I was commissioned by Laura Robinson of the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston to produce a dress for the character Susan Baker, the Blythe's family's house-keeper, in the book, Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery.
The dress is currently on display in the Normandy area in France; later in June it will be at the L.M. Montgomery Institute on Prince Edward Island; and later on in Ontario.
A
description of Susan Baker’s Skirt
& Blouse
In Rilla of Ingleside
the character Susan Baker is
described as wearing plain, simple, practical style clothing. She is not a slave to fashion and would dress
in a sensible, serviceable style.
The skirt is ankle-length with enough fullness to allow ease
of movement - it is tapered to the waist with fullness gathered into the
waistband. The collarless blouse is a
basic period style with straight sleeves with button cuffs and slight tapering
to fit. There are no embellishments and
the buttons are simple in style.
The colour of the skirt is a light shade of khaki and the
blouse is a darker shade with small print design. The colours were chosen to be symbolic of the
khaki uniforms worn by the soldiers fighting in trenches on the European front
in WWI. Susan Baker in her way was doing
her bit for the war effort on the home front.
