All About Chintz! with special guest Myrthe of Atelier Nostalgia | CoCoVid 2020
Channel: Timesmith Dress History
Date: 2020-07-30

Welcome to this #CoCoVid talk about Dutch Chintz! 

My guest is Myrthe, an academic and historical costumer in The Netherlands, whose wonderful work can be found online as Atelier Nostalgia.
IG:  https://www.instagram.com/atelier.nostalgia/
Blog:  https://ateliernostalgia.wordpress.com/

Our wide ranging discussion looks at the origins, manufacture, uses and fashions of "chintz", defined here by reference to how the fabric was made in India. We also share tips on sources for reproduction fabrics today and how to best use them in modern costuming.

This video is part of CoCoVid, a collective effort by members of the costuming community to provide educational content this weekend when many of us were planning to be attending Costume College, the annual costumers' conference in Los Angeles.  CoCoVid is FREE for all to attend and is NOT affiliated with Costume College or its organisers. If you would like to see more videos by all of the wonderful creators participating in CoCoVid, we have a downloadable, printable program with links directly to each person's channel, here: shorturl.at/blzN1

00:00:00 Start
00:01:37 - What exactly is Chintz?
00:02:52 - How is it made? 
00:08:56 - What is its history? (Is it implicated in the slave trade?)
00:21:42 - When was it worn in Europe?
00:23:14 - How was it worn?
00:34:00 - By whom?
00:37:50 - What garments? 
00:49:50 - How was it combined with other garments? (Did they really wear different chintzes together??)
00:58:24 - Colour preferences - Dutch vs other Europeans (those dark backgrounds...)
01:03:38 - Traditional Dutch Dress
01:08:00 - Sources of reproduction Chintz for costumers and reenactors today

IMAGES
Attributions / citations are included in the video. 

DUTCH MUSEUM COLLECTIONS ONLINE (search on "sits"): 
Rijksmuseum - https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search/advanced
Fries Museum - https://collectie.friesmuseum.nl/?query=*:*
https://www.modemuze.nl/collecties

FURTHER READING

• Arnolli, Gieneke, Sits: Katoen in bloei (Uitgeverij WBOOKS, 2016)  https://amzn.to/2OrqjyO 
• Beckert, Sven, Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism (Penguin, 2015) https://amzn.to/30fKntx
• De Vos, Winnifred, Pronck & Prael: sits in Holland : hoe Indiase sits het Nederlandse leven veranderde (Uitgeverij Waanders & de Kunst, 2019)  https://amzn.to/2CcOVsA 
• Fee, Sarah (Ed.), Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz (Yale University Press, 2020) https://amzn.to/30fssTx 
• Hartkamp-Jonxis, Ebeltje (Ed.), Sits: Oost-West Relaties in Textiel (Uitgeverij Waanders-Zwolle, 1987) https://amzn.to/3esCkOZ 
• Peck, Amelia, Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade 1500-1800 (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2013) https://amzn.to/2ZuDNA3  
• Riello, Giorgio, Cotton: The Fabric That Made the Modern World (Cambridge University Press, 2015) https://amzn.to/2WjCl1G 

FABRIC REPRODUCTIONS

Indian textile artist Renuka Reddy http://www.redtreetextilestudio.com/ (Google for guest blogs written by Renuka for the Fries and V&A Museums.)

Dutch Chintz reproduction fabrics made in The Netherlands:
* https://www.dutchfabric.nl - repros from 17th through 19th century based on textiles in French, Dutch and Belgian museums.  English language option.  Categories: “Chintzes” (“sits” in Dutch) for styles we talked about, as commonly made in India for the Dutch market; "Block prints” includes a few that were more to English tastes; “Indiennes” reflect influences we see today in French regional dress; “Dutch checks” are commonly seen in Dutch traditional dress today. NOTE:  The chintzes from this company are GLAZED to closely reproduce the look and feel of the historical textiles.

* https://www.dutchquilts.com/ - quilting cottons reflecting a variety of historical styles and tastes including Dutch, French and English. The Dutch Heritage range is available from a number of retailers in the UK.  NOTE: Quilting cottons are more loosely woven and are NOT glazed.

* Indian block printed cottons on ebay/etsy 
The costuming communities are happy to share recommendations!

21st Century reproductions of ENGLISH printed cottons of the 18th century (NOT "CHINTZ"):
• Colonial Williamsburg
https://shop.colonialwilliamsburg.com/18th-century-goods/reproduction-fabrics/. 
Check which extant textile the fabric is based on. Many come from soft furnishings and/or may be an alternate colourway from the original. 
• Burnley & Trowbridge 
https://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/cottonandcottonblends.aspx 
High quality printed cottons, made in India, based on late 18th / early19th c. extants

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Rebecca Olds is an independent researcher, 'original practice' maker and teacher of reconstructed historical clothing of the 18th century.

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Copyright Rebecca Olds 2020