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    Pirate flags & wedding gowns: a patchwork of a Victorian life

    In 2016, fashion historian Kate Strasdin was given an extraordinary object – an album of richly coloured and brightly patterned fabric scraps, all collected by one woman across the Victorian age. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, Kate reveals what Anne Sykes’ dress diary can tell us about style, culture and the experiences of ordinary women in the era – and how it led her to poisonous stockings and pirates in Borneo.

    Kate Strasdin is the author of The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes: Secrets from a Victorian Woman’s Wardrobe (Chatto & Windus, 2023)

    Authors

    Ellie Cawthorne is HistoryExtra’s podcast editor. She also contributes to BBC History Magazine, runs the podcast newsletter and hosts several live and virtual BBC History Magazine events.

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