Monthly Archives: July 2010

The 18th Century tailor did not use a tape measure marked in inches, although this was apparently invented by George Atkinson in 1799. He used a ‘measure’ – a long strip of paper or parchment, to measure his client, marking each dimension on… Continue reading →

George, Prince of Wales, at about the time when Louis first became his tailor. Painting by Richard Cosway.There are of course many anecdotes about the prince and his self-indulgence, particularly in the matter of dress.”… if any doubt survived as … Continue reading →

I had done a great deal of genealogical research on my families before I started to concentrate on my gggggfr Louis Bazalgette. I was intrigued, because he was regarded in the family as a mysterious figure, the commonest question about him being: … Continue reading →

Section of Richard Horwood’s London map of 1792-99, showing 22, Grosvenor Street at the bottom with Brooks Mews and Brook Street above it. Top centre is the location of 18, South Molton Street.We do not yet know in what ‘obscure street of Lond… Continue reading →

Tailors were often maligned at the time, and this was partly because their craft, highly skilled though it was, was regarded as ‘unmanly’. They were portrayed in political cartoons as spare, mean and grasping. There are two obvious reasons for thi… Continue reading →

This cartoon shows four of the tailor’s tools: the goose, the yard, the ‘banger’ and the needle. I’m at pains to find out as much real technical detail as I can of how tailors worked in the 1780’s. What their hours were, how they worked together, … Continue reading →

If you should happen to bump into any anglophone Bazalgette on your course through life, it is almost certain that this fine specimen will be a descendant of Louis Bazalgette. If he/she happens to be French, he/she may still be a relative, because… Continue reading →

High-class tailoring at the time was of the traditional sort, in that everything was hand-sewn. After measurements had been made of the client (much facilitated by the invention of the tape measure in about 1800), patterns were made, which is prob… Continue reading →

On January the 16th, 1788, Prince George commissioned a Birthday Dress Suit of unparalleled splendour. The accounts show:-To making a birthday dress suit coquelico sattin coat & breeches and silver tissue waistcoat all richly embroid’d in silver… Continue reading →

For my blog entitled ‘A Morning at Carlton House’ I knew the facts, such as the people, places (and garments) involved. My main headache was working out the logistics of transporting the clothes. My original idea was rather logical, I thought, and… Continue reading →