The hidden fabric of a Victorian woman's life told through her unique scrapbook. In 1838 Anne
Sykes was given a diary on her wedding day. Using it to collect snippets of fabric she created
a record of her life and times. Nearly two hundred years later the diary fell into the hands
of fashion historian Kate Strasdin who spent the next six years unravelling the secrets
contained within its pages. Piece by piece she charts Anne's life and times. Fragments of
cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo the complicated etiquette of
mourning poisonous dyes the British Empire in full swing rioting over working conditions and
the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry. Through the evidence of waistcoats ball
gowns and mourning outfits Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most
intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear. 'Flawless' Amber Butchart'Fascinating'
Clare Hunter'Irresistible' The Times
