0:00:02 > 0:00:04Clothes are the ultimate form of visual communication.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06By looking at the way people dressed,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08we can learn not only about them as individuals,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11but about the society they lived in.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm Amber Butchart, fashion historian.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16And in the words of Louis XIV,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20I believe that fashion is the mirror of history.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24So, taking historical works of art as our inspiration...
0:00:25 > 0:00:29..traditional tailor Ninya Mikhaila and her team will be recreating
0:00:29 > 0:00:33historical clothing, using only authentic methods.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Oh, look at that. It's changing colour in the air.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38And I'll be finding out what they tell us
0:00:38 > 0:00:40about the people who wore them...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I'm assuming the king wouldn't be dressing himself, though, right?
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and the times they lived in.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49And seeing what they're like to wear.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01It's no surprise that the earliest painting
0:01:01 > 0:01:03in the National Portrait Gallery is of a king.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09It was hugely expensive to commission a portrait,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12but by the 18th century, rising prosperity meant
0:01:12 > 0:01:15that more people were able to preserve their likeness.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19However, it was still really unusual
0:01:19 > 0:01:22for people to commission a portrait of their workers.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27The history of fashion and also the history of art
0:01:27 > 0:01:31largely tell us stories about elite groups of people.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34If you were wealthy enough to have your portrait painted,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37you were also most likely wealthy enough
0:01:37 > 0:01:40to be following the latest fashions.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44But if I'd been alive in the 18th century,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46I wouldn't have been dressed like a queen
0:01:46 > 0:01:49or, you know, even like a noblewoman.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51So I'm interested to find out more
0:01:51 > 0:01:54about the clothing that people like me would have been wearing.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59That's why I'm so intrigued by this rare, full length portrait of a hedge cutter.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And I'm really interested to see what Ninya makes of it.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05BELL RINGS
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- Hello.- Come in.- Thanks.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14So this portrait is really fascinating.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16It's unusual in art history,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19and quite unusual in fashion history.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21What are your thoughts on what is being worn here?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24I think there are clues to what's going on.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27It's difficult to see in the reproduction that we've got.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30- It's very dark, isn't it, this portrait?- It is really dark.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33But you can just about, like you say, make out some details,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36- like this looks a bit like a mariner's cuff.- I agree.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38And, actually, Harriet did this sketch
0:02:38 > 0:02:41to help bring out some of the details and make it easier to see,
0:02:41 > 0:02:42and we picked up on that as well.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45What that suggests is that this coat was once
0:02:45 > 0:02:47a very smart and fashionable garment.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52What's likely is that the original person was some generations before,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54perhaps a yeoman gentleman, maybe,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56and he would have passed it down
0:02:56 > 0:02:58to someone slightly below him in status,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02and it's probably filtered down two, three, four times, maybe,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05before this man actually got it.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09And what are our thoughts on what this is being crafted from?
0:03:09 > 0:03:12We think that it's most likely to have been leather, actually.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17It was both a fashionable fabric, but also, more importantly,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21as far as this hedge cutter is concerned, a very functional fabric.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23We actually have an original garment here made from leather,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- if you'd like to have a look. - I would love to have a look.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- These actually belong to my brother-in-law.- OK.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Who is an avid collector of military clothing.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37So these are actually original Napoleonic leather trousers.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- Oh, wow. Oh, my God.- Which we can use to help us get an idea
0:03:40 > 0:03:44about how we might use the material and actually construct the garment.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Wow, these are incredible. - Aren't they?
0:03:48 > 0:03:52The other striking thing about the portrait is that the jacket itself
0:03:52 > 0:03:55looks kind of patched together.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- It's very striking.- Is that sort of years and years of repairs?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Yes, well you can see that not only is it patched,
0:04:02 > 0:04:03but it's very, very tattered.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07The stitching of the patches is really incredibly crude,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10and I think that maybe the hedge cutter himself
0:04:10 > 0:04:13might have sewn those patches on as required.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14How do the patches figure into this?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Are we going to make it with the patches?
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Well, what I'd be really keen to do is actually to reconstruct the coat
0:04:20 > 0:04:23as it would have looked when it was new,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26because I think it's going to look really quite different
0:04:26 > 0:04:27from the way it's ended its life.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31And it would be great to have that illustration of the beginning,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and what I presume would be pretty near to the end of this garment's life.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37- Yeah.- So that's what I'd like to do. - OK, great.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- So we get to see it as almost an evolution.- Mmm.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Yeah, I think that's exciting. I think it can be a very nice coat.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Great.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Our hedge cutter is a something of a mystery.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52His image has been preserved for over 200 years,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and yet no-one knows who he is.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58We're not even entirely sure when the portrait was painted,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00or who it was by.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02I want to learn more about the painting,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and so I'm meeting art historian Florence Evans at Broughton Castle,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10where the portrait has been owned by the Fiennes family for generations.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12So, here we have it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14My goodness.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18- I knew it was going to be large, but it really is quite monumental, isn't it?- It is.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- Monumental is a good way to describe it, I think.- Definitely.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24As a fashion historian,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28it's proving quite difficult to date this portrait based on the clothing,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32because we think it's something that may have been repurposed,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34time and time again.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Now, what are your thoughts on this as an art historian?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The aesthetic is harking towards the 19th century.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Whoever painted it has experimented
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- and used bitumen in the black pigments.- Right.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49And that was quite an innovative and new way
0:05:49 > 0:05:53of getting a rich, dark tone in your paintings.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Stylistically, the way it's been handled,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00I really do feel that it's from certainly the 1780s,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02probably the 1790s.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05The cuffs suggest that it's an earlier date,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09but you would expect a labourer to have clothes that were passed down
0:06:09 > 0:06:13and mended and endure over decades.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17And is there anything else about this portrait that you think can help us to date it?
0:06:17 > 0:06:20If you look at the pipe that he's smoking.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26Now, clay pipe bowls are very easily datable by their shape and size.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29And in the mid-18th century, for instance,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31they had a rather elongated bowl,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34and here he has a rather chubbier bowl,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36which makes me think it's later 18th century,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39and pointing again towards the 19th century.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43It's really unusual to have a portrait on this scale
0:06:43 > 0:06:46of a member of staff, someone who's working here.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49- Yeah.- Is there anything comparable that you know of?
0:06:49 > 0:06:54Well, in 1790, Thomas Barker of Bath did a series
0:06:54 > 0:06:58of life-size portraits of pastoral figures,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00which caused quite a furore at the time.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05Were people just so unused to seeing working people depicted in this way?
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Yes. On this scale, it was very unusual
0:07:08 > 0:07:13and it would have been startling to an 18th-century viewer, really,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17when they were expecting to see polite society on their walls.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And that's really the first time you see that, and in fact,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25actually it's the first time I've seen one on this scale myself,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and it really is amazing, as it would have been at the time.
0:07:30 > 0:07:37It's great to hear that Florence would situate the painting of the portrait in the late 18th century,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42because if we are looking at something that was painted in the 1790s,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45then that really tells us a whole lot in many ways
0:07:45 > 0:07:48about what's being worn here.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Ninya and I had already discussed the fact that the mariner's cuff
0:07:51 > 0:07:54dates from much earlier in the 18th century,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56around the middle or the 1760s.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59So if the portrait is from the 1790s,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04we really get a clear sense that our subject is wearing a garment
0:08:04 > 0:08:08that is most likely to be second-hand.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Very few people can afford to get these clothes made new.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Textiles, clothing are some of the most valuable things
0:08:14 > 0:08:17that people can own at this point in history.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21And we really lost the sense of this in the 21st century.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25We're so used to clothing being a disposable commodity.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31One of the distinctive features of the coat is its patches,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34but they're causing problems for Ninya and Harriet.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I've made a twill for a coat from the 1750s,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42that carries a mariner's cuff, so I've drawn the mariner's cuff on.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Oh, yeah.- Very attractive.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47But I've also pinned on some patches where we can see them.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50It's rather interesting where they sit, because in the painting,
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- you can't see the shoulder seam.- No, and that's been really bothering me.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Yeah.- That you can't see the shoulder seam,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- but I think it's conceivable that the patch that's right there is just masking a little bit.- Yeah.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- Because there must be a shoulder seam there.- Yes, of course.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08But obviously, if you've been throwing your body through a hedge with thorns,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- that's probably going to be a big point of wear.- Yeah. - It's clearly had quite a lot.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Well, also, I'm really struck by the fact that this whole area
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- of patching is exactly where a pocket would be, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19And it even looks like a pocket flap.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It's like he's tried to replace the pocket flap.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Caught it on a hedge and ripped it, perhaps.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Yeah, but somehow, the twill underneath the patches is
0:09:29 > 0:09:33- really hinting at what's potentially a very smart coat underneath.- Yes.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37If we look at that side of it, you can just see the...
0:09:37 > 0:09:39- That's lovely, isn't it? - It's got a lovely pleated back.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42- And I guess he'd have a button up here.- He would, yeah, yeah.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- I mean, it's actually quite a beautiful shape.- It is.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- It really...- It's a classic. - Yeah. Yeah.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48I'm going to want to keep this coat.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- THEY LAUGH - Should I make it to fit you?
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Let's see how much is in here.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Oh, it's quite a good hide.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04So, the skin here along what would have been the spine of the animal,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07is the strongest part.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09- Yes.- So...
0:10:09 > 0:10:11It's still got a good stretch to it.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- Oh, yeah.- It's nice and thick and you can see the edge there
0:10:14 > 0:10:17is much, much puckered.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Yeah, it's much thinner and also, yeah, as you say,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21it's puckered and crinkled, so this is where
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- we should actually take things like buttons and...- Bindings.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- ..bindings.- Yeah. - Facings, things like that,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28- cos it'll be much easier to sew. - Yeah.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30We really have to think quite carefully
0:10:30 > 0:10:32when you're cutting leather, don't you,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34about which bits you're going to end up sewing in which way?
0:10:34 > 0:10:36But there's also the joy that,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38because we're going to butt the seams together,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41we don't have to allow any sort of seam allowance.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44It's a very helpful straight edge along the backbone, isn't it?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47It is, although we haven't got enough straight edge
0:10:47 > 0:10:48to get all four pieces, have we?
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We might have if we're very careful.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53But this is a good big piece, so we should be fine.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04The fashion and textiles collection at the V&A Museum contains over 75,000 objects.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Fashion curator Susan Nourse is going to show me a garment
0:11:08 > 0:11:09that could shed a light
0:11:09 > 0:11:12on the early life of our hedge cutters coat.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17So what we have here is a great example of a frock coat.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19What's the provenance of this?
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Well, it's a rather informal style of coat.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27This one probably dates from about the 1750s,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30although the style comes in earlier.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34The first examples that we see show up in the 1730s.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37This coat is actually kind of emblematic
0:11:37 > 0:11:39of the second-hand trade, isn't it?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Because there is also a label in here for a costumier.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- Yes.- Which is very exciting, I think,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47to be able to see a couple of different lives
0:11:47 > 0:11:49that this coat has had.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Absolutely. What we've discovered about the 19th-century theatre,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55at least in London,
0:11:55 > 0:12:01was that when you look at photographs of actors in costumes,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05say from the 1870s, and they're in a production that's 18th century,
0:12:05 > 0:12:10they're wearing real 18th-century clothing.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14And it was probably cheaper to go down to Seven Dials
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and buy something that fit you
0:12:16 > 0:12:21than it was to hire a tailor to make something for you.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26And, of course, this is a time when the actor is responsible for his costume.
0:12:26 > 0:12:27He's got to pay for it.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30And one of the reasons I chose this portrait was because
0:12:30 > 0:12:34I was really keen to explore more everyday dress,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39like, something that someone like me, maybe, would have been wearing.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Now, it's very, very difficult to actually find that out
0:12:42 > 0:12:44through museum collections.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48So why do you think there is that lack of working dress?
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Most of the fashion museums obviously want the glamorous things,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55so that's part of the bias.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58But then the other bias is what people save.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02We tend to save the most expensive things,
0:13:02 > 0:13:03the most beautiful things,
0:13:03 > 0:13:10most working-class clothing would have gone through five, six life cycles,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12getting ever more bedraggled,
0:13:12 > 0:13:18to a point where really the only person who's interested in it is the ragman.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Now, the ragman buys linen and cotton
0:13:21 > 0:13:24that's really just too decrepit for anything.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26He takes it away and they make paper out of it.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27He gets money for it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Even when it was a rag, there was somebody who was willing to pay you for it.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Anything we do have, I would say, really is an accident.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's benign neglect. Somebody forgot to recycle this.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- Lucky for us.- Lucky for us.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50The hedge cutter is such a fantastic character.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54We really get a sense of his personality in the portrait.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58So I'm looking forward to seeing his clothing come to life in 3-D form.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Now, in the painting, of course,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09his clothing is old, it's dirty, it's used, it's patched.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13So seeing it as it would have been when it was a brand-new garment
0:14:13 > 0:14:15is going to be quite fascinating.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18It's also going to be interesting from a practical perspective
0:14:18 > 0:14:21for me to have a go working with the leather.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25It's not something I've ever worked with before,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29so that is going to be quite eye-opening.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30So, what's going on?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Well, this might sound a bit weird,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35but my brother-in-law's trousers have been speaking to me
0:14:35 > 0:14:37quite a lot for the last few days.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- They have lots to tell me.- Yeah.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Let's see if they'll share any information with you.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Looking carefully, I can see that there is
0:14:45 > 0:14:49very particular seam treatments for very particular areas.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Right.- You see this seam here?- Yeah.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55This around here looks very complicated.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57It's a seam called a butt stitch.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01- Right.- Which you see more normally on much thicker leather.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04And it's where you need the leather to just butt up
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- one edge to the other.- Yeah.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The way we actually sew the butt seam
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- is that the holes have to be made in the leather first.- Right.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16The hole is going through the top and out the side of the leather,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- out the middle.- Oh, crikey.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Which is why you're then able to kind of butt the edges together,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23like that.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25So the first thing you have to do is use an awl,
0:15:25 > 0:15:26which is this tool here.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- It's like a kind of pointed blade. - Yeah.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34And I'm going to push the hole from the side
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and then slide it out like that.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41And that takes a bit of practice.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44- Yeah, it looks really difficult. - Yeah.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46And it's quite easy to tear
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- a leather that this...- Thin.- ..thin.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Gosh.- So, do you want to try one in the actual sleeve?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57I guess. OK.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58So...
0:16:00 > 0:16:01Oh.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02Yeah, that's good.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Am I going too far?
0:16:04 > 0:16:05My holes seem to be bigger than...
0:16:05 > 0:16:06No, that's fine,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09cos it kind of closes back again.
0:16:09 > 0:16:16I'm slightly losing the straightness of the line that you had.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18- OK, well, let's stop there. - THEY LAUGH
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- Would you like to try actually sewing them together?- OK.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26- So here I've got one piece of thread with a needle on each end.- Right.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So this needle is going to go in that hole there.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- This one here?- Yeah.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39OK. And before you pull too tight, put that needle down.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41- Pick this one up.- Yeah.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47So this one is going to go back through that same hole
0:16:47 > 0:16:49that you've just sewn through.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Oh.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56NINYA LAUGHS Yeah, I've done it.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59OK, and then you can pull the two threads away from each other
0:16:59 > 0:17:01to get the tension and tighten it up.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Probably have to pull it quite close to the leather. Yeah, that's it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07OK. Gosh.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10That's an awful lot of work, isn't it, to join two bits...?
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Mm.- ..of leather together.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16OK. Fun as this has been...
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I might leave the rest of it to you for now.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21- Are you sure?- I'm sure, yeah.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22Well, that's nice of you. Thanks.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Thank you.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27So I'm keen to see what you're up to over here.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28This looks very exciting.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Yes, it's nice when you start to get the finished garment coming out.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38Now, we did debate whether to have the edges just left raw,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40because leather doesn't fray
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and it would have made sense to just have the pocket flap
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- made without any sort of binding on it.- Yeah.- But...
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Guess what happened.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- Oh!- Brother-in-law's trousers.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52The trousers speaking to you, too.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- Yes.- They said, "Excuse me, that's wrong."
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Yeah, if you remember,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59when you looked at the edge of the fly flap...
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- Yeah.- ..it's got a bound edge made with the same leather.- Yeah.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- And so we've done that with the pockets.- Right.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And it's made it much stronger and it just...
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- It looks...- It looks lovely. - ..right, doesn't it?
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- It looks really nice.- Yeah.- Lovely.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19So the binding gets stitched on as you would with a cloth binding.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22You stitch on one side and then turn it over.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- Aw, nice. - And stitch the other side down.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30- Aw.- And when you've done that, it's a little bit bulky,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33so we don't do it with an iron, we do it with a hammer.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- Oh. That's exciting. - Yeah, that is exciting.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38It is exciting. It's quite satisfying.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- Because it melds all the bits of leather in together.- Right.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44So I haven't done this one yet,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46but you can see where it's sort of folded into the corners,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- it's still quite big and bulky, isn't it?- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51- So...- Oh, look!
0:18:51 > 0:18:53If you just hammer it flat like that, it immediately...
0:18:53 > 0:18:57- Makes such a difference. - ..sits down.- Yeah. Really nice.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- Do you feel...?- Yeah, go on, then. Great.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05You can see it's sort of flattening out, can't you?
0:19:07 > 0:19:08- That is exciting.- It is.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- That's really good fun. - It's a quick result.- Yeah.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- It's immediately exciting. - Oh, look at that!
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- That's so great.- That's lovely. - Is that flat enough, Amber?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26THEY LAUGH Sorry.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29All of the effects of ironing but much more fun. Yeah.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Not only do we have very few portraits of working people,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42but we have even fewer surviving examples of what they wore.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47But what we do have is an amazing collection of 18th-century everyday textiles
0:19:47 > 0:19:49from here at the Foundling Museum.
0:19:53 > 0:20:00What we are seeing here are records of children,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05often babies, who were left at the Foundling Hospital.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Much of the time, when they were left,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10they would be accompanied by a textile token.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13This could be part of their mother's clothing
0:20:13 > 0:20:16or maybe a specific textile,
0:20:16 > 0:20:22but the purpose of it was so that if the mother found herself in better circumstances,
0:20:22 > 0:20:29she could return and identify her child by this textile token.
0:20:30 > 0:20:3325th June 1764, female.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39Now, what we can see here is a beautiful example
0:20:39 > 0:20:43of an 18th-century printed cotton textile.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48But then stitched onto it on the back
0:20:48 > 0:20:52is this heart-shape on cardboard.
0:20:53 > 0:21:00It says, "Anne Smith was born January 4th, 1764."
0:21:01 > 0:21:05John Bedford, Anna Chamber, Elizabeth Hodeley.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Sarah Hanley. Francis Summons.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Charles Mallet. Mary Allen. John Payne.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15The collection is hugely historically important.
0:21:15 > 0:21:21What we can see here is a lot of printed cotton textiles
0:21:21 > 0:21:24which were becoming more and more fashionable
0:21:24 > 0:21:29as manufacturing techniques improved and enhanced.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32These replicate the embroidered patterns
0:21:32 > 0:21:38that you could see at this time on very expensive Spitalfields silks,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42so this is almost like the equivalent of
0:21:42 > 0:21:45the high street designer knock-off.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49We're used to associating fashionable dress
0:21:49 > 0:21:54with court circles, the aristocracy, throughout history.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00But now we're really beginning to see that members of the urban poor
0:22:00 > 0:22:07are able to start engaging in this fledgling consumer society as well.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12From a historian's perspective,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15this collection is just absolutely invaluable.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21What we're left with here is about 5,000 textile swatches.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27And it's now the largest collection of everyday 18th-century textiles
0:22:27 > 0:22:29that we have in the country.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31From a human perspective,
0:22:31 > 0:22:36it's actually a very difficult collection to look through.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Just the hope that is bound up in these.
0:22:42 > 0:22:50Less than 1% of mothers were able to return and reclaim their children
0:22:50 > 0:22:52from the Foundling Hospital.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54But what we can see here is
0:22:54 > 0:22:58that so many of them really had the belief
0:22:58 > 0:23:00that they would be able to come back.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18While cheap printed cottons meant that working people had a choice
0:23:18 > 0:23:20of fabrics for the first time,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23our hedge cutter was looking for function rather than fashion.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25So we've been working with this leather
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and discussing how soft and pliable and beautiful it is
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and actually questioning its defensive properties,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34so I thought I'd come to the back of my garden,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37where I know there is a really viciously spiky rose
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and I'm just going to see whether it actually tears
0:23:40 > 0:23:42if I give it a good go on these spikes.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44So let's see.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Oh.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52I'm going to pretend we're really getting into this hedge.
0:23:54 > 0:24:00Right, so we can see there's lots of scratch marks,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03but nothing like anywhere near tearing.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Which is really interesting, it's still really intact.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12You can imagine that after repeated days and weeks and months
0:24:12 > 0:24:14of going in and out of hedges,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16you might get a particularly vicious one
0:24:16 > 0:24:18that would finally go through a very worn patch,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20but that's impressive, actually.
0:24:20 > 0:24:26And what's happened is it's actually broken off the tops of a lot of these thorns,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28the leather has done more damage to the rose
0:24:28 > 0:24:30than the rose has done to the leather,
0:24:30 > 0:24:31which is really interesting.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38So what I'm doing here,
0:24:38 > 0:24:44I'm attaching my pre-covered buttons to the front of the coat
0:24:44 > 0:24:48so that the pocket flap can be fastened.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54The base of the button would have been either horn or wooden.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59So I just put a circle around,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02gather it up and then stitch it in place.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Like with anything, your first button is always the worst button.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10And then you get quicker and also better.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Luckily, my worst button isn't terribly chunky,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16but you can tell that it is chunkier
0:25:16 > 0:25:20because it sits on one side rather than central.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So now it's the moment of truth.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Having lived for so long with the shreds and patches
0:25:27 > 0:25:29of our hedge cutter's coat,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32it will be intriguing to discover what it would have looked like
0:25:32 > 0:25:33in its pristine state.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Oh.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Look at that. Oh, wow, look at that.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Oh, the back is amazing!
0:25:49 > 0:25:50And also that...
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Just that particular 18th-century men's shoulder, as well,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57it doesn't have any of the squareness
0:25:57 > 0:26:01that we associate with men's jackets today, does it?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It's a much rounder look.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07It's kind of interesting cos it shows how our ideas
0:26:07 > 0:26:11about sort of manliness and masculinity changes, doesn't it?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14I'm just so surprised by how soft it is already.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18I thought it was something that would need to be worn in,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21but it's actually really easy to move.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I was impressed how thin the leather can be
0:26:24 > 0:26:29and still do the things that we wanted it to in a defensive way.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Oh, it's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- I remember hammering some of these. - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Yeah, I love those Mariner's cuffs.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42- Just such a great detail, isn't it? - A really great detail, isn't it?
0:26:42 > 0:26:43Really great detail.
0:26:43 > 0:26:50This leather, when new, has this kind of bright, soft yellow light colour.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52- Yeah.- Which we don't see in the portrait.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And this kind of leather, over time, being outdoors in the sun,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59getting oil from hands and stains and everything,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- would have become much, much darker. - Yeah.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05So give that another 40 years or so,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and the colour, the tone of it would change quite a lot.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Well, I think that just adds even more weight to this idea
0:27:11 > 0:27:14that it was definitely a second-hand garment, doesn't it?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I love the movement when you swoosh.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22I wasn't expecting it to be so swooshy.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23I must admit.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I thought there would be no swoosh at all.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I am pleasantly surprised.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I feel like I don't want to take it off.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32It just immediately does become like a second skin
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and you could kind of do anything in it.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- Coat for life.- A coat for life. - A coat for many lives.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41- It's very now.- Indeed.- Yeah.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47I really wanted to investigate the clothing of working people,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49clothing that regular people,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52the majority of the population would have been wearing.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56Seeing this coat in the flesh has been invaluable
0:27:56 > 0:27:59because it's absolutely reinforced our theory
0:27:59 > 0:28:02that this is a second-hand garment.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06The fact that this likely didn't come new to the hedge cutter
0:28:06 > 0:28:09is really clear when we see it.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12It's an exquisitely made coat,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15it's unlikely that a working man would acquire something
0:28:15 > 0:28:17that's such a light colour
0:28:17 > 0:28:19that would immediately get very, very dirty.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23And it just feels very elegant to wear, as well.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25This is something I would totally wear today.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28It's really very dapper, indeed.