Wheatland generally had a smaller guest list. Buchanan preferred to entertain smaller dinner parties between two […]
Read MoreThe Crinoline (mid-1850s to mid-1860s) The cage crinoline, or the hoop skirt, was made of thin steel wires bound in fabric and draped from the waist with cotton tape ties. Though the idea of a hoop skirt has been around for centuries (see the farthingale of the 15th-17th centuries, or the pannier of the 18th […]
Read MoreOh, the Stories of Objects Left Behind… and Lost in Time Upon entering President James Buchanan’s Wheatland, one experiences the mansion quite similarly to what Mr. Buchanan experienced. The mansion itself had very little interior structural changes over its life, save for changes such as the installation of a bathroom and a dumbwaiter system during […]
Read MoreTying It All Up And so we have arrived at the end, or rather the beginning, of this reproduction gown’s existence. The last bits of this project all have to do with creating ties, so yes, we are quite literally “tying it all up.” Creating Bodice Ties In my previous post, I created the silk […]
Read MoreAnd Sew It Begins… to Come Alive! With the bodice and skirt nearly completed, it’s time to put the pieces together. This is where the magic truly begins, for this is the part where the gown starts looking like something one could wear. Joining the Skirt to the Bodice To join the skirt to the […]
Read MoreCreating the Skirt When it comes to this gown specifically, the skirt is the thing. Its free-form nature hangs off the body to highlight free movement and the natural form desired with the Neoclassical movement. Because the skirts are attached as a high Empire waist just under the bust, they also elongate the body in […]
Read MoreConstructing the Bodice [There will be time] for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of toast and tea. -“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot Visions and Revisions T.S. Eliot may not have been writing about sewing, but his words provide us with a bit of wisdom for this project. […]
Read MoreWhy Recreate Historical Garments? Whenever I embark on recreating a historical garment, I remember why such recreation is important. As a historian, my mission is to research, understand, and present the past not as an abstract and irrelevant entity from “way back in ye days of olde,” but rather as a very real and almost […]
Read MoreWhen discussing historical fashion, chances are the topic will lead to corsets. As soon as that word is mentioned, one (or more) of the following statements abound: “Women couldn’t breathe in corsets and fainted frequently. That’s why there’s fainting couches.” “But did you know women had ribs surgically removed to tight lace?” “Women were forced […]
Read MoreMcCaskey High School track star Barney Ewell won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.