Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Songs of Milne on Radio 4

I was interviewed by the pianist John Kember for a Radio 4 programme (aired 19 June 2012) about the songs made from AA Milne’s children’s verses by the composer Harold Fraser-Simpson. This was a thought-provoking exercise which got me pondering how … Continue reading

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Inside Outing at the Rivoli Ballroom

I gave a presentation on Dance Floor Fashions at a V&A event, ‘Inside Outing: Ballrooms’ yesterday, which prompted some reflections on the interaction between music, fashion and culture. Researching the talk, I was struck by the openness of British culture to … Continue reading

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Historic Olympics in Advertising

The National Archives in London has created a webpage to showcase the records it holds of Olympics past and present. I was delighted to see an image gallery that includes many of the advertising documents I have studied in the … Continue reading

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Spring flowers

As the spring finally gets under way and the bluebells and hawthorn are in bloom, it’s a good time of year to think about the importance of flowers in British design. Floral motifs are interesting as they can be both … Continue reading

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Designing Women: Post-War British Textiles

  As part of London’s Cultural Olympiad, the Fashion and Textile Museum is presenting an exhibition of 1950s and 1960s textile designs by women. This is an unusual initiative for them on several levels; firstly because most of the designs … Continue reading

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The pre-1914 Russian Empire in colour

Between 1905 and 1914 a Russian aristocrat, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii travelled through the Russian Empire photographing people and places using a colour process he had invented. When he fled to the USA after 1917 the photographs went with him, and were … Continue reading

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All Work and Low Pay extended to August 2012

The exhibition ‘All Work and Low Pay’ at the Women’s Library has been extended to August 2012, with additional tours and events. There has been a lot of media interest and great feedback from visitors. Some visitors have left accounts … Continue reading

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Dreams of Empire – Japanese Propaganda Textiles

As part of my information-gathering for the Oxford Bibliography Online of Children’s Clothing I’ve been looking at changing dress-codes for children in Japan. I was put in touch with Dr Barak Kushner at the University of Cambridge, who has written … Continue reading

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New designs from old at The National Archives

The National Archives hold an incredible wealth of textual documents that are used by historians, and it’s common to find academics poring over medieval court rolls or World War I government records. What is less well known is their visual … Continue reading

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Today Programme interview

‘A New Deal for Women in Engineering’, 1954 I was interviewed on Radio 4 Today Programme on 2 January (Business News section, 8.40am) about my exhibition ‘All Work and Low Pay’ and its implications for  women in the workplace. What … Continue reading

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