The exhibition takes a peek inside our wardrobes of the past. What did we wear, where did we wear it and how did we make it? On exhibition are clothing, tailoring and sewing items, accessories, photographs and stories from the Port Macquarie Historical Society’s significant and extensive collection, including handmade items of clothing from the 1840s to the 1970s as well as ready-made garments from the 1940s onwards.
One of the special items on display is a sampler hand sewn by Jane Mary Blair aged 10. Jane made the sampler in 1864 whilst attending Port Macquarie Public School and later became a competent local dressmaker. Also on display is James Butler’s waistcoat, worn to his wedding at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on December 13, 1853. The beautifully made waistcoat in a cream silk damask, with corded edging and decorative pockets, is entirely hand sewn. It makes quite a fashion statement and contradicts commonly held views that men’s garments from this period were only functional.
Several other new exhibits are on show too, including Underworld — underwear uncovered and some new items feature in the Costume and Textiles Gallery including Isabella Jobling’s petite wedding dress worn at her marriage to Christopher Fenwick at St Thomas’ Church on August 4, 1846.
Stitches, Threads & Yarns celebrates NSW History Week and its theme ‘Threads — they wore what?’. Admission to the exhibition costs $5 adults, $3.50 concession, $2 children, $10 family and includes full entry to the museum’s 14 rooms and galleries of themed exhibits.
