I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Art History with minors in Theatre and History (B.A. 2008). It was there that my passion for dress history started to grow, thanks in huge part to Linda Pisano (Chairperson, Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance Professor), who encouraged me to pursue my interests.
From there, I earned my M.Litt in Decorative Arts & Design History from the University of Glasgow, Scotland (2009), and after some time living in Sweden, I settled in Williamsburg, Virginia to begin my public and dress history career at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. There I worked in the Costume Design Center, Public Sites, and in the Historic Trades Department as an Apprentice Milliner & Mantua-Maker (2011-2016).
It was during my time at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation that I was able to dive deep into the study of 18th-century women’s dress, including hairdressing, hair care, beauty practices, and cosmetics.
In the summer of 2016 (right in the height of my Saturn Return for any astrology nerds reading this), I took a leap of faith and moved out to Reno, Nevada to work as Vice-President of American Duchess, Inc. There we published two books, The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking and The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Beauty (my baby if I’m being honest).
In May of 2020, my video, “I wore 18th-century dress for 5 years and this is what I learned” went viral, and I found myself in the interesting position of becoming a full-time YouTuber. It was unexpected and happened very quickly, but I am so happy to be where I am at today.
Nowadays, I write, edit, and produce dress history-related content on my youtube channel. I focus on the use of primary and high-quality secondary sources to explore and investigate the cultural and social history of the United States, Great Britain, and some parts of Western Europe from the 18th through the early 20th centuries. From sharing construction details from my antique clothing collection, funny anecdotes and insults from Victorian Ladies’ Magazines, to video essays on the history of the Witch Hat and Boobs, historic clothing reconstruction projects, and other forms of dress, clothing, and beauty related “experimental archeology” - I create content that, hopefully, makes dress and fashion history more accessible and enjoyable.