I'm not sure if this is a corset, but the other examples in Unsplash were making me blush
I was rummaging through Reddit, indulging in my weakness for romance stories by looking for recommendations, when I saw another one. Why don’t authors do their research? In this case, the complaint was about a corset. I’ve already written a couple of pieces about clothing in particular settings, but after seeing that thread, with many posters being so intense about accurate clothing, I thought I would add some more general observations.
I’m not going to link the thread here as I don’t believe in driving criticism towards an author, but it seems that a character in the novel was complaining about their corset but the story was set about fifty years before corsets existed. The original poster was irritated and there was a whole thread with several hundred views, and plenty of posts that were grumbling about accuracy in clothing. I understood, because if there is an error, it bugs me and takes me out of the book, but it was a minor detail.
Here’s the thing. I love history textbooks, dabble in historical romances and adore knitting while watching YouTube videos that include historical costumes and sewing methods. I’ve done a fair amount of research into domestic life, including textiles, because it interests me, and I pay attention. I would still have got the corset wrong!
I think that this is nearer a corset, but I'm still not sure and it looks quite dainty for something that was supposed to stiffen things up.
It’s a classic case of not knowing what you don’t know. I know a little information on historical fashion but, for some reason, I’ve never paid much attention to antique underwear. And 99 readers out of 100 would not have a flicker of interest about authenticity when caught up in a riveting plot. If you’re worried about whether the silky drawers of the heroine are linen or cotton, you’re missing the point but there are a lot of readers out there who care. A reasonable portion of those who care will be vocal. And then you’ll be known as someone who couldn’t get their frilly bits in order and may become a meme – which may help sales, but it absolutely could deter someone buying your book if they care about the accuracy of the clothing.
So I come back to the reason for research is to stop authors looking like an idiot. And that’s not easy if you don’t know what you don’t know. However, if you’re writing something historical or historical adjacent, like steampunk or fantasy that strongly references the real world, it’s worth having a look at some fashion details before you dive in deep to writing. I’ll put in a few places that I check at the end.
It’s not just historical clothing that could be a problem. I buy most of my clothes from supermarkets or charity shops and have the fashion sense of a hedgehog. If I’m describing someone wearing expensive clothing, I’m at risk of getting it badly wrong. I suspect that if I want an understated designer dress, I don’t say that it’s from Vivienne Westwood, but I wouldn’t stake real money on getting it right. I’m happy describing the CEO entering the ballroom as wearing a stunning pink designer gown and leaving it at that.
It doesn’t always give the right flavour, though. Sometimes, when you’re writing, you want to add that extra spicy detail, and there are a lot of people who enjoy current fashion. They will spot the difference in style between Prada and Gucci in a second and they will judge! I turn to my friend, eBay (other online auction sites are available).
Instead of looking for gently used and inexpensive sweaters and jeans, I go to the couture listings and visualise what I want the character to wear. Is it a man wearing a dramatic coat, a woman wearing a deceptively simple blouse, or a lady who needs to look expensive. Then I search through the highest priced listings, make a note of a brand name that looks right and throw it in, keeping my fingers crossed. It’s not perfect, but it gets me through and hopefully I don’t look like an idiot.
Following on from that, here are a couple of places that I look when I’m thinking about historical clothes.
The Gutenberg Project – this has books that are out of copyright, and some of the information may be dated, but if you’re looking for books on Victorian fashion, you can get contemporary insights. There are even a few books about the history of costume, like this one here, that may have been produced a century ago, but are at least a starting point.
Anything by Ruth Goodman – she is wonderfully clear and has a hands-on insight into the reality of daily life, including clothing, after being part of many living history experiments.
Bernadette Banner – someone else who understands how clothing works in practice and not just in theory. I love watching her YouTube videos. She covers a lot of Edwardian and Victorian clothing.
AshLG – I follow them because I love their attitude to LARP costumes and the clarity they have about how clothes are constructed (and I may have an advert in their advertising slot in this video about hand sewing techniques which starts at 15:45)
And try and come to terms with knowing that you will never get it 100% correct.
If I’m researching before writing, I have a scan through a few books, dip into some blogs, watch some YouTube videos about people who are worried about authenticity and then I keep it nice and vague.
When it comes to the story, in my view, you shouldn’t worry about the stitching in the hero’s shirt, but instead concentrate on the muscles and scars revealed as the clothing is removed. If the heroine is being dragged through Victorian London towards a villainous vampire, I feel that you should concentrate on the struggle, not the exact shade of the walking dress. And if you have to include a detail to help the plot along, run a quick check first, even if you think you know all about it. Just in case.
There is a page with links to all the Research and the Author posts here and I hope that you feel happy to dip in.
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