About

My name is Lauren and I’m the woman behind Wearing History.

I began sewing when I was around eight years old and started studying fashion history and collecting vintage clothing when I was a teenager.  It’s incredible to think that it’s been over twenty years  since I began my research through primary sources and the hands-on “experimental archeology” of clothing through antique pattern cut and construction.

The more I learn about historical fashion, the more I see there is to learn.  Just as soon as you’ve settled into “they never…” you find an obscure little tidbit that says that they did! I find that rather fun, and that’s why it still holds my interest to this day! Sewing is the same way for me, and I love learning and discovering new (old) ways to do things.

I have a degree in Fashion Design and also studied Costume Design for Film and Television. I dabbled in costume design and stylist work, and worked both as a stitcher and first hand- notably at the San Diego Opera and La Jolla Playhouse.  I was very thankful to have been backed successfully in 2014 for vintage inspired ready to wear clothing of my own design that was made locally.  Although I do not have an academic degree in history, I very much consider myself a “historian” of sorts, with over twenty years of experience researching historical fashion from primary sources, including original periodicals, antique photographs, and original period antique and vintage clothing.  Even before the internet, I was researching Edwardian fashion as a teenager using microfilm of original period newspapers at the community college library, and digging through piles of old clothing in antique stores to find original garments with my mom.

I currently make sewing patterns based on period originals from the 1890s to the 1950s.  Some of my patterns are my own drafts, using a combination of my fashion design training and my historical pattern cut knowledge.  Visit my site here for my website (non UK or EU).   and worldwide customers can find the same patterns in my Etsy Shop. 

In 2021 we purchased The Pattern Printing Company, and we now provide a wholesale printing service for other small pattern makers, BUT ALSO low-cost A0 printing for retail customers who buy e-patterns and hate taping!

We are very much a micro-business, with the support of my husband, and I enjoy sharing my passion for the technical history of dressmaking.

This blog is a journal of my journey with historical sewing and fashion history, including research, my personal projects, endeavors, and miscellaneous adventures. Thanks for stopping by!

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