Making a historically accurate Gonzo Cosplay from Muppets Christmas Carol: the Victorian Shirt

This is the first official part of my series on sewing up a historically accurate cosplay of Gonzo from The Muppets Christmas Carol! And what better place to start with the most common item in a wardrobe of the Victorian era: the shirt. When Charles Dickens published his famous work in 1843, the simple white shirt was such a necessity that it was sold mostly by the dozen or half dozen. But with so much demand, production companies sought ways to keep costs low and turn out high. Which led to problems that sound suspiciously similar to our modern concerns over ethical clothing production.

Charles Dickens himself was known to have great concerns over working conditions in Victorian England and abroad. Having spent some of his childhood employed in a bootblack factory through the workhouse, he was acutely aware of the situation many of the working class found themselves stuck in. One particular group that garnered attention in the early 1840s was that of seamstresses making shirts. They made very little money in comparison to the hours of labor they put in, being paid by the piece. All of their work was still done by hand sewing, often in the home. Supposedly a court case which revealed the dismal wages of women in the workhouse producing shirts brought about an awareness and concern for the conditions of all seamstresses working in that field.

Having timed myself hand-sewing shirts before, I am shocked at the speed at which these garments were produced. It usually takes me at least 12-16 hours per shirt without the help of a machine! I have to admit I did not care to take on the challenge for this particular project and did utilize my machine for some of the long seams and top stitching. As hand sewing faded out, the techniques used to assemble garments began to change dramatically. But as of the mid-19th century most machine work was done to mimic some of the slower hand stitches. And as most of this shirt will not be visible under the layers of waistcoat, trousers, coat, overcoat, and cravat, it hardly seemed pertinent to go the slow route!

Cotton Broadcloth (3 yards): https://www.dharmatrading.com/fabric/...

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00:00 Controversy & Ethics
07:02 Low Wages
11:42 Charles Dickens
16:04 Plans & Patterns
19:17 Construction