Dr Serena Dyer, Fashion Historian

Dr Serena Dyer, Fashion Historian Dress history with Dr Serena Dyer Serena is Associate Professor of Fashion History at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Dr Serena Dyer FRHistS AFHEA is a historian, broadcaster, and curator, specialising in the history of fashion, shopping, and material culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her prize-winning first book, Material Lives: Women Makers and Consumer Culture in the 18th Century, was published by Bloomsbury in 2021. Her second book, Labour of the Stitch: The Making and Remaking of Fashionabl

e Georgian Dress was published by Cambridge University Press in 2024. She also edited Shopping and the Senses (Palgrave, 2022), Disseminating Dress (Bloomsbury, 2022), and Material Literacy in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Bloomsbury, 2020). Her next book, Georgian Fashion: Britishness and Dress in the Eighteenth Century, is under contract with Yale University Press. She completed her PhD at the University of Warwick in 2016 and has previously taught at the University of Hertfordshire and the University of York. Before returning to academia, Serena was Curator of the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and Assistant Curator at the National Portrait Gallery. She is the presenter of English Heritage/Our Media's Fashion Through History, and she regularly appears on BBC radio. She currently leads the AHRC-funded Making Historical Dress: Hands, Bodies and Methods Network (Co-I, Dr Sarah Bendall ACU).

08/08/2026

If you thought Colin Firth’s wet shirt scene in Pride and Prejudice felt oddly risqué, it was: he was essentially running around in his underwear!

For centuries of European history, men’s shirts were a private, intimate layer of clothing. The historical linen shirt sat against the skin, wicking away sweat and body oils, protecting the expensive outerwear from the body (and the body from the garments!).

The only parts of the shirt that were ever meant to be seen were the collar and the cuffs. Letting a pristine, stark white collar peek out from your coat was a deliberate way to broadcast that you were morally upright, exceptionally clean, and hygienic.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century, with the gradual decline of the waistcoat, that the shirt transitioned into the standalone staple we know today.

👇 Does knowing that Mr Darcy was basically in his underwear change how you view that classic scene?

05/08/2026

Have you ever noticed that surviving historical shoes are perfectly straight and identitcal?

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, shoemakers didn’t make left and right shoes. Instead, they used a single straight last to maximise efficiency!

But this wasn’t due to a lack of technology. Ancient Roman shoemakers were making separate left and right sandals. It wasn’t until the rise of mass production in the 19th century that left and right shoes became the norm again.

So, how did people walk in straight shoes for over three hundred years?

Over time, the warmth and moisture of the wearer’s foot would slowly mould the leather and silk perfectly to their unique foot shape! They didn’t need pre-shaped shoes because the garment physically adapted to the body.

🏛️ The beautiful historical shoes featured in this video can be found in the incredible archives of the Met, LACMA, and the V&A, and the Roman shoes are in the collection of the London Museum.

👇 Which would you prefer: a modern pre-shaped shoe, or a historical shoe that shapes itself perfectly to your foot over time? Let me know in the comments!

30/07/2026

When did clothing makers actually start claiming credit for their work?

For centuries, the incredible skill of dressmakers and mantua-makers remained almost entirely anonymous. But in the 1860s, a massive shift occurred: the introduction of the printed and woven maker’s label. While Charles Frederick Worth often gets the credit for this branding revolution, he wasn’t alone.

This stunning c. 1869 evening dress, made of silk and silk blonde lace, was made by the seamstresses working for two female makers: Madame de Baisieux and Madame Hermantine Duriez, operating out of 8 Place Vendôme in Paris.

🏛️ You can see this gorgeous piece on display right now at the

The gown belonged to Frances Stanhope, Lady Hutt. But surviving pieces like this allow us to piece together not just the wealthy women who wore these garments, but the highly skilled women who built them.

👇 Had you ever thought about the history behind the clothing tag?

19/07/2026

If you picture a 19th-century maid, you probably imagine a strict black dress and a crisp white apron. But that iconic uniform is actually a late Victorian invention. Watch how dramatically working-class wardrobes transformed across the 1800s! In the early 19th century, domestic servants didn’t wear a standardised uniform. Instead, they wore practical, hard-wearing versions of everyday fashion, usually printed cotton gowns that were durable, easily washable, and allowed for freedom of movement as they worked.

So, when did the strict black-and-white uniform take over?

As the middle class exploded in the 1870s and 1880s, employers wanted their servants to be visible markers of their household wealth. The formal black dress paired with a stark white apron and cap was a performance of cleanliness and a deliberate visual marker of social hierarchy.

👇 Which decade’s working wardrobe is your favourite?

12/07/2026

If you think boys wearing dresses is a modern concept, fashion history is here to challenge your assumptions! For centuries, all toddlers wore dresses.

🏛️ This beautiful example, a boy’s dress made of wool, silk, and cotton dating to c. 1875–1885, is currently on display at the brilliant

The reason for these dresses was practicality. Before the invention of zips and elastic waistbands, dresses were ideal for toilet training. It wasn’t until a boy reached the age of four to eight that he would go through the social milestone known as ‘breeching’. This was a rite of passage where he would receive his first pair of trousers or breeches, often accompanied by his first short haircut, signifying his transition out of the domestic nursery and into the masculine sphere.

👇 Did you know about the history of breeching?

08/07/2026

Historical fashion certainly doesn’t have to be restricting! Want to learn about the ingenious solutions that women found to clothe their bodies in the past? I am absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with for their fabulous Dress Up Day! Join me to explore the wardrobes and sewing boxes of regency women, and explore what it is really like to make and wear historical garments.

📍 Join the Events:

🌍 Global Online Talk: Thursday, July 16th. Catch my virtual talk, “Dressing the Past,” from anywhere in the world!

🏛️ In-Person at Chawton: Saturday, July 18th. Join me at Jane Austen’s House for a live 1816 dressing demonstration and an in-person talk on my reconstruction experiences.

👉 Hit the link in my bio to grab your tickets for both events! I can’t wait to see you there.

05/07/2026

Men’s fashion may have consistently been composed of a jacket, waistcoat, and breeches through the eighteenth century in Europe, but the fashionable silhouette shifts from voluminous skirts and cuffs to sleek calves and tight breeches. And it certainly wasn’t dull!

03/07/2026

AD As a fashion historian, I adore art that captures both the glistening texture of textiles, and demonstrates the artist’s thoughtful material literacy about how specific garments are worn. It’s one of the things I love about Zurbarán’s work, and why I was so delighted when invited me to take a look at their new exhibition of the Spanish artist’s work. The exhibition is open until 23rd August.

28/06/2026

We often think of the late Queen’s wardrobe as traditionally classic, but her rainwear archive reveals some of the more innovative approaches to clothes.

In the 1960s, royal couturier Hardy Amies designed a strikingly modern clear plastic rain coat for Queen Elizabeth II, matching cutting-edge PVC with luxury mother-of-pearl buttons. While this modish piece shows how in sync she was with 1960s trends, the reality is that the Queen never wanted to be categorised as a fashion icon. Every single layer was a practical response to a constitutional requirement: visibility.

For a monarch, being seen by the public is a core requirement of the job. By keeping her protective rainwear entirely transparent, she ensured that her trademark, brightly coloured daywear remained fully visible, whatever the weather. It meant that even if an onlooker was standing ten rows deep in a crowded, rainy street, they could catch a glimpse of colour and leave able to say that they had seen the Queen.

🏛️ The coat is currently on display in the spectacular exhibition celebrating Elizabeth II’s fashion archive!

24/06/2026

Would you wear an embroidered apron? We often look at historical garments through our modern lenses, assuming aprons have always been utilitarian items meant to protect clothes from grease and soot. But this stunning woman’s apron (c. 1700–1720) was a key component of fashionable, informal dress for aristocratic and gentry women. By donning a decorative apron, a gentlewoman was performing her social role. It demonstrated her administrative skill and authority in supervising a massive household staff. The popular motif of the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, was a deliberate, tactile message to celebrate her domestic prowess, wealth, and managerial competence.

Would you wear a luxury silk apron to show you’re the boss of the house?👇

This apron is the the

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