What is historybounding?

I wanted to write about this for years, and we finally have the pictures I wanted to illustrate with. Something I keep mentioning, but never really explained: historybounding. 

Some of you (especially those who read the english version of the blog) might be familar with the term, some might be familiar with the idea, but did not know that there is a name for this, or realized that it is not just a weird idea in someone's head, but it is an actual "style". 

Historybounding, the word, originates from Disneybounding, and was popularized by a well-known historic coustuming you-tuber, Morgan Donner. 

Let's start at the beginning, what is Disneybounding? (Most) people like to dress up (otherwise carnivals and Hallooween wouldn't be that popular), and they often like to dress up as their favorite character (hello, cosplay, we will talk about you in another time, okay?). But, in the Disney parks adults above 14 years of age, cannot go in dressed as a Disney character. At least not in a full screen-accurate (or "park accurate") costume, so they would not be confused with the costumed employees of the park, and more importantly, cannot stand in for pictures for free, when the park-employees do that for money.

However, people are people and they would still like to express their fandom, even if not in a full costume, but in clothes that conveys the essence of a character, uses elements of a character, though not a full costume, most of the times it is put together from modern clothes, but still recogniseable. It is not difficult. Do you like Belle from Beauty and the Beast? Do you have a flowy, sun-yellow summer dress? Snowhite? Yellow skirt, light blue shirt and red accessories! Mary Poppins? Flowy, lacy white dress and a wide red belt and a white hat! You get the idea, but you'll get plenty of pictures if you google "disneybounding", 

Now, in the same thought-process: in historybounding we use elements of historical clothes in our everyday lives. Morgan Donner talks about this in her video HERE.

The idea, the notion itself is not new. Through history, fashion always loved reaching back to some eralier period, though probably not as conciously as historybounding. See my favorite historical design element: The slashed sleeves pop up through history, from the 14th cetury up until the early 20th century. I, myself, already in the early 1980-ies, had a summerdress with a V shaped waistline and lacing at the front, a dress in a kind of edwardian style and so on. So much so, that my teachers in my highshcool (that incidently stands across the street of the city-theatre), often asked me, if Iwas running away from the theatre (yes, I loved the theatre, I spend a lot of time, and no, most of my teachers did not like my style. Or me for that matter). When talking about historybounding, I cannot NOT remember my dress I made for myself, for the event that is similar to the american prom, which had so much renaissance element, from the (false) slashed sleeves, the V shaped waist, the lace, the lacing. I am ever so sorry that I not only don't have the dress, but I don't even have a picture of it, or me at the event (let's not get into THAT now. We are talking about CLOTHES, okay?). Anyway, what I wanted to say, that I did historybounding before it was a thing. 

But what IT is then? Using historical clothes or historical elements in modern circumstances. Morgan in her video says, that using full authentic, historically accurate clothing (whole outfits) in modern, everyday situation counts as historybounding, but I, myself would argue with that, as I think that it is what it is. Using full historic clothing in modern circumstances, 

So when, I was walking around in Verona in my renaissance dress...

or, during covid, thinking if we only get out of the house once a week, we might as well do it properly dressed, and went shopping to Auchan in the same renaissance gear, 

or popping into Ikea fully dressed 18th century garb between two event...

That is not it.

Don't get me wrong, I love walking around in historical clothing, and have no qualms about doing so, I am quite used to people look at me either openly or not so openly

But for me, that is wearing autentic historical clothes, in non-uthentic circumstances. Yes, it CAN be counted as historybounding, but not for me.

Then what IS historybounding for me? 

Wearing historically inspired clothing, or historical clothes mixed with non-historical items.

 Like the late Victorian skirt and waistcoat with a totally modern striped long sleeved T shirt and boots.

I wore a similar set to MÜPA (Palace of Arts), the biggest concert hall in the country:

Vagy a teljesen korhű osztott (nadrág)szoknyám, a fehér len mellénnyel, de modern, túlljálós pólóval és bakanccsal, a kedvenc zenekarom koncertjén.

But you can do other things, like wearing a medeival kirtle to a festiyal with trainers and a wide leather belt. A 17th century kirtle, but shortened with a button down blouse. My regency spencer, but not with this regency dress, but, let's say, with a pair of jeans (I've tried it, it works, but I don't have pictures, sorry).

A high necked, puffy sleeved shirt/blouse with a denim skirt. 18th century petticoats with a tank top. An 1890-ies sweater with a modern skirt, I could go on and on...

The possibilities are endless. We can always smuggle a bit of history, a bit of romance into our clothes.

Pictures: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

A promise is a promise is a promise (making the Black Snail Patterns' tailored waistcoat)

 I promised literally years ago, that I will show you, in detail, how I make those late victorian/early edwardian waistcoats and here you go.

I made this back in the fall of 2023, even made photos of most of the steps, but then, never really photographed the finished item, though it did appeared in this post, where it was only an accessory, the emphasis was on the split skirt. 

I found the fabric in the usual place (I Love Textil). It was only a small piece, just a bit more than a meter, and it was black (yeah, you do remember correctly. I don't do black that much - or so I thought back then), with tiny white stripes. I had no idea what could I do with it, what could I use it for, still I bought it. Why? 

Because it was LINEN! I was hiding in my linen stash for years, when I made my first late Victorian waistcoat, and then I started thinking about historybounding and steampunk-ish stuff and it hit me. The piece of black striped linen is perfect for a waistcoat. 

I used the striped linen for the fashion fabric, a linen that looks grey, though actually its warp and weft threads are white and black (don't actually know which is which by now), and a strong thick canvas in place of horsehair canvas for interlining (no fusible interface in historical sewing, at least up until the 1940-ies, and I try to avoid it as much as possible even in my modern sewing (the same goes for zippers - not because I cannot sew them, I can, but I prefer not to).

As for the techniques I used: I already said here many times, that though I someimes read through the instructions, I rarely actually need them. The techiques I used here most probably a good mix of the instructions that came with the pattern, historically accurate methodes, the (industrial) ones I learned many decades ago, and the ones I developed to myself by sewing for more than 45 years, thus there are bound to be points where I differ from the pattern's instructions.

Printing, taping the pages together and cutting the pieces:

Adding horsehair canvas to the front facing. Though I did not do the padstitching (as I should have), I did try to shape the collar by folding it while basting.

I have no picture of it, but I basted, sewn and pressed the shping darts.

And then basted the canwas interlining, and then sewn the welt-pocket (for the watch).

There is a detailed description in instructions about how to do this pocket in the fully historical way, but since originally I only wanted this waistcoat for historybounding purpouses, I used the method I learned in the factory, back, when I learned dressmaking. 

Seamed, turned and ironed the little belt kind of things that go on the back to adjust the size.

Adding the facing to the front and the shawlcollar.

Then I clipped the edges, turned the collar out and then basted again, while folding it to the shape I wanted. Also added the edging to the bottom hem. 

Pinning in the front lining:

And then sewing it in, by hand, with tiny prick-stitches.

Then making a sausage... LOL. Actually, with the right sides facing together, I pinned the edges of the armholes, while the rest of the front piece is rolled up, inside. 

The seam is sewn...

... clipped...

...turned out...

And pressed.

Up close:

From the right side:

All that jazz basting...

Sewing the back lining to the back piece at the hem. Originally/according to the pattern, the waiscoat's back is not lined, but I added a lining. Just because.

Then pressed the seam open, so it would be neater, when folded at the seam.

Folded and pressed hem of the back:

I did cut the lining slightly bigger than the fashion fabric, just to be sure.

It was then time to cut it to the exact size.

Adding the belt to the back.

Pinning it to the side:

This is where/how the side of the front and the back meet:

Sandwiching the assembled back between the lining and the fashion fabric of the front (with the right sides together). 

Pinning it:

See, how the edge of the back is encased between the fabrics, and how the lower corner sits:

Then continue to pin together the fashion fabric and the lining at the armhole:

Sewing it down:

Clipping the corner:

And the edges of the armhole:

Turning it out:

Pinning and sewing down the shoulders, with the sandwich technique, similar to the one used at the sides:

Pinning and sewing together the collar at the middle of the back (opened up):

With the collar folded, now there is only a small hole where the collar should be sewn on to the back's neckline.

Pinning outside of the collar to  the neckline:

Sewing it down:

Now we need to turn under the last seam, between the collar and the neckline:

Pin it down and sew it by hand, with those tiny prick stitches,

Give the thing a good press, mark the place of the buttonholes, sew the buttonholes, and then the buttons, and add the buckle to the back. I took out all the bastings during the work, bit by bit.

Between the time I made this waistcoat and the time we managed to take proper pictures, I lost about 15-18 kg, and it shows. You can se in this older picture that it did fit me pretty well back then. 

I hope the details were helpful. 

Fabric for the waistcoat: I Love Textil

Pattern for the waistcoat: Black Snail Patterns

Modelled photos: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

Work-photos: my phone.