The Keystone vest that Ms. Banner made is what got me into sewing. I'm busty and curvy and have a sway back, so it's not like I'm going to find something in the shops. I have wanted one since the 90's. I'm So thankful for this video. Because I found this lovely plaid wool suiting at the charity store and I want to try out every technique I can when I make it. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
Fun trivia related to left-over-right for kimonos; when a body is prepared for funeral rites it is dressed in a kimono with the closure reversed, that is right-over left. This is why some manga writers object to their works being "flipped" when translated.
Wow, interesting point! Although observers would be more likely to first notice flipped illustrations by the fact that the human race would seem to be more than 90% left-handed. Given that the vast majority of manga don't depict people in kimono, the handedness issue is what will have convinced translation companies to employ redrawers rather than a few isolated instances of someone objecting to creepy-looking reversed kimonos.
I always heard the "men dressed themselves, women were dressed by others" explanation, which always seemed off base. The vast majority of women wouldn't have some kind of ladies' maid to dress them, and helping people dress within the family is surely just as common towards men as women
That's so interesting, the version I heard growing up was the exact opposite! Supposedly in the early/mid 20th century, wives were expected to button their husbands' (and children's) shirts, so women's buttons were moved to the other side to facilitate using the same buttoning motion whether closing their own or their families' clothes.
I always heard that too, but also with the explanation that even poorer women were expected to live with others and never alone, so someone would be expected to help her button.
Yeah - that's total rubbish - as you suspect. It was brought in with the mass manufacture of garments and department stores to enable the staff to identify men's from womens quickly. Before that, there was no gender difference and my tailoring books from c1900 indicate you should make the closing based on the left V right-handedness of the wearer.
You know, I often hear how the women's fshionable shape in history was achieved through clever padding and clothing shape rather than actually changing one's body to match fashions via surgery and dieting. I don't often hear the same said about men's clothing, but I gotta say, the cut of the shirt, the shape of the waiscoat, it goes such a long way to giving you a masculine shape. It's really astounding.
Nice point! 👌 Especially as in SO many eras, men's fashionable shapes were equally unusual & just as constructed by their clothing as women's! Think for example of the Regency era gentleman in tight pantaloons & cutaway jacket, or a Tudor guy in peascod-belly doublet and hose.... Lots of emphasis on having very specific proportions that usually require stiff tailoring and plenty of padding (on shoulders, or stomach, or even the calves!) And then there's men's corsetry, a rabbithole I wish some costuber would one day jump down, as nobody ever seems to discuss it...?
That removable button hack is brilliant. I have been wanting to make a hobbit style waistcoat for ages, but none of the buttons I like are machine washable. Now I can have my waistcoat and easy laundering.
The balls for fire was to cover the balloon which the jin drew, these people are so superstitious 😭 and they don't want to medicate my daughter for this reason. This is why the deployed her medication and this is why they not giving her medication 😭 and that's why they wanted to hospitalise her so I couldn't check what they're doing
This is the criss cross so 10 gets away because of hand wash and covid Boris freedom day wow this country is truly run by criminals what shall I do now? Call 999? 😭😂
I work in a uniform that includes trousers, white shirt (one chest pocket) and vest (as well as tie, cap, optional jackets, etc). The vest has two small welted pockets at the waist, and one medium interior pocket at the top left chest. The trousers have 4 pockets, traditional welted back pockets and side slit front pockets. You would be surprised how much I and my coworkers use the little vest pickets. We shove in there lip balm, watch, hand lotion, small pen or pencil, folded bits of paper like work info packets, money including coins and bills. receipts, tiny flashlights, our face masks, hair ties or clips, whatever! They are such essential pockets in our daily lives at work that if we pick up a vest at the uniform checkout that doesn’t have real pockets (for a time a few years back they were making them false!), we cut the welts open and just fill the lining of our vest as if it’s one giant pocket. True story!
As a guy who is interested in fashion history, I thank you so so so much for this video, as I personally couldn't really find any instructional videos on how to make historical men's wear. Your videos inspire me a lot (especially this one), and I'm now thinking of making historical menswear from the 1830s-40s, even though I am most likely going to get discouraged and ridiculed for that lol
If you alter your style slowly enough, people will just get used to it. Maybe swap out the modern T-shirt for a historical shirt occasionally, then all the time, then occasionally add a waistcoat? Or if you’re in the northern hemisphere you may want to introduce the waistcoat first, simply because it’s useful for staying warm.
It is helpful in dealing with those who mind business that is not their own to appreciate that they are actually self-identifying as a****les. This will save you a great deal of time in wondering and identifying. It would be nice if everyone was nice, but, it isn't going to happen.
Never mind what others think--like the others said, start introducing pieces and you will be all set. Remember what ZZ Top once said, "The girls go crazy for a sharp dressed man."
@@ragnkja One slow step to equality at a time. We need to get our pockets back into the mainstream. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
And even nowadays, male clothing is fastened left over right, and women's clothing right over left. Which I'm persuaded is just a ploy to sass people making their own clothes and didn't realize such a detail. When my sewing teacher taught me that I genuinely went "Really? Buttons? This is a god damned blouse, let it speak for itself at this point!"
Me and my Dad were literally just having a debate about button-handedness last night! He concluded that a polo he got from work must have been a women's one because when he put it on he couldn't do the buttons because they were on the wrong side and that made me have to check all of my own button shirts to confirm that they were different from men's. It even extended to our hoodies with zippers!
The doggie looks worried at the end. My mom had nurse's uniforms years ago that had removable shank buttons, that were held on individually by tiny "cotter's pin" type fasteners through the shanks. I wonder if they still make them? She would take the buttons on and off every time she laundered the uniforms, which was of course after every shift that they were worn. I had the job of putting the buttons back on when I was old enough. Eventually she got new uniforms that had regular buttons or zippers.
They do still make them. They're used a lot in military dress uniforms. My dad gave me some of his for the first coat I made where I was very indecisive about buttons and wanted the ability to change them out easily
@@rosequill7925 Of course! On the Military Dress-uniforms the buttons can be absolutely huge. Removable buttons makes the Laundress' job so much easier. Saves the fabric supporting the buttons from undo strain. Just brilliant. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I know you’re going for historically accurate but since this is a cosplay too could have saved yourself a couple of hours research because most Muppets including Gonzo are left handed. Because the Muppeteer uses his right hand to make the Muppet talk while using their left hand to control their hand.
Your waistcoat turned out amazing! I really like the saturated colors. The tiny pockets in front do have a function! The left pocket is for your pocket watch with the chain fed through one of the buttonholes, and the right pocket is for your watch key--if your watch requires one.
Super interesting detail where the button shanks extend through grommets and are anchored by a strip of leather. I've never seen anything like that before.
I'm just so sad that we haven't gotten an Abby Cox Miss Piggy dress. Or Kermit; that would be amazing, too. Because COSPLAY GOALS. The waistcoat is absolutely stunning.
I'm in favour of all of these! A while back a lot of lovely ladies including Nicole and Abby did Disney princess outfits... Can we hope for a Muppets Christmas Carol version?! 🤩
Such gorgeous fabric 👍 I remember back in the '70s when I was slim (!) buying a pair of ladies jeans as the fit was better, but oh , having the fly the wrong way round completely flummoxed me! 🙃
I know it might seem obvious to you all, but actually watching someone hand-sew a waistcoat makes a lot of the seam/stitch types used at the time make sense. I've been over here in industrial sewing land, and it's easy to forget that what's easier under a machine foot is probably not what's easier with a hand-held needle.
What I got out of this video (regarding Western clothing): The most simple explanations are usually the best. Most people are right hand dominant, therefore left over right is easier for the population to fasten as a whole. Women's garments start using hooks and eyes, which requires a new technique to sew and fasten in which the opposite is true. It sticks around after buttons make a comeback and so both ways of doing buttons coexist. Then people need some grand philisophical reason for things and use gender to make those theories work.
simple is always best. this is called occum's razor. it is a concept in philosophy. i agree with what you say but i feel that gendering is the simplest explanation and i dont think nicole is dismissing intentional gendering as a contributing factor. gender is as much part of victorian society as it is of our own and it needs to be acknowledged as a co-factor. that is what i got out of this video.
Thank you for covering the button thing! I was one of those people who assumed it was weapons-related (cowboys rather than swordfighters but the explanation was the same), but the hooks and eyes explanation makes a lot of sense. (The eye roll at 17:15 is a big mood!) This is also useful information for my one-of-these-days Genderqueer Victorian Wizard costume that I'm planning out. Love the reveal at the end, very dapper!
Dear Ms. Rudolph, if there were awards for sewing, you'd at least be at the Peabody level. That vest is stunning. And that trick with the buttons has literally just blown my mind. It is So ingenious. The Keystone vest that Ms. Banner made is what hooked me into sewing in the first place. And curvy, plus size me has been plotting out how to make The Waistcoat that I've always wanted ever since. Thank you. This video is about to be on repeat a whole bunch of times. _A theory_ - The small pockets are to meant hang your thumbs from. So you can bounce on your toes, patting your belly, as you hold forth. Or so I would imagine. OK, so I can totally see myself doing that. According to the google machine, pocket watches became common in 1857 when the gear parts became standardized. So, this is an evolutionary step that becomes the watch pocket? - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
Something of note about the gendered-button-side-thing; I once learned in a fashion class that even though women's garments are often right-over-left, the ones that aren't (low-priced jeans being huge suspects of this) is because they are manufactured on the same machines that make men's styles. Instead of changing the machinery to put fly zippers in right-over-left, they just do it left-over-right and people buying the women's style just have to deal with it. Women's dress slacks and trousers, especially of a nicer brand, will more often have the fly right-over-left.
Ms Rudolph --- I would find a specific video on pattern matching to be EXTREMELY helpful. Also, when you have critical pattern matching in a garment, how much extra fabric do you need to buy? Would 1-1/2 x the recommended yardage be reasonable? I like the fabric you chose for your waistcoat; the colors in Gonzo's are satisfying to see together. (He is blue and the rusty/orangey colors are compliments to his color. How much do you take color schemes, such as analogous, complimentary, tetradic, and the like, into consideration when you design garments and outfits?) The trick of embedding the shanks of the buttons and using the strip of leather is an eye-opener for me. Never would I have thought of doing that. Thank you.
When I took his doublet making classes Mathew Gnagy suggested the closure treatment was part of dressmakers establishing themselves as a separate profession from tailors with their own protected techniques.
It's fabulous! I was always told the "maids dressed the women" myth and never thought anything of it. I've learned so much from your videos. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Finally a sensible answer to this age old question! :) My favourite theory before this was that it was a "decency" thing, and that since women usually walked to the left of men (including often being seated to the left in churches), the clothes buttoned away from eachother to prevent peeking. Not that one would see much, but decency rules have always been a bit exaggerated and weird.
I'd always been told the way to remember was that if a man is driving and a woman riding passenger, they could both peek down each other's button-up shirts :P It certainly was a memorable image and thus a great mnemonic!
So I love this series as a whole and men’s fashion history isn’t covered nearly as much, but I absolutely love the mental whiplash of going from a wonderful fashion history lecture/rant to ‘so Gonzo’. It’s always jarring and I love it.
4:18 - Nice shoutout, thank you! For such a highly stylized set of garments, it is odd (and sad) that it is almost always omitted from discussion. Thank you for delivering concise yet thorough content, as always! 🤗
I cannot tell you how pleased I was when I watched the Muppet Christmas carol with my family after a terrible, terrible month at work and on the way home I saw you started this project.
While there is the running gag that Gonzo is "whatever" the other muppets and even the muppeteers still tend to refer to Gonzo as he/him but that aside in this instance Gonzo was portraying Charles Dickens who definitely is gendered male.
@@sasquatch3518 nonbinary person speaking here: Using he/him or she/her pronouns is not unique to male identifying people. Not all nonbinary people use they/them pronouns. Gonzo might use he/him pronouns but that doesnt mean he is a man
These videos are like getting to chat about gorgeous clothing with the coolest professor you know! Thank you for all the research and work you put into these videos!
Oh my gosh this is perfect! You’ve come so far with your videography and presentation skills. The research and amount of sewing detail that you show is truly amazing. This may be one of my all-time videos surrounding sewing.
This video came at the perfect time. I have been trying making a waistcoat for my husband for our vow renewal for months and was honestly at the point of giving up. the techniques you have shown are the ones that just did not make any sense in the written pattern I was originally going to use. Thank You!! BTW the ASMR in your videos is just so soothing, I wish I could just listen to that while i did all my work.
Gosh, what I wouldn't give to dress like Victorian Gonzo every day of my life. This turned out beautifully, I can't wait to see the rest of the ensemble.
Point of interest…yes, in traditional Jewish menswear, the closures are always right over left - specifically done to differentiate the garments from gentile styles and a symbol of pacifism. I’m not sure when this sartorial rule began, but the 19th c. portrait of my husband’s grandfather has them right over left. ❤️ your waistcoat! Totally Gonzo!
Woah. I was wondering about that when she mentioned Hassidic Jews doing right-over-left closures (I'm Orthodox but not Hassidic) so thanks for the explanation!
Thank you so much for doing menswear, I've been trying to figure out how to do a waistcoat (a little earlier than this era) for a while and this was really helpful!
Flat Washers as Weights to hold the Pattern in Place is an absolute Gamechanger. I never thought about this, just always used whatever was near me at the Time...
i really like the audio in the stitching segments, i love how the music leads to a relaxed atmosphere but you can still hear the fabric and the pricks of the needle, it's just a very unique and calm vibe i really really love!
Wow, the version of why buttons are on the opposite side from men to women that I was brought up with was that it was so the men could undo the women's clothing more easily when they were getting undressed to sleep together! Sorry, I don't have a source it's just the one "everyone knew" as I was growing up
Hanfu and Kimono are done left over right is cause doing it right over left is for the dead so if you wrap them that way you are essentially saying you are dead.
Your videos are so relaxing, I love this new serie! I truly appreciate the way you teach historical facts about fashion, let's say your whole person is very inspirationnal ^^
My theory for the button direction is more along the lines of from a tailoring perspective, if you're wearing multiple layers of buttoned things, it looks better if all the buttons are going the same direction. So for menswear which is more often layered than womens' clothes, is made consistent to make the clothes look neater. And womens' wear is/was a lot more varied in styles (front closures on the left, right or middle, bib fronts, side closures, back closures, etc) so a standard way to face buttons isn't particularly practical, since which way the buttons face are heavily influenced by the style of the garment itself. That's not to say that women didn't wear layered clothes, but it probably wasn't a shirt, waist coat, suit jacket and possibly an overcoat all at the same time on a daily basis.
Absolutely beautiful! And I LOVE that you sewed every dang thing by hand! I'm starting to prefer hand-sewing historical costumes over machine stitching for fussy work (set in sleeves, buttonholes, etc.) Hand sewing is very soothing....
Ooooh this is si exiting! I can't wait for the whole outfit! Really interesting conversation about the gendering of buttons, my theory is that is only a matter of making diferences between men and women with no reason whatsoever
I wear a waistcoat frequently and intent to make my own soon. I had a pleasant surprise that you go onto talk about medieval dress and armour, another interest of mine. Much of what I know about armour comes from Jason Kingsley's channel (Modern History TV). Armour was all individual. 2 soldiers fighting side by side would have their preferences and decoration according to their budget and often be different even when doing the same type of fighting / job within a military operation (e.g. cavalry vs. archer). It was not an army uniform. Armour was assymetric to accomodate sword and shield, usually carried the same way: shield left hand, sword right hand but drawn from the left hip. The undergarment was an early t-shirt so tightly shaped that it couldn't be washed as it became mishaped with washing and would no longer be a comfortable fit between body and the inflexible armour. Another significant factor is with soft clothing you it is possible to dress yourself (although many lords would have man servants to do it for them), armour *has* to be put on partly by another person, so knights had 'arming buddies' as they would put each other's final pieces of armour on, being able to the first parts on themselves.
@@ragnkja Yes it is. I may have been mis-remembering this video, but he does say in the first few seconds that it is about shape rather than mould (not that you'd want mould either!) th-cam.com/video/V8-eeJUcO5M/w-d-xo.html
Wow, I love this! I love the making of the garments, but also the research you put into these videos. The gendered buttons have always been a mystery to me - I remember wondering what that was about when I was a small kid.
Im watching this to keep me company as I crochet Christmas presents and I just kept thinking during the button section that there were probably several shorts that could be taken from it. This makes me roll my eyes at myself because I dont even like shorts!
Hmmm... Now you've got me intrigued. At 28:40 "spaced back stitching that looks the same on both sides". Looks fantastic... Not sure how it's done so one side is not a continuous line.
I've often wondered why clothes button differently and will now want to check what I own. Just noticed the waistband on my women's jeans buttons left over right. The waistcoat is spectacular in every sense.
For about 15 years now I have been wearing front closure bras with 'posture' support. My favorite bras close with hook and eyes on the front. They are all left hook into right eye and they are not all the same brand. Then I thought about it and had to go check because I was pretty sure that when I could wear back closure bras it wasn't any different. I've only kept what were my favorite back closure bras so it is not a huge sampling, just 3, but I was wrong. It is right hook into left eye. Go figure.
my front fastener bras (and I've just had to check) are all right hook, left eye. Don't have any back fasteners, but from looking at a well known (in the uk at least) clothing company, most, if not all there back fastening bras are right hook left eye. Different places, different fashions.
@@nanettebromley8843 I am in agreement. The only rule I can think that makes a good rule of thumb is that if one wears a left over right button-down shirt, so should be the waist coat/vest, jacket, coat. That would also be true for right over left button down.. But I do think that if one endeavors to follow a historical fashion/culture then it might be best recognized as respectful for for the wear what is appropriate for that time.
Removable buttons should've continued to be a thing. I remember buttons breaking sometimes when they went through the ringer on our washer. Needle and thread + silk taffeta = ASMR
Very enjoyable and informative video. I just want to comment that I regularly use the captions option when watching, as some TH-camrs are not generally as careful to enunciate clearly as you. And at 10:09 "don't generally have buttons so rioting habits and other things that are similar to men's suit" I am certain it was supposed to say (I realize it's probably auto-generated) RIDING HABITS (and not rioting) but it gave me a chuckle anyway.
LOVE the way you are doing the welted pocket!!! So inspired and inspiring!!! And thank you for your research on the Button Gendering- there are so many myths out there- the one I heard was, that women and men were sitting on different sides at church and they shouldn't be able to look each other "into the garment" :D
I’ve been impatiently waiting for the next piece of this outfit all week! So happy to see your progress!! Thank you for sharing this….it is so beautiful and fun to watch.
Thanks for your comment and for being a fan, God bless you.... I text you on here because you're a big fan and you seems to be a very nice person 💕💕💕💕💕
I always wondered why my garments and my partner's garments have opposite buttons, but never had the energy to look into it (plus I would barely know where to start) so thank you for doing the research!
Things to put in your little pockets. Pocket watch, Chapstick, lip stick, small scissors, those tiny eyeglasses screwdrivers, thimbles (I know Nicole doesn't need/use them but others do), key fob, wireless ear bud case.
I don't know how many people realize the skills involved in sewing this waitscoat. It's a real masterpiece!! And moreover I am just planning to sew one myself...so I can watch and learn a lot from you. Thanks a lot (by the way, I will accept the help of my sewing machine 🤗🍀🌹)
Waistcoats should never have gone out of fashion as they are - clearly shown by this wonderful example - always in style. :}
Vests. But yes they are a rarity
@@somethingclever8916
In British English, the word “vest” refers to a garment that is regularly worn and _not_ particularly stylish.
They're actually coming back but being worn as either a layer on top of a shirt or just as a shirt in its own right in women's fashion
The Keystone vest that Ms. Banner made is what got me into sewing. I'm busty and curvy and have a sway back, so it's not like I'm going to find something in the shops. I have wanted one since the 90's. I'm So thankful for this video. Because I found this lovely plaid wool suiting at the charity store and I want to try out every technique I can when I make it.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I wear them often and have some that represent different organisations to which I belong.
Fun trivia related to left-over-right for kimonos; when a body is prepared for funeral rites it is dressed in a kimono with the closure reversed, that is right-over left. This is why some manga writers object to their works being "flipped" when translated.
Wow, interesting point!
Although observers would be more likely to first notice flipped illustrations by the fact that the human race would seem to be more than 90% left-handed. Given that the vast majority of manga don't depict people in kimono, the handedness issue is what will have convinced translation companies to employ redrawers rather than a few isolated instances of someone objecting to creepy-looking reversed kimonos.
I always heard the "men dressed themselves, women were dressed by others" explanation, which always seemed off base. The vast majority of women wouldn't have some kind of ladies' maid to dress them, and helping people dress within the family is surely just as common towards men as women
That's so interesting, the version I heard growing up was the exact opposite! Supposedly in the early/mid 20th century, wives were expected to button their husbands' (and children's) shirts, so women's buttons were moved to the other side to facilitate using the same buttoning motion whether closing their own or their families' clothes.
My current theory is "men dressed/undressed themselves, so women's buttons were flipped so a man could strip them more easily"
I always heard that too, but also with the explanation that even poorer women were expected to live with others and never alone, so someone would be expected to help her button.
Yeah - that's total rubbish - as you suspect. It was brought in with the mass manufacture of garments and department stores to enable the staff to identify men's from womens quickly. Before that, there was no gender difference and my tailoring books from c1900 indicate you should make the closing based on the left V right-handedness of the wearer.
We can't complicate the mental health team with a nazi variations to cover the previous cover what do you think? Let me know
You know, I often hear how the women's fshionable shape in history was achieved through clever padding and clothing shape rather than actually changing one's body to match fashions via surgery and dieting. I don't often hear the same said about men's clothing, but I gotta say, the cut of the shirt, the shape of the waiscoat, it goes such a long way to giving you a masculine shape. It's really astounding.
Nice point! 👌 Especially as in SO many eras, men's fashionable shapes were equally unusual & just as constructed by their clothing as women's! Think for example of the Regency era gentleman in tight pantaloons & cutaway jacket, or a Tudor guy in peascod-belly doublet and hose.... Lots of emphasis on having very specific proportions that usually require stiff tailoring and plenty of padding (on shoulders, or stomach, or even the calves!) And then there's men's corsetry, a rabbithole I wish some costuber would one day jump down, as nobody ever seems to discuss it...?
That removable button hack is brilliant. I have been wanting to make a hobbit style waistcoat for ages, but none of the buttons I like are machine washable. Now I can have my waistcoat and easy laundering.
Amazing video. Can't wait for the episode where you make a historically accurate chicken to play Camilla in the final photoshoot.
😂😂😂
🤣
I love that she structures her videos like a masterclass. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a lecture hall listening to a professor on fashion history.
The balls for fire was to cover the balloon which the jin drew, these people are so superstitious 😭 and they don't want to medicate my daughter for this reason. This is why the deployed her medication and this is why they not giving her medication 😭 and that's why they wanted to hospitalise her so I couldn't check what they're doing
This is the criss cross so 10 gets away because of hand wash and covid Boris freedom day
wow this country is truly run by criminals what shall I do now? Call 999? 😭😂
I work in a uniform that includes trousers, white shirt (one chest pocket) and vest (as well as tie, cap, optional jackets, etc). The vest has two small welted pockets at the waist, and one medium interior pocket at the top left chest. The trousers have 4 pockets, traditional welted back pockets and side slit front pockets. You would be surprised how much I and my coworkers use the little vest pickets. We shove in there lip balm, watch, hand lotion, small pen or pencil, folded bits of paper like work info packets, money including coins and bills. receipts, tiny flashlights, our face masks, hair ties or clips, whatever! They are such essential pockets in our daily lives at work that if we pick up a vest at the uniform checkout that doesn’t have real pockets (for a time a few years back they were making them false!), we cut the welts open and just fill the lining of our vest as if it’s one giant pocket. True story!
Whole body pockets, sounds handy!
As a guy who is interested in fashion history, I thank you so so so much for this video, as I personally couldn't really find any instructional videos on how to make historical men's wear. Your videos inspire me a lot (especially this one), and I'm now thinking of making historical menswear from the 1830s-40s, even though I am most likely going to get discouraged and ridiculed for that lol
If you alter your style slowly enough, people will just get used to it. Maybe swap out the modern T-shirt for a historical shirt occasionally, then all the time, then occasionally add a waistcoat? Or if you’re in the northern hemisphere you may want to introduce the waistcoat first, simply because it’s useful for staying warm.
We worry too much over what strangers will think
Life is short.
People really aren't thinking that much of others
It is helpful in dealing with those who mind business that is not their own to appreciate that they are actually self-identifying as a****les. This will save you a great deal of time in wondering and identifying. It would be nice if everyone was nice, but, it isn't going to happen.
Never mind what others think--like the others said, start introducing pieces and you will be all set. Remember what ZZ Top once said, "The girls go crazy for a sharp dressed man."
You get a big encouragement from me. The world will be so much more colorful and dapper with a few neo dandies around.
Waistcoats are fantastic and I adore yours. It is so weird to consider how something as mundane as a button could have gendering.
A few centuries earlier, buttons were a mostly male fastener, while women’s garments were laced closed.
@@ragnkja One slow step to equality at a time.
We need to get our pockets back into the mainstream.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I just remember learning gendered buttoning while studying... we were never told why, I never thought to ask!
And even nowadays, male clothing is fastened left over right, and women's clothing right over left. Which I'm persuaded is just a ploy to sass people making their own clothes and didn't realize such a detail. When my sewing teacher taught me that I genuinely went "Really? Buttons? This is a god damned blouse, let it speak for itself at this point!"
Me and my Dad were literally just having a debate about button-handedness last night! He concluded that a polo he got from work must have been a women's one because when he put it on he couldn't do the buttons because they were on the wrong side and that made me have to check all of my own button shirts to confirm that they were different from men's. It even extended to our hoodies with zippers!
I remember button handedness was the main clue to solving a case for Encyclopedia Brown
@@liav4102 Encyclopedia Brown!!!🤩
"I felt it would be too much"
Excuse me Ms Nicole..... have you even met Gonzo?
Gonzo ensemble? You mean … a Gonzemble?
*chokes on tea* 🤣🤣🤣
👆 I was just checking to see if anyone had said this and I'm so glad other folks' brains are also going "... Gonzemble!"
The doggie looks worried at the end. My mom had nurse's uniforms years ago that had removable shank buttons, that were held on individually by tiny "cotter's pin" type fasteners through the shanks. I wonder if they still make them? She would take the buttons on and off every time she laundered the uniforms, which was of course after every shift that they were worn. I had the job of putting the buttons back on when I was old enough. Eventually she got new uniforms that had regular buttons or zippers.
My mother's uniform did too.
They do still make them. They're used a lot in military dress uniforms. My dad gave me some of his for the first coat I made where I was very indecisive about buttons and wanted the ability to change them out easily
@@rosequill7925 Of course! On the Military Dress-uniforms the buttons can be absolutely huge. Removable buttons makes the Laundress' job so much easier. Saves the fabric supporting the buttons from undo strain. Just brilliant.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
@@stevezytveld6585 also allows you to shine the buttons without worrying about the fabric otherwise you would use a button stick
@@joehonan1773 Of course. Shine-y buttons. Essential for surviving Boot Camp.
Brilliant.
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
I know you’re going for historically accurate but since this is a cosplay too could have saved yourself a couple of hours research because most Muppets including Gonzo are left handed. Because the Muppeteer uses his right hand to make the Muppet talk while using their left hand to control their hand.
Huh! *the more you know* thanks for sharing a different perspective.
my handedness has no influence on the garment closures though
@@SingingSealRiana it depends. Some people don’t care either way but others prefer their dominant hand
@@SingingSealRiana What’s does that have to do with a muppet’s waistcoat?
@@tananario that handedness is not the definit "this is how it has to be" factor as stated
I always thought someone on the team must have had a great time making dapper little outfits for Gonzo. He had some great little chicken print shirts.
Your waistcoat turned out amazing! I really like the saturated colors. The tiny pockets in front do have a function! The left pocket is for your pocket watch with the chain fed through one of the buttonholes, and the right pocket is for your watch key--if your watch requires one.
It turned out amazing! The leather piece to hold the buttons is brilliant.
and to think i had just decided that that fox waistcoat was 'too much work'. it is. i'm still going to make it.
Super interesting detail where the button shanks extend through grommets and are anchored by a strip of leather. I've never seen anything like that before.
I'm just so sad that we haven't gotten an Abby Cox Miss Piggy dress. Or Kermit; that would be amazing, too. Because COSPLAY GOALS.
The waistcoat is absolutely stunning.
Hear me out: Karolina Zebrovska making a Kermit-inspired dress/suit.
I'm in favour of all of these!
A while back a lot of lovely ladies including Nicole and Abby did Disney princess outfits... Can we hope for a Muppets Christmas Carol version?! 🤩
The challenge would be to keep Abby/Piggy from running after the guy who plays young Scrooge 🤣
Obviously what you need in your waistcoat pocket is a miniature of Gonzo.
That is one smart waistcoat. I think Gonzo would approve!
Such gorgeous fabric 👍 I remember back in the '70s when I was slim (!) buying a pair of ladies jeans as the fit was better, but oh , having the fly the wrong way round completely flummoxed me! 🙃
I know it might seem obvious to you all, but actually watching someone hand-sew a waistcoat makes a lot of the seam/stitch types used at the time make sense. I've been over here in industrial sewing land, and it's easy to forget that what's easier under a machine foot is probably not what's easier with a hand-held needle.
What I got out of this video (regarding Western clothing):
The most simple explanations are usually the best. Most people are right hand dominant, therefore left over right is easier for the population to fasten as a whole. Women's garments start using hooks and eyes, which requires a new technique to sew and fasten in which the opposite is true. It sticks around after buttons make a comeback and so both ways of doing buttons coexist. Then people need some grand philisophical reason for things and use gender to make those theories work.
simple is always best. this is called occum's razor. it is a concept in philosophy. i agree with what you say but i feel that gendering is the simplest explanation and i dont think nicole is dismissing intentional gendering as a contributing factor. gender is as much part of victorian society as it is of our own and it needs to be acknowledged as a co-factor. that is what i got out of this video.
Gendering is the simple explanation.
@@wwaxwork
Your “simpler explanation” just raises new questions, which are answered by the hooks-and-bars explanation.
Thank you for covering the button thing! I was one of those people who assumed it was weapons-related (cowboys rather than swordfighters but the explanation was the same), but the hooks and eyes explanation makes a lot of sense. (The eye roll at 17:15 is a big mood!) This is also useful information for my one-of-these-days Genderqueer Victorian Wizard costume that I'm planning out. Love the reveal at the end, very dapper!
Mad love for genderqueer rep
Dear Ms. Rudolph, if there were awards for sewing, you'd at least be at the Peabody level. That vest is stunning. And that trick with the buttons has literally just blown my mind. It is So ingenious. The Keystone vest that Ms. Banner made is what hooked me into sewing in the first place. And curvy, plus size me has been plotting out how to make The Waistcoat that I've always wanted ever since. Thank you. This video is about to be on repeat a whole bunch of times.
_A theory_ - The small pockets are to meant hang your thumbs from. So you can bounce on your toes, patting your belly, as you hold forth. Or so I would imagine. OK, so I can totally see myself doing that. According to the google machine, pocket watches became common in 1857 when the gear parts became standardized. So, this is an evolutionary step that becomes the watch pocket?
- Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi
Something of note about the gendered-button-side-thing; I once learned in a fashion class that even though women's garments are often right-over-left, the ones that aren't (low-priced jeans being huge suspects of this) is because they are manufactured on the same machines that make men's styles. Instead of changing the machinery to put fly zippers in right-over-left, they just do it left-over-right and people buying the women's style just have to deal with it.
Women's dress slacks and trousers, especially of a nicer brand, will more often have the fly right-over-left.
Ms Rudolph --- I would find a specific video on pattern matching to be EXTREMELY helpful. Also, when you have critical pattern matching in a garment, how much extra fabric do you need to buy? Would 1-1/2 x the recommended yardage be reasonable?
I like the fabric you chose for your waistcoat; the colors in Gonzo's are satisfying to see together. (He is blue and the rusty/orangey colors are compliments to his color. How much do you take color schemes, such as analogous, complimentary, tetradic, and the like, into consideration when you design garments and outfits?) The trick of embedding the shanks of the buttons and using the strip of leather is an eye-opener for me. Never would I have thought of doing that. Thank you.
It never occurred to me to do a welt pocket by hand!! Makes total sense as one has SO much more control! Duh…
I love that you made the bow tie for your puppy. Very dapper and festive.
When I took his doublet making classes Mathew Gnagy suggested the closure treatment was part of dressmakers establishing themselves as a separate profession from tailors with their own protected techniques.
It's fabulous!
I was always told the "maids dressed the women" myth and never thought anything of it. I've learned so much from your videos. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Nicole you look so pretty with this 1930s style wavy dark hair and the dark eyeshadow and lipstick recently. Looks perfect on you.
Finally a sensible answer to this age old question! :)
My favourite theory before this was that it was a "decency" thing, and that since women usually walked to the left of men (including often being seated to the left in churches), the clothes buttoned away from eachother to prevent peeking. Not that one would see much, but decency rules have always been a bit exaggerated and weird.
I'd always been told the way to remember was that if a man is driving and a woman riding passenger, they could both peek down each other's button-up shirts :P It certainly was a memorable image and thus a great mnemonic!
@@tegansutherland7299
Except if they’re in a country where they drive on the left, such as Great Britain.
So I love this series as a whole and men’s fashion history isn’t covered nearly as much, but I absolutely love the mental whiplash of going from a wonderful fashion history lecture/rant to ‘so Gonzo’. It’s always jarring and I love it.
4:18 - Nice shoutout, thank you! For such a highly stylized set of garments, it is odd (and sad) that it is almost always omitted from discussion. Thank you for delivering concise yet thorough content, as always! 🤗
What a wonderful colorcombo in the silk. And the waistcoat is absolutely beautiful
I cannot tell you how pleased I was when I watched the Muppet Christmas carol with my family after a terrible, terrible month at work and on the way home I saw you started this project.
And then Gonzo is non-gendered anyway, to add in another layer of button confusion. Or remove all of them. Love this, and the whole project!
While there is the running gag that Gonzo is "whatever" the other muppets and even the muppeteers still tend to refer to Gonzo as he/him but that aside in this instance Gonzo was portraying Charles Dickens who definitely is gendered male.
@@sasquatch3518
Gonzo is definitely a “whatever” if you’re asking about species.
@@sasquatch3518 pronouns don't necessarily align to gender
@@sasquatch3518 nonbinary person speaking here: Using he/him or she/her pronouns is not unique to male identifying people. Not all nonbinary people use they/them pronouns. Gonzo might use he/him pronouns but that doesnt mean he is a man
I never thought of gonzos gender
These videos are like getting to chat about gorgeous clothing with the coolest professor you know! Thank you for all the research and work you put into these videos!
Oh my gosh this is perfect! You’ve come so far with your videography and presentation skills. The research and amount of sewing detail that you show is truly amazing. This may be one of my all-time videos surrounding sewing.
This video came at the perfect time. I have been trying making a waistcoat for my husband for our vow renewal for months and was honestly at the point of giving up. the techniques you have shown are the ones that just did not make any sense in the written pattern I was originally going to use. Thank You!! BTW the ASMR in your videos is just so soothing, I wish I could just listen to that while i did all my work.
Gosh, what I wouldn't give to dress like Victorian Gonzo every day of my life. This turned out beautifully, I can't wait to see the rest of the ensemble.
Holy wow that came together much more quickly than I anticipated. I was just like, "but wait, we're done?" 😅 looks incredible Nicole!
Point of interest…yes, in traditional Jewish menswear, the closures are always right over left - specifically done to differentiate the garments from gentile styles and a symbol of pacifism. I’m not sure when this sartorial rule began, but the 19th c. portrait of my husband’s grandfather has them right over left.
❤️ your waistcoat! Totally Gonzo!
Woah. I was wondering about that when she mentioned Hassidic Jews doing right-over-left closures (I'm Orthodox but not Hassidic) so thanks for the explanation!
The waistcoat is fabulous. I just love that tartan! Fascinating construction, too.
Edit: Aww!! Bailey’s bow tie is ADORABLE! 😍🤩
I love your profile pic
Awww. If there's tartan fabric left Bailey could have a matching bow tie 🎀
@@thelegendfortune Thank you! 🥰
@@TheMetatronGirl you’re welcome! 😇
I’m so glad to have found this channel. The absolute most sensible person on these topics on you tube.
Nicole, I love watching you recreate outfits from movies, photos and extant garments.
A great matching bowtie on that special someone.
Thank you so much for doing menswear, I've been trying to figure out how to do a waistcoat (a little earlier than this era) for a while and this was really helpful!
Flat Washers as Weights to hold the Pattern in Place is an absolute Gamechanger. I never thought about this, just always used whatever was near me at the Time...
I love the sound of the thread going through the glazed cotton. Very soothing ASMR.
Yay it turned out so well!! Nice and bright! And the look into why closures are so weird was interesting and fun!
The pattern matching is top notch! Beautiful result!
i really like the audio in the stitching segments, i love how the music leads to a relaxed atmosphere but you can still hear the fabric and the pricks of the needle, it's just a very unique and calm vibe i really really love!
Wow, the version of why buttons are on the opposite side from men to women that I was brought up with was that it was so the men could undo the women's clothing more easily when they were getting undressed to sleep together! Sorry, I don't have a source it's just the one "everyone knew" as I was growing up
Things that make you go "ew"
Yuck! 😂
Your small, furry companion looked very dapper in the bow: almost as dapper as you did! I can't wait to see the next installment.
Amazing it already looks very stylish.
Hanfu and Kimono are done left over right is cause doing it right over left is for the dead so if you wrap them that way you are essentially saying you are dead.
Your videos are so relaxing, I love this new serie! I truly appreciate the way you teach historical facts about fashion, let's say your whole person is very inspirationnal ^^
My theory for the button direction is more along the lines of from a tailoring perspective, if you're wearing multiple layers of buttoned things, it looks better if all the buttons are going the same direction. So for menswear which is more often layered than womens' clothes, is made consistent to make the clothes look neater. And womens' wear is/was a lot more varied in styles (front closures on the left, right or middle, bib fronts, side closures, back closures, etc) so a standard way to face buttons isn't particularly practical, since which way the buttons face are heavily influenced by the style of the garment itself. That's not to say that women didn't wear layered clothes, but it probably wasn't a shirt, waist coat, suit jacket and possibly an overcoat all at the same time on a daily basis.
This has to be the brightest flashiest thing I've ever seen on this channel but it is so beautifully made!
Absolutely beautiful! And I LOVE that you sewed every dang thing by hand! I'm starting to prefer hand-sewing historical costumes over machine stitching for fussy work (set in sleeves, buttonholes, etc.) Hand sewing is very soothing....
The blouse you're wearing in the intro is gorgeous! So is the waistcoat. :)
I LOVE seeing how you made things but I love the historical education you share even more.
Ooooh this is si exiting! I can't wait for the whole outfit!
Really interesting conversation about the gendering of buttons, my theory is that is only a matter of making diferences between men and women with no reason whatsoever
Nicole you did a great job.
I wear a waistcoat frequently and intent to make my own soon. I had a pleasant surprise that you go onto talk about medieval dress and armour, another interest of mine. Much of what I know about armour comes from Jason Kingsley's channel (Modern History TV). Armour was all individual. 2 soldiers fighting side by side would have their preferences and decoration according to their budget and often be different even when doing the same type of fighting / job within a military operation (e.g. cavalry vs. archer). It was not an army uniform. Armour was assymetric to accomodate sword and shield, usually carried the same way: shield left hand, sword right hand but drawn from the left hip. The undergarment was an early t-shirt so tightly shaped that it couldn't be washed as it became mishaped with washing and would no longer be a comfortable fit between body and the inflexible armour. Another significant factor is with soft clothing you it is possible to dress yourself (although many lords would have man servants to do it for them), armour *has* to be put on partly by another person, so knights had 'arming buddies' as they would put each other's final pieces of armour on, being able to the first parts on themselves.
No, the undergarment was an arming doublet, which could not be washed because it’s a bit too densely quilted and may get mouldy if washed.
@@ragnkja Yes it is. I may have been mis-remembering this video, but he does say in the first few seconds that it is about shape rather than mould (not that you'd want mould either!) th-cam.com/video/V8-eeJUcO5M/w-d-xo.html
You always lay out the history, theories, and debunking (if applicable) in such a sensible but fun and interesting manner!
Wow, I love this! I love the making of the garments, but also the research you put into these videos. The gendered buttons have always been a mystery to me - I remember wondering what that was about when I was a small kid.
Im watching this to keep me company as I crochet Christmas presents and I just kept thinking during the button section that there were probably several shorts that could be taken from it. This makes me roll my eyes at myself because I dont even like shorts!
24:56 The cotton is so wonderful shiny!
Love it!
Hmmm... Now you've got me intrigued. At 28:40 "spaced back stitching that looks the same on both sides". Looks fantastic... Not sure how it's done so one side is not a continuous line.
Really enjoying all the history lessons that come along with these videos
I've often wondered why clothes button differently and will now want to check what I own. Just noticed the waistband on my women's jeans buttons left over right. The waistcoat is spectacular in every sense.
For about 15 years now I have been wearing front closure bras with 'posture' support. My favorite bras close with hook and eyes on the front. They are all left hook into right eye and they are not all the same brand. Then I thought about it and had to go check because I was pretty sure that when I could wear back closure bras it wasn't any different. I've only kept what were my favorite back closure bras so it is not a huge sampling, just 3, but I was wrong. It is right hook into left eye. Go figure.
my front fastener bras (and I've just had to check) are all right hook, left eye.
Don't have any back fasteners, but from looking at a well known (in the uk at least) clothing company, most, if not all there back fastening bras are right hook left eye. Different places, different fashions.
@@nanettebromley8843 I am in agreement. The only rule I can think that makes a good rule of thumb is that if one wears a left over right button-down shirt, so should be the waist coat/vest, jacket, coat. That would also be true for right over left button down.. But I do think that if one endeavors to follow a historical fashion/culture then it might be best recognized as respectful for
for the wear what is appropriate for that time.
Removable buttons should've continued to be a thing. I remember buttons breaking sometimes when they went through the ringer on our washer.
Needle and thread + silk taffeta = ASMR
Very enjoyable and informative video. I just want to comment that I regularly use the captions option when watching, as some TH-camrs are not generally as careful to enunciate clearly as you. And at 10:09 "don't generally have buttons so rioting habits and other things that are similar to men's suit" I am certain it was supposed to say (I realize it's probably auto-generated) RIDING HABITS (and not rioting) but it gave me a chuckle anyway.
the shirt and waistcoat are perfect. can't wait for the next garment.
that question has been bothering me for ages. thank you so much for going down that researchrabbithole and come back up with such a neat summary!
I loved the sound during the hand sewing segments. That rustle of the silk was so nice.
Great research and a lovely waistcoat!
Beautiful hand stitching🙂
Most satisfactory! I asked Alexa to play the soundtrack to The Muppet Christmas Carol in the background while watching. Always a pleasure.
Fits beautifully, and loving the colours❤. I love your historical openings, and equally adore your cute pooches ending…..❤
LOVE the way you are doing the welted pocket!!! So inspired and inspiring!!! And thank you for your research on the Button Gendering- there are so many myths out there- the one I heard was, that women and men were sitting on different sides at church and they shouldn't be able to look each other "into the garment" :D
i think this is the first time i'm watching someone sew and it's not stressing me out. so relaxing and mesmerising
I really appreciated your sarcastic exasperation at the silliness of some of those ideas! 😄 Also, your stitching is beautiful!
I’ve been impatiently waiting for the next piece of this outfit all week! So happy to see your progress!! Thank you for sharing this….it is so beautiful and fun to watch.
Thanks for your comment and for being a fan, God bless you.... I text you on here because you're a big fan and you seems to be a very nice person 💕💕💕💕💕
I CANNOT WAIT to see the finished product!! I have a feeling it’s going to look awesome!! Great job so far, Nicole!!
oh my! That is very nice in deed! Gonzo would be pleased to see it.
I always wondered why my garments and my partner's garments have opposite buttons, but never had the energy to look into it (plus I would barely know where to start) so thank you for doing the research!
Things to put in your little pockets. Pocket watch, Chapstick, lip stick, small scissors, those tiny eyeglasses screwdrivers, thimbles (I know Nicole doesn't need/use them but others do), key fob, wireless ear bud case.
Watching this on a drippy winter's afternoon, and your background music is PERFECT!
With 15thC hooks and eyes I prefer to alternate, they aren't very springy, and they go on the edge so there's no overlapping
I don't know how many people realize the skills involved in sewing this waitscoat. It's a real masterpiece!! And moreover I am just planning to sew one myself...so I can watch and learn a lot from you. Thanks a lot (by the way, I will accept the help of my sewing machine 🤗🍀🌹)
What a fabulous piece! Just stunning, and the matching bow tie 💚
Nicole looks so lovely in that blouse. I can’t wait to get further into the video.