11 or so ladies walk towards the doors of Valley West wearing an impressive array of 1960s fashions and expectant smiles. They are stepping back in time to experience what working life was like for garment factory workers, ladies who sat at industrial sewing machines for 8 hours at a stretch churning out clothing for […]
Category: 20th Century History
20th Century History | Hull Retail History | Kingston Upon Hull History
Historic Hammonds, Hull’s Iconic Department Store
Hammonds, Hull’s iconic department store sails like a great ocean liner on Paragon Square. It greets shoppers and visitors as soon as they arrive at Paragon Station, saying ‘come in here.’ Carl Hammond established his drapery store – selling cloth and individual items – in 1821. Then the city of Hull was very different from […]
20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Modern History | Oral History | Social History | The House Of Mirelle
Oral History: Witness2Fashion’s Memory Of Using Treadle Sewing Machines
Recently we’ve been chatting to the person behind the fantastic blog Witness2Fashion about all things ‘treadle sewing machine.’ Based in California you might expect a difference between the UK / Hull Yorkshire but I was struck by how similar they were. Treadles have the same charm wherever you were in the world when you sat and […]
1940s Fashion | 1950s Fashion | 20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | Films | History of Couture | History Of Fashion Illustration | Hull Retail History | Kingston Upon Hull History | Public History | The House Of Mirelle | Vintage Fashion
Fashion Illustration: Watch The Film Drawing The 1940s to 1950s House Of Mirelle Evening Gown
Between circa 1949 and 1952 a black evening gown was sold at The House of Mirelle, a UK fashion house based in Hull. It was the golden age of fashion illustration when artists interpreted designs which were published in magazines, journals and newspapers. Watch our film to see how an artist might have illustrated the […]
20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | Historic Research | History of Couture | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Sewing Archaeology | Talks and Lectures | Textile and Fabric History | The House Of Mirelle | Vintage Fashion
Sewing Archaeology: Deconstructing Clothes To Learn More About Them
Sewing Archaeology: the study of garments from the past in order to learn about the culture and practice of sewing See also: The History of Fashion and Clothing, Material Culture, The History of Design. The history of sewing Sewing has been around since our ancestors stitched with bone needles and sinews for thread; […]
1970s Fashion | 1970s History UK | 20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Kingston Upon Hull History | Modern History | Public History | Textile and Fabric History | The House Of Mirelle | Vintage Fashion
Hull History: May 1975 Princess Anne’s Modern Wedding Dress Designed By Maureen Baker Comes To Hull
Everyone loves a royal wedding but did you know Princess Anne’s has a special connection to Hull….. The wedding of Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips The marriage of Princess Anne on 14th November 1973 to Captain Mark Phillips was an occasion celebrated by the entire nation. Norman Hartnell The big surprise was that Princess […]
1960s Fashion | 1960s History UK | 1970s History UK | 20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Kingston Upon Hull History | Modern History | Oral History | Social History
Hull Social History: 3 Day Millionaires DVD by Dr Alec Gill
“My Dad was a skipper on the trawlers and if he’d had a good catch, he’d take Mum out and spend the money on her,” said Lynn. “Oh! A 3 Day Millionaire,” I said. “A what?” came the reply. “3 Day Millionaire,” I said. When there was no response from the other side, “um. When […]
1960s History UK | 1970s History UK | 20th Century History | Historic Research | Kingston Upon Hull History | Modern History | Public History | Social History | The House Of Mirelle
Social History 1968 to 1969: The Headscarf Protest, Fashion Inertia and The Years Of Change
The Headscarf Revolutionaries by Brian Lavery had been on the must-read list since the early days researching the House of Mirelle. From information about Hull’s Headscarf Protest I turned to the history of the fishing industry and the Cod Wars. Lavery’s book sketched in the details in a work of such imagination and feeling, history came […]
20th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Historic Non Fiction | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Hull Retail History | Kingston Upon Hull History | Oral History | Public History | Social History | Textile and Fabric History
Social History: The Orphaned Singer Sewing Machine, Sewing Workrooms and The Culture Of Sewing Book
This week Harvard’s online Magazine published an article about a treadle sewing machine. The title was An Orphaned Sewing Machine and it was written by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. The link’s there if you’d like to read it. Ulrich and her colleague Ivan Gaskell were given an old Singer treadle sewing machine as a means of teaching […]
Research into The House of Mirelle is headed up by Carrie Henderson. The House of Mirelle is being rebuilt using a combination of research, interviews and Oral History, that means hearing people’s stories told in their own words. The House of Mirelle was open for 40 years. You may have been one of the people […]
1950s Fashion | 1960s Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History of Couture | History Of Fashion Modelling | Kingston Upon Hull History | The House Of Mirelle
Donating Vintage Fashion: The House of Mirelle, Doree Leventhal and Robita Couture
This month has seen a couple of additions to the House of Mirelle collection. Both are eye catching, stunning examples of vintage fashion at its very best! The first is a gorgeous midnight blue dress which revealed the most surprising addition: a boned corset / bustier built into the bodice section lining. “How ingenious,” I […]
1950s Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Hull Retail History | Interviews | Kingston Upon Hull History | The House Of Mirelle
Perth Australia House Of Mirelle Wedding Dress
Listen to the interview on BBC Radio Humberside breakfast show here – click on ‘listen in browser’ if you do not have SoundCloud: Do you recognise this wedding dress? Throughout the youth-quake of the 1950s Hull newspapers ran adverts selling tickets to emigrate to Australia; the cost of the ticket to this brand new life […]
1940s Fashion | 1950s Fashion | 1960s Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History Of Fashion Illustration | History of Sewing Dressmaking and Tailoring | Kingston Upon Hull History | Oral History | Textile and Fabric History | The House Of Mirelle
Fashion History: Marjorie Field, Fashion Flats, Fashion Illustration and The House of Mirelle
One of the most enjoyable aspects of having fashionable conversations is the associations they bring. They can be personal – recollecting the occasion an outfit was worn at, historical – what was happening in the world at the time, or creative and cultural – what it said about the fashion industry, for instance. A few weeks […]
1930s Fashion | 1940s Fashion | 1950s Fashion | 1960s Fashion | 19th Century Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | History Of Fashion Illustration | Kingston Upon Hull History | Public History
Hull Fashion History: The Art Of Illustration – 100 Years of Fashion Advertising 1859 – 1960
This advert for Edwin Davis in the Hull Packet newspaper of summer 1859 is barely recognisable in comparison with fashion advertising we know today. In today’s world, glossy magazines and TV adverts are part of a global industry with an estimated worth of over 3 trillon dollars. In this high stakes, highly competitive market it is […]
1940s Fashion | 1950s Fashion | 1960s Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | Historic Non Fiction | History of Couture | History Of Fashion Modelling | Kingston Upon Hull History | The House Of Mirelle
When Cherry Marshall Met Seignon: Making A Model and The Face Of Susan Small.
Irene Pearson wouldn’t have become Cherry Marshall if it hadn’t been for Seignon – it took a chance meeting in 1946 to seal the deal. Long before a marriage to writer Emanuel Litvinoff – or Manny – gave her that lucky break, she responded to an advert in a Nottingham newspaper for a ‘model in […]
1960s Fashion | 20th Century History | Fashion History | Kingston Upon Hull History | The House Of Mirelle
Curious About Your House of Mirelle or Elka Couture Item? Susan Capes From Hull Museums Answers Your Questions
Hull Museums are situated in the grand old sector of the British city near to the River Hull. The group of buildings house collections focusing on the rich and long cultural history of the once medieval city. In the Hull Museums catalogue, avid fashion researchers find it includes an Elka Couture dress. The museums also house hats and […]
The Mirelle Historic Archive is a collection of items associated with the history of The House of Mirelle. It contains: photographs newspaper clippings fashion articles fashion show programmes clothing – modern costume fashion illustrations personal mementos interviews and oral history Items from the archive are part of the lecture The House of Mirelle 1938-1978 Forty […]
Welcome to the House of Mirelle, a public history resource for you to read, watch, listen to and learn about Hull’s fab fashion house! About The House Of Mirelle was a high end fashion house that existed in the UK city of Hull between 1938 and 1978. It was owned by creative […]
THE HOUSE OF MIRELLE HULL 1938-1978 Forty Years Of Fashion History Want to learn more about the history of The House of Mirelle in an interactive talk or teaching session? The session includes research into Mirelle and Oral History – the voices of those who’ve contributed to the archive ‘in their own words.’ Subject areas […]