Discover the story of the famous garment
Dress historian Eleanor Houghton talks about Charlotte Brontë’s blue and white delaine dress which was displayed recently at the Morgan Library in New York. Eleanor will offer insight into the subsequent ownership of the garment, its cut and its construction as well as the production and printing of the fabric. Attempts will also be made to answer whether this dress was worn to a dinner held in Charlotte’s honour at the home of William Makepeace Thackeray in June 1850. Finally, following a recent collaboration with the Department of Electro-Chemistry at the University of Southampton, Eleanor will reveal new findings that offer scientific insight into the fibres, dyes, mordants and methods used to produce the beautiful blue fabric that remains so vivid to this day.
Eleanor Houghton is in the third year of her PhD at the University of Southampton, and is focusing her studies particularly on the clothing of Charlotte Brontë.
Tickets £6 (£2 for 16-25 year olds). Available from www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on or on 01535 640192 from Wednesday 3 May.